I've landed post-Topshop opening. It's barely noon and I'm exhausted. In case you weren't following my Twitter, here's what happened:
The line twisted through Soho, up, down, around Broome/Broadway/Crosby. A crowd even assembled across the street just to watch the line. Passerbys asked why crazy people were in line and what the hell Topshop was. Sir Philip Green looked on with his suited buddies and a British TV presenter asked questions like, "Where did you come from?"
I too asked questions. One to a girl camped comfortably on the sidewalk.
"I'm from England," she answered, in a thick British accent.
"Well, yeah," I said. "But you live here now, right?"
"No. I've flown in for this," she responded, looking at me like I was nuts.
Pinkberry passed out yogurt, Madewell distributed coffee to welcome their new neighbors and perfectly dressed Brit chicks handed out Topshop gift cards. Around 10:50, the crowd went nuts. Kate Moss appeared for mere seconds and the store opened. It was the most organized fashion event I've ever attended - most organized of the crazies that is.
Inside, the crowd asked for leather jackets and Kate Moss' new collection. They also asked about prices. The thing is, Topshop prices are not H&M prices. If you've never actually shopped at Topshop and yet been swept up in its charm, you probably don't realize that a cotton summer dress will set you back about $100 and a simple tank up to $40 - not exactly cheap. On top of that, the dress I bought in London last month for £45 is $90 here which means I saved almost $25 and they're apparently not paying much mind to current exchange rates. Not that I didn't still walk away with this Kate Moss Liberty dress (that I just looked up on Topshop's site - it's £65 which is $95 dollars but it's $135 at the store - ouch).
I made it down the escalator where Christopher Kane stood, calmly letting his roaring gorilla tee do the talking for him and Sir Philip granted more and more interviews - only after telling his staff to lower the music.
Is it worth going later today? Probably - unless you don't do well with crowds, in which case I'd suggest waiting a week.
