I Went Clothes Shopping Today For The First Time Since Lockdown Began – This Is What It’s Really Like

Maybe you’ve missed the pumping music, the orderly rails, the feel of fabrics and the buzz of walking away with a bulging carrier bag. Or maybe you can’t imagine ever wanting to step into a clothes shop again. While we can’t speak for the whole country, it certainly seems that there’s a healthy appetite for shopping in real life on Oxford Street in London. At 9am today - on the very first morning that shops are reopening since the start of lockdown - there was already a small queue forming outside Zara. When I walked past 30 minutes later, it was snaking down a side street, a full half an hour before its official 10am opening time.

Who Were The First People In The Queues?

Millie and Fi are intensive care nurses who had just clocked off their night shift. They hadn’t come to browse, but to return items that they’d bought during lockdown. ‘We ordered a lot of stuff during quarantine,’ said Fi. When I asked whether they felt safe entering shops, and whether they felt like the measures in place were sufficient, the answer was yes. ‘Given that we’ve been at the forefront, and have seen what’s happened, we’re really not phased by it,’ said Mille. ‘I don’t see that much risk any more.’ And were they planning to browse other shops? ‘I’m happy to just do Zara today,’ said Fi.

The biggest queues, however, were reserved for sportswear stores, with shoppers waiting outside hours before opening in the hope of scoring limited-edition trainer drops. NikeTown had the busiest queue, followed by Sports Direct and JD Sports. Aaron and James were waiting outside the latter at 8.20am this morning, and had travelled from Clapham and Twickenham respectively on public transport. ‘I had pretty much had the whole carriage to myself so it didn’t phase me,’ said Aaron, who tells me that there’s been a backlog of releases while shops have been shut. ‘We’re just hoping that some of those will be dropping.' They also feel comfortable with the measures in place. ‘I feel fine,’ said Aaron. ‘In Clapham Common and Wandsworth Common, it’s basically a festival.'

There was also a queue outside Selfridges, again with twenty-something streetwear fans hoping to get their hands on trainer releases, but also customers hoping to sort out returns. Lucy bought a skirt pre-lockdown, and drove to Selfridges specially to return it. ‘I don’t want to be out, but I bought a skirt before lockdown, and I’ve put on so much weight that I can’t get it up. I love it and I know they’ve got one left in the next size up and it was expensive,’ she said, saying she did feel comfortable going into the shops. ‘There are so many precautions and everyone’s been so careful. I want to be in and out. Everything is premeditated.’

How Does Clothes Shopping Work Now? Are Changing Rooms Closed?

Speaking of precautions, pretty much every shop has stickers spaced 2m apart outside, a one-way system in place with separate entrances/exits, plastic screens at cash registers, closed changing rooms, a limited number of shoppers at any one time and signage throughout the store to encourage shoppers to keep their distance.

Stepping into H&M, which has a sanitation station right by the entrance, felt surprisingly like a run-of-the-mill shopping trip. They had all the expected measures in place, and I spotted a rail of returned clothes with a sign that read, ‘Returned from customer: Monday. Return to sales floor: Thursday.’ It didn’t feel nerve-wracking at all, but pleasantly organised and actually pretty quiet. Zara was a similar experience, with separate entrances/exits, closed changing rooms and the usual signage about social distancing. I also saw a notice asking customers to request a pair of disposable socks when trying on shoes.

Of course, the shops might feel slightly less zen if footfall picks up later this week or over the weekend. But for now, the shop assistants seem happy to be back at work and satisfied with the safety measures. Someone I spoke to at H&M says she feels very comfortable being back at work and travels by tube from Shepherds Bush. ‘To be honest I’m fine because it’s not very busy.’ Another shop assistant at M&S, who has been working in the food hall until this week when she rejoined the shop floor, said she’s relieved that she was able to work through lockdown. ‘I didn’t want to stay at home; I prefer to work.’

The City of Westminster has also erected hand sanitiser stations along Oxford Street, with contactless dispensing, so that shoppers can keep clean as they go about their business. The only problem? As of 10am this morning, they appeared to be empty...

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