patrícia furtado

This is the funny threat painted on a wall in Oxford Circus’ Topshop. And it sums up why I always end up spending so much money when I come to London.

As a recovering shopaholic, I learned to follow a simple rule to prevent impulse buying: Don’t buy it now (if you still really want it, come back tomorrow). And Lisbon is a small enough city for this to work.

But London is a different ball game. It’s so big that you know you’re not likely to return to that shop anytime soon, let alone the following day. True even if you live here, more so if you’re only in for a few days. So the local rule really is: Buy it now (or don’t buy it at all). And that is a lot of pressure for a trigger-happy shopper like me.

On the day I arrived, as soon as we set foot on Oxford St, my friend Catia and I were instantly sucked into a shop just to look around, and got out of there with matching leather bags and credit card receipts. We didn’t last 15 minutes! Three days later, my feet hurt from all the walking, my back is killing me from carrying so many shopping bags, and I’m wondering if it will all fit in the huge bag that, knowing myself only too well, I brought half empty from Lisbon.

Tomorrow, I will finally escape the spree. I’ll arrive home, open my oversized luggage and examine the bounty. And I’ll know that the writing on Topshop’s wall should have been: Buy it now (and regret it later - when your bank statement arrives).