Capitalism or bust

I had a meeting yesterday, in Westfield shopping centre. For those of you who don't know Westfield, it's the largest shopping centre in Europe with a designer section called 'The Village' and the usual list of high street brands.

The meeting was only arranged there because it was local to the person I was meeting who is 8 months pregnant; and there are a whole load of coffee places to sit at and talk shop.

After the meeting, I had to grab a few things from Boots and pick up a birthday present for my nephew. The shopping centre was surprisingly busy for a weekday and come 4pm was buzzing with school kids from the local area. I hate shopping on my own, whether it's for groceries, clothes, anything. It's always nice to have company and someone elses opinions. So I limited my spending and bought only the things I needed and no money spent on a whim. Yesterday was not a 'shopping experience' rather a necessary whizz around with a quick bite to eat in the middle.

A lot of people I know don't like Westfield, for the same reason they don't like the Bull ring in Birmingham, The Trafford Centre in Manchester or Bluewater in Kent. Unlike the high street, which is open air, with an eclectic mix of chain stores, independent shops and cafes as well as the fast emerging poundlands (a sign of our times)..these huge buildings have no 'soul'. If you want one symbol to sum up capitalism at its best then shopping 'malls' fit the bill.

I remember the first day Westfield opened. I had a day off for a hospital appointment and popped in to see what all the fuss was about. There is nothing mind bogglingly different about Westfield. Same shops, same look, same facilities. I mean we all shop, eat and go to the loo right?

The only interesting thing about Westfield is its collection of designer brand boutiques. They are positioned away from the main shopping area in a section called 'The Village'. Haute Couture and high end fashion brands have never really struck me as being well suited to shopping centres. Surely the whole allure of high end fashion is exclusivity. What is so exclusive about Westfield? Yet here they sit almost side by side to Zara and H and M, albeit with a champagne bar in the middle.

The answer is of course common sense commercial capitalism. Ms. Chocolate barfi blogs may not find herself ordinarily frequenting Gucci or Louis Vuitton on a regular basis when in the West End. Yet in Westfield you almost do it by accident. In one shop and out the other on automatic. Realisation only hitting when you look at the price tag and think 'have they added a nought?' The very fact you have to look at the price tag immediately informs the attentive sales person that you are not where you belong (if the shop was in Knightsbridge) but here in Westfield, you are the buyer who can be persuaded to buy into a little bit of luxury because well, doesn't it feel good to walk around with a Miu Miu bag in amongst all the Radleys and Nicas. Who cares about not eating for a week.

I'm happy to say although salivating at a Miu Miu bag, I was not persuaded to part with £600 for a bag. My mother for one would never forgive me for spending that much money on something that will only end up carrying my snotty tissues and leaking pens. Instead, I ate a piece of cake costing £3.99 (even hummingbird cupcakes are cheaper) and a coffee. Yes, I was happy that I had emerged into the sunlight with only two bags of goods and my self defined semi-socialist head held high.

On the way home on the tube, I happened to stand next to someone with a 'Capitalism is crap' badge on his jacket. A kindred spirit I said to myself. Although I think we were both mistaken; he was reading a digital book which probably cost him a few hundred quid.

In the end, high end boutiques and high street chains are happy neighbours in Westfield. Although I'm sure 'The Village' is a message saying 'we don't like people from outside our village, we just tolerate them for the tourist season. Makes economic sense'