If the shoe fits

This crossed my path a while ago, and I found it mildly amusing.

But it reminded me of an experience I had at Harrods, the iconic emporium that to many people epitomizes London, if not England.

(On my first trip to London when I was actually in possession of credit cards and not staying in student flophouses, I met up with a member of the Metropolitan Police for a coffee. He asked me archly if I had any “little green bags” and I didn’t know what he was talking about. He meant, had I been doing a lot of shopping at Harrods, which he apparently expected everyone with a U.S. passport to do. As it happens, it was November, and I had bought some Christmas ornaments there as gifts for workmates. But the bags were blue, with stars on them, not the standard Harrods green.)

Okay—that’s not the experience. This is:

Harrods has this monster sale every January, and it is much-ballyhooed. I don’t really know how good the discounts are, but I get a kick out of watching other people go a little cuckoo when I don’t have any skin in the game.

Besides, I did get this really nice pair of Bally shoes once.

But this time, I went with my friend Ros, who frankly can shop for Italy and Britain. And I don’t think anyone has more shoes than Ros, except for my other friend Colleen.

Well, it was the first Saturday after the sale commenced. We had moved on from the shoe department, our admitted first port of call, and I was waiting while Ros tried on swimsuits. She had quite a number of swimsuits, so I got to talking with one of the security guys.

(Yes, they had a uniformed guy in the bathing suit department. He must have had seniority.)

Evidently on the opening day of the sale, two women had got into a knock-down drag-out in the shoe department. Over a belt. I’m assuming it was a very nice belt, and/or it was a big markdown, but still.

But when I saw this graphic I just couldn’t help but think of those women, dressed to the nines, in the Harrods shoe department bitch-slapping each other.

Wonder whatever happened to the security video?

But Ros did buy the bathing suit. Actually, more than one of them, if I recall correctly.