Where to Shop

Where to Shop in London

As you know, shopping has recently become popular as a leisure activity and shopping districts are growing rapidly. Each district is grouped according to the type of shops located there, which makes finding what you want quite easy. My shop here is located in the heart of Cheapside, as are most of the other mercers along with the drapers. {19} The booksellers are primarily located in Little Britain, and if you are looking for seamstresses, lace merchants and milliners, you can find them in Paternoster Row. {20} If you simply want to browse or are not sure what you are looking for, Bond and Oxford Street and the Strand offer shops of all kinds. If there is anything you want or need, we can help you in London; I would bet that we have more than two hundred different types of shops. {21} In addition, many of these shops cater to young women such as yourself. Since shopping has just begun to be a leisure activity for women, there are other places I simply must advise you to visit while you are here. Why don't I tell you a story about a young girl who was here yesterday -- I directed her to all the right shops, and I've heard that she looked fantastic at the ball she attended last night.

It is important that our shopping districts flourish because the American settlers look to us to provide them with fashionable goods. {22} Our new fashions have spread to the West quite quickly, and I've been told that several shopkeepers and tradesman here have received written requests from plantation gentry over there asking for chinaware or furniture of the styles that are popular here. {23}

Cheapside, London

As you can see by the picture above, in Cheapside, where my shop is located, there are cobbled streets, large shop signs, and dividers to separate off the pedestrians from the street.

Due to the increased popularity of our shopping district, there has also been a rise in the number of peddlers and street vendors who work in the districts. They carry their goods in bags and trunks by means of carts, wagons, or boats. Vendors usually have stands where they do business and some have hand carts and small wagons with which they travel through the districts. I'm sure that on your way here today you noticed several of these vendors on the street.