Let’s play a little game of word association. When I say ‘paradise’ you say…? Free food? Giant inflatables? £500 pound shopping spree? Yeah, in the words of Gabrielle, dreams can come true, so big thanks to Topshop for finally fulfilling my one childhood ambition consisting of blow-up stuff and high stake games (yeah, I never got the call back to go visit Pat Sharp and the twins on Fun House).
For one weekend only, Topshop transformed their Oxford Circus flagship store into one epic inflatable blow-up bash – think Grease (namely the “tell me about it, Stud” sequence), meets Big with some 80’s arcade action chucked in and you’ve pretty much reimagined the whole experience. If this all sounds like the single most exciting thing ever and you’re pretty pissed you missed it, here’s what you need to create your own Playland…
The claw. You need an arcade claw
You know when you're high on Slushies and spend all your silvers trying to commandeer a malfunctioning claw all to try and win a fake Disney toy? Yeah, well thankfully this isn't 2001 Milton Keynes, this was Topshop 2015, where the giant claw (size of the entire store window, giant) was controlled via Twitter and had prizes ranging from plastic rings to Miki the Mouse stickers. I'm kidding, you could win a £500 spending spree. And that's no laughing matter. Oh, and if you @'d and #'d the Tweet for Treats vending machine you'd also come up trumps in the prize department. Ace.
Free snacks
Because what better way is there to say 'PARTYYY!!' than by dishing out comp’d party snacks to the whole store. Watching freaked-the-hell-out shoppers getting offered free popcorn, candy floss (blue) and lollies is my new favorutie thing. “Free?! As in, I can have this for FREE?! To eat...? Now?!” What have I learnt? Never question a free snack...
A stupidly competitive game called King of the Hammer is vital
In essence, no event is complete without a giant version of the game that features in every American teen show EVER in the episode where the track field gets turned into some insane fairground adventure land that makes you question everything about America’s education system. Hit the hammer hard, and you could have scored £100 – and yes, this may have been stationed on the Topman floor, but the girls were king of the hammer.
Penny Pushers rule
On a side note, Penny Pushers would make a great name for a new style of jeans. That’s an idea you can have for free, Topshop. Anyway, the most famous of all arcade games, otherwise known as the slot machine, is probably one of the most dangerous games in existence. I literally lost an hour putting my shiny gold tokens in its mouth waiting for it to push out a lipstick. The good thing is, it was all Topshop currency, which you got as you shopped and as I’ve discovered, free fun, is the best fun.
Zoltar
Because, duh. ZOLTAR FROM BIG Y’ALL.
After meeting Zoltar, who predicted my fashion future, I realised that if I was going to meet my fashion potential this summer I needed more clothes. So, fully embracing the 70’s boho vibe, I’ve got my eyes on the prize (soz, I can’t stop speaking in game show vernacular). Namely this off the shoulder top, £28, which is surprisingly easy to wear and totally updates a pair of ankle-grazing skinnies, this amazing boho maxi dress, £68, this organic-mint coloured A-line skirt, £75 which looks good even on Casper pale legs and this dreamy jumpsuit, £35, that would work well on a bouncy castle.
Oh, and this will be in my wardrobe as soon as it drops online. Size 10, cheers.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.