THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS... LONDON Kensington High Street...

The High Street of Shopping stands liberally dotted with signs such as these today.

Otoh, on Oxford Street a few miles away, Primark and Selfridges coexist... both going strong as ever.

I buy a purse at Primark for the princely sum of 7.00 sterling pounds, that by current rates is less than Rs. 500/-. It is teeming with folks purchasing as if there is no tomorrow. Prices that give the word 'Bargain' a good name...

Nearby, inside Selfridges, there is a neat purse on display. With no price tag. I ask the guy on the 'shopfloor' who in turn has to call in his supervisor to help locate the price.
Above GBP 500.00 I am told and the sign of the 'designer' pointed out, as I quickly retract my hand, singed.
Rs. 35,000.00 plus.

The newspapers report that the wealthy are a tad embarrassed at making purchases. Though the pockets are bursting. Financial meltdown and all that you know.
Perhaps that is also one more reason why there are no price tags.

To tackle this, sellers have hit upon the right strategy.

What they have figured is this: they need to use the C word to loosen the platinum purse strings.

Charity Pricing.

No. Not priced 'charitably' low.
What this means instead is : Pricing obscenely high...

E. G. Before you can say YSL, his estate is sold for 400 million dollars. Apparently, it is all for charity you see, so the velvet fist can be displayed. With its wads of obscene money.

That's the new phrase I coin. Charity Pricing. And the way things are going, will soon enter all vocabs.. Like imagine this : perhaps that GBP 500.00 purse will be sold as soon as there is a sign that reads 'Part of the proceeds will go towards feeding those who cannot enter this store' ...
Who knows! The store for sure has survived the downturn so far, so there must be some logic...

And the world continues to go round.

Afterword : Watched The Devil Wears Prada, on my flight back.
People actually PAID to see this movie?? Or is it that in the new world we live in, it does not really matter... when I saw it, someone somewhere did pay for it, no?