Green eyed monster after being in Harrods

[Moneyjealousy]

Lighthearted (I think?!)

But this weekend I've been in London with adult DD's and we somehow ended up in Harrods champagne bar where we treated ourselves to a couple of cocktails before heading back to the nearest Wetherspoons type bar 😁

I have to say in advance that I am very lucky, I have a lovely dh, great dc all our bills are paid and even though we aren't living the high life I don't have to worry about food or heating the house.

After getting off the tube at Harrods though........OMG! Where does all the money come from?! The big houses and fancy cars outside the shop then once you get in the huge selection of jewellery/bags/clothes etc that I could never dream of affording.

Who are the people that shop there? Where do they get the money for it? How can you ever afford to buy a house and drive a Porsche across the road from Harrods?

I'm back home now in my northern house that I could never afford if it was moved 300 miles south but still have a feeling of not believing how the other half must live.

Can you afford a shopping trip at Harrods? Do you look down on people like me who pop in for a cocktail and post it on Facebook to remember it by 🤣

I'm not even really jealous I don't think it's just coming from where I do seeing such a big difference in others life styles is a bit of a culture shock.

I actually feel sad for the ultra rich.

All they care about is image and their lives are so empty.

I would like to have a few million, but would not like the sort of money where you can shop in Harrods every day.

The Diana and Dodi statue has now left the building. It was a very tacky homage to them both.

I agree with pp - it's a small minority of people who shop there freely. A lot of customers are like you and I - pop in once in a blue moon for the experience!

I went to Harvey Nicks cafe with some friends the other weekend. We had one drink each (and I should say my iced coffee was delicious and beautifully presented, and at £4.50, similar price to a Starbucks!) and noted a family with young kids clearly popping in for a quick lunch while out shopping. it does blow my mind that it's not a big deal or special occasion for them!

Like you, I have an OK standard of living but can't afford that kind of lifestyle. Most of my friends are similar though - I think it would be harder if not. If I had more money there are a lot of things I'd spend it on before designer shopping!

Harrods food hall is lovely to look at, but I would rather shop at Fortnums and Liberty. My friends sister used to work there and they were not nice people to work for, and by they I mean management and a lot of the customers.

I worked in the offices at Harrods in the late 70s. Most miserable place full of bullies. Never set foot in the place since

@Moneyjealousy

"Who are the people that shop there? Where do they get the money for it?"

++++

Well here is one answer:

amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/oct/10/wife-of-mcmafia-banker-with-16m-harrods-spending-habit-named

There are many many more like her except they don't get caught or do it so brazenly.

In the 80s DH & I were living overseas but sometimes used to stay in a flat owned by his company in a street 2 minutes walk from Harrods and I really used to enjoy leaning out the window on a Saturday morning watching all the Porsche/Ferrari/Bentleys etc getting clamped

It was always a terrible place to work. A friend of mine worked as Christmas staff there in the 90s and would hide in the stock room when Fayed did his rounds in the morning, as he used to select girls to come up to his offices and try to assault them.

We went to Harrods a couple of weeks ago as we had been given a gift voucher. I was so disappointed - the place was full of rude and entitled people full of their own self importance just because they have money. To be fair, I wouldn't want to live like that!
We spent our voucher on 2 cocktails (£25 each!!!!!) and left!!
Fortnum & Mason is much nicer IMO!

Thank you @PowerTulle ! I couldn't remember the name of that dept! I had a few things from Way In when I was a teenager (my mum bought them for me though 🤣)

I've just googled and Way In has now been replaced by a similar concept called the Fashion Lab

Same. Harrods is aimed at wealthy tourists in the main and so is F&M to an extent. Liberty is beautiful, the shop of my dreams.

Yeah brexit was to protect the wealth of these people who own London property via off-shore companies and who can afford to be able to shop in Harrods. Nobody cares about the rest of us, and should we really be grateful for running water when the tories have used brexit to pollute the waterways that feed the taps? It will get worse for the majority but nobody will care because business and oil money bribes go a long way in making politicians look the other way. But at least us plebs can get a nice coffee in the food hall and imagine we are like them.

Funnily enough, about ten years ago when my kids were little and we lived in London, we used to shop in the Harrods toy department because lots of branded stuff like Lego and Playmobile was actually slightly cheaper than elsewhere. It was in the days when the pet department was still open so we'd go and check out all the puppies and kittens and see the pampered pooches in the poodle parlour and then stop off in the piano department (now closed as well) where you could try out a Bechstein (or listen to an amazing pianist trying one out!). I also remember there used to be a cafe there where the kids could make their own pizzas.

Wonder where it is now !

I like going to Harrods for window shopping, the posh loos and people watching.

What I don't get is say you have your heart set on a Chanel handbag why would you go to a Harrods and not the Chanel store on Sloane Street.

I get it if you have £££ for a handbag but not sure what you want.

I know someone who has a house around there, and they pay a lot of money just to maintain it. There are always issues, it’s grade 2, it gets a flooded basement, and they definitely do not go to harrods.

it’s old family money and now money on property. They barely live in the house, it’s empty most of the time.

I can't see the word 'Harrods' without thinking of Chelsea Lee Art.

A bitch like me in harrods darrrrlings.

Also I had an old boss who used to go on and on about the old days when he worked at Harrods, and I think ffs it’s just a shop for idiots imo, you can buy the same furniture items in Heals, the same clothes in selfridges or Liberty (who do a really good loyalty scheme)

The only thing I like about harrods are the food options really. The coffee bar and the restaurants.

As a tourist myself, I love Selfridges. Loads of bug eyed wtf eye candy to enjoy, but actual shopping is not just possible, but enjoyable.

They've got a huge range of beauty at normal prices, plus a fab little pharmacy that sells interesting European brands. There's a classy W H Smith (that doesn't try to flog you giant Toblerones) and normal people being plucked, blow dried and manicured for all to see.

The food hall has all kinds of delights from around the world, much of it normally priced.

The cafe outlets change a lot but they've had Krispy Kreme, Pret and a pie shop in my memory.

Plus I had the most gorgeous smile from Robert Plant in there.

A lot of the money (and residents) are foreign and a large proportion is generational wealth.

But where did the money originate from? The kind of corruption we’ve seen during covid from our own government will be soon touted as ‘generational wealth’ within a single generation.

There was a case fairly recently where the family of an oligarch was sanctioned, the kids were in private school whilst questions were being asked about the source of their wealth, it was interesting stuff to read. More so because I doubt the likes of Eatons and Wycombe Abbeys care about where daddy’s money comes from, as long as you can pay the school fees. But it’s not just Arabs, Russians and Chinese at it, but Africans too!

I agree with @MrsTerryPratchett theres been a massive boom in new developments in northern cities, with the vast majority of investors being Hong Kong and or Chinese residents. These individuals buy entire blocks of apartments. But when talking about the lack of U.K. housing rarely do we talk about these types of people, who are allowed to park their wealth here whilst skewing the market horrendously for locals and first time buyers.

It's mainly for the super rich, celebrities , royals and the like i think. The sales are for the middle classes I'd guess. They cater for super rich Arabs/Russians etc, and I am sure I've read that there are a few Bollywood superstars (Indian cinema) who've invested in apartments/houses? around that area too.

@Ytfs Oh my! Those cafes and eateries with their well healed clientele must absolutely hate her. I feel for her, because she’s clearly got some MH issues there, her behaviour is bizarre to put it politely.

But where did the money originate from?

if my family had stayed put (Kings Cross/Bloomsbury) area, they’d be sitting on goldmines right now. A lot of the areas were considered slums and so everyone rushed to move to the countryside of zone 5. Those that didn’t, sat and waited out the gentrification and rising of the areas and now have a 4 bed mansion flat falling to bits that eats up all the money on restoration.

thats alot of the generational “wealth”

the ones I know who live nicely (but still never go to harrods) are solicitors / bankers and the like who bought in the 80’s

There is a Harrods beauty shop in Edinburgh that's nice for a wander pretending I am going to buy all the anti aging potions !