Harrod's: Where if it Glitters, It's Probably Gold

For a midweek adventure Paige and I went to the Victoria & Albert Museum and then took a trip down the street to Harrod's. I think the only word that appropriately sums those two buildings up is "glitz."

For example: a sword found in the fashion exhibit at the V&A:

Bedazzled sword officially on my Christmas list

Now I was aware that the V&A was a fashion museum, but I had no idea how awesome it would be. Ladies fashion throughout the years? Bizzare, not that it's gotten any better. Paige possesses the crazy notion that wearing a hoop skirt and corset would be fun!

We moved on to the jewellery (British spelling) exhibit and our jaws literally dropped. There were crowns, tiaras, rings, bracelets, and more swords and each one was diamond encrusted or plated in gold or both. The guards were pretty lenient with the no photos policy, so I managed to snap a few before having to put my camera away.  
    


Our last stop was the Theatre department which houses such famous things as the costumes from the Broadway Lion King and a life-size rhinoceros that I'm actually not sure what play it came from. But above all else... it has a dress-up section.

We practically got run over by some young school girls shoving each other for the one princess dress, while Paige and I contented ourselves with a jester's costume and cloaks.

                 

After gaping at the sculpture gallery (not even the big one, just the little teaser they keep by an exit) we made our way out and up the street to Harrod's.

I n case you don't know, Harrod's is a high end department store but not in the way that Macy's is "high end." Harrod's houses designers from all around the world, has 7 floors, runs tours throughout the building, and something labelled on the store map as "penthouse personal shopping." Oh yes, you need a map to get around. Simply put, look but don't touch.

A few things we saw while browsing:

Cruella DeVille's Dream Outfit

80,000 pounds (roughly $120k)

Raspberry Doughnuts that literally sparkled - probably with diamonds

There were no photos allowed in the jewellery or watch departments, a policy that was strictly enforced. 

But we did make a purchase! The food hall had pastries so we each bought a snack that came with its very own Harrod's bag. 

That concludes our day of extravagance, a day neither of us are soon to forget. It was great getting to see all of those beautiful things but when it comes down to it, I can't imagine spending 180,000 pounds ($270k) on a pearl and diamond necklace when there are so many other things (charity) that the money could go towards. So while I appreciated the chance to see how the 1% lives, I'm pretty content with my lot in life!

Holly