I wish I could get commission or advertising revenue for this in some way though I suspect the constant references to the Trafford Centre either have no affect or are likely to turn some people off it!With all the new job, moving, and of course not being as close as before I've not been to the Trafford Centre for a while and I guess seeing it with all the Christmas decorations also helped to give it a 'magical' air when I stepped into it yesterday.
I know that it may seem obvious that someone who declares herself to be a shopaholic would like somewhere that provided so many shops but that's not entirely it. It's how the place feels as well; exciting, happy and full of life. Again, some of this is down to the shopping experience itself but simply having a number of shops in one place doesn't a magical consumer paradise make. You need atmosphere, a clean, open, modern, and yet classic environment and decor. There are lots of shopping centres (and malls) that manage it but there are many I've been too that don't.
There are alot of arguments against consumerism and being materialistic but I think you'd have to unravel an awful lot of modern, western society to remove it completely and the success of shopping centres such as the Trafford Centre are a clear indication of this. Would I like the place if I had no money and nothing to buy there, well yes, I probably would. How it feels is enough to cheer me up, even without buying anything there myself.
1 comment:
I know what you mean. I still remember when the first really modern two tiered shopping mall, Regency Square open up in Richmond, way back in 1975 (Yes....I'm that old!). I loved going there, whether I had any money to buy anything or not. The average life of a shopping mall is about 25 years, so today it's lost some of it's luster. The anchors, i.e., the big department stores are still there, but many of the cooler, classy little shops and restaurants have left, and been replaced with lesser known venues, and a food court filled with fast food vendors. Not quite the same. The latest thing here now, is a revival of the open air malls that were popular back in the 60's, but much bigger and fancier.
Melissa XX
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