Can anyone explain “High Street”

[LemonDrop]

I have always heard Brits talk about shopping on High Street. As an American I imagined it was an actual street like Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills or 5th Avenue in NYC.

Google says it’s not a real street and it translates to the American term of “Main Street”. As an American I think of Main Street describing a street in a small American town with a post office and hardware store.

I always wanted to go shop on High Street in London. But what is it?

 

[Antigone]

I think it's just a term for stores that sell clothes and can be found in ordinary cities/towns, not designer? Like H&M, Topshop, etc.

 

[QuelleFromage]

"High street" as used today refers to anything mass-produced - so "high street fashion" is Zara, Jigsaw, Topshop, M&S, etc. - in the US we might consider those "mall brands"; in the UK, the stores might well be in a mall but we still call the brands "high street".

A "high street" was originally the main shopping street in any town - where the butcher, grocer, and all other daily needs were usually located. "High" meaning the most important street in a town. Naturally those streets eventually lost butchers etc., and filled up with mass-market retail stores - thus how we might use "high street" to refer to fashion that's not designer, or "high street shopping" for a jaunt to whichever street is filled with these kinds of shops. It's not a pejorative (unless one is a massive snob) - more like saying "high-low fashion".

In London, for the high street, we'd be talking Oxford and Regent Streets most likely. HTH!

 

[ButchChanel]

Sorry, taking this opportunity to ask for some clarification on TJ/TK Maxxx.... It has it's own items? new items? and second hand things? Is not a charity shop?

 

[GoStanford]

Sorry, taking this opportunity to ask for some clarification on TJ/TK Maxxx.... It has it's own items? new items? and second hand things? Is not a charity shop?

Not a charity shop. It’s a discount store and carries new items, overstock, odds and ends from other shops that didnt’t sell, and probably some items made specifically for TJ Maxx, something like an outlet shop for those items. They have a little of everything: clothing, handbags, luggage, jewelry, kitchenware, cosmetics, and - a highlight in my opinion - pet gear and toys. A trainer I follow online recommended it for pet toys and she is correct. I’ve found fantastic chew toys marked down to half or less of the original retail price.

I’m sure folks here have found some great bargains at TJ Maxx. As with other retailers of a similar type, it takes some patience to find those treasures.

 

[ButchChanel]

ah that makes sense! I always see people get super happy finding stuff there on r/handbags