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Shopping adventures
Jan. 10th, 2004 07:01 pmI believe that I've made it known that I dislike shopping. Well, i just got back from 5 1/2 hours of doing it, all in preparation of this business trip on Monday. Went through 5 stores, was unlucky at the name-brand consignment shop, was unlucky in exchanging the shirt mda's sister bought me for a smaller size (I turned it in for credit and used it in the purchase of bras. Such a reckless splurger I am).
I ended up being entranced for 45 minutes (well, it felt like it anyway) over the handbags in the first store, until I came to my senses and realized there was no way I was going to spend $30 on a handbag, especially when it has a special compartment for a cellphone, which I don't own. I can never see why I would want to spend $45 on a handbag. I ended up buying a small 1 w/a long enough strap for $20. More than I would pay otherwise, but it was at the end of shopping and I wasn't completely in my right mind. It's fine, it'll do, and it's got "wacky" stripes on the inside. Yes, there was a curious lack of bags w/long enough straps to pull over my shoulder. I thought about this phenomenon being a sort of sexism, that when a bag has a shorter strap, that hinders a woman's freedom of movement, because now she only has 1 free hand, while the other 1 is supposed to be swinging the bag in abandon down a city street with a big grin on her face. This went over in my mind a few times, and I was still disparaging over my chances of finding a bag, when I spied lots of straps hanging from metal racks and made a beeline. Why this is so important to me is b/c the bag I use now, aside from having a strap that's falling apart, has clearly been used for a number of years and has the look of such. I want to try not to look like a slob (although I never did find a new watchband, which means that the people at the Getty, if they look closely, will notice that I have a black twist-tie on mine).
As I wrote, this was the end of the buying bonanza. The middle section was spent wandering the mall with the determination that I was not leaving until I walked out of there w/a decent looking suit jacket in black. I never found the thing. I found jackets, and black jackets, but the 1 that fit me might as well have been covering a sack of potatoes. I'm not going to spend money on that. However, that was my last refuge of choice, when I decided to give JC Penney a try (screw you, Boston Store!). Hiding over in the corner next to the prom dresses were all of their suits--some 50% off (I'd forgotten that the post-season sales were still in full swing). I abandoned black, then, as well, b/c the smallest size they had in black was 2 sizes too large for me (which I found in a lot of places. Teensy bit annoying, let me tell you, which is another way of saying it pissed me the fuck off). Found 2 suits of decent size, but had to wait for the dressing room, so I went wandering around, slinging my suits (and v.hot, because I'd worn my big winter coat, as I'd wanted to wear 1 of the trip-shirts, and thought I'd get too cold outside during transit). I found cool, inexpensive suits in another area (in gray, the new black!). I know I should want an expensive suit and I have to say that in this instance, it was not price that was keeping me in 1 direction or another, it was the look of the thing. Anyway, I ended up buying the 2 rather inexpensive suits b/c I think they look pretty cool, and better than the more expensive ones, which also dragged past my feet by a good 2 inches and made my torso look like I was wearing a rather nice garbage bag. I'm not denying that what I bought might be pieces of crap, production wise, but at least I feel like me when I'm wearing them.
The shirt I had on as the test-limit for the bottom hem of the suit-jackets, however, was too long. Which, when I got home, made me realize that I'd spent 2 hours looking for suit jackets, and rejecting others outright b/c they were too short, and ended up buying suits where I cannot wear this shirt anyway. Isn't v.logical, but I wasn't quite in a logical state by the time I left.
I ended up being entranced for 45 minutes (well, it felt like it anyway) over the handbags in the first store, until I came to my senses and realized there was no way I was going to spend $30 on a handbag, especially when it has a special compartment for a cellphone, which I don't own. I can never see why I would want to spend $45 on a handbag. I ended up buying a small 1 w/a long enough strap for $20. More than I would pay otherwise, but it was at the end of shopping and I wasn't completely in my right mind. It's fine, it'll do, and it's got "wacky" stripes on the inside. Yes, there was a curious lack of bags w/long enough straps to pull over my shoulder. I thought about this phenomenon being a sort of sexism, that when a bag has a shorter strap, that hinders a woman's freedom of movement, because now she only has 1 free hand, while the other 1 is supposed to be swinging the bag in abandon down a city street with a big grin on her face. This went over in my mind a few times, and I was still disparaging over my chances of finding a bag, when I spied lots of straps hanging from metal racks and made a beeline. Why this is so important to me is b/c the bag I use now, aside from having a strap that's falling apart, has clearly been used for a number of years and has the look of such. I want to try not to look like a slob (although I never did find a new watchband, which means that the people at the Getty, if they look closely, will notice that I have a black twist-tie on mine).
As I wrote, this was the end of the buying bonanza. The middle section was spent wandering the mall with the determination that I was not leaving until I walked out of there w/a decent looking suit jacket in black. I never found the thing. I found jackets, and black jackets, but the 1 that fit me might as well have been covering a sack of potatoes. I'm not going to spend money on that. However, that was my last refuge of choice, when I decided to give JC Penney a try (screw you, Boston Store!). Hiding over in the corner next to the prom dresses were all of their suits--some 50% off (I'd forgotten that the post-season sales were still in full swing). I abandoned black, then, as well, b/c the smallest size they had in black was 2 sizes too large for me (which I found in a lot of places. Teensy bit annoying, let me tell you, which is another way of saying it pissed me the fuck off). Found 2 suits of decent size, but had to wait for the dressing room, so I went wandering around, slinging my suits (and v.hot, because I'd worn my big winter coat, as I'd wanted to wear 1 of the trip-shirts, and thought I'd get too cold outside during transit). I found cool, inexpensive suits in another area (in gray, the new black!). I know I should want an expensive suit and I have to say that in this instance, it was not price that was keeping me in 1 direction or another, it was the look of the thing. Anyway, I ended up buying the 2 rather inexpensive suits b/c I think they look pretty cool, and better than the more expensive ones, which also dragged past my feet by a good 2 inches and made my torso look like I was wearing a rather nice garbage bag. I'm not denying that what I bought might be pieces of crap, production wise, but at least I feel like me when I'm wearing them.
The shirt I had on as the test-limit for the bottom hem of the suit-jackets, however, was too long. Which, when I got home, made me realize that I'd spent 2 hours looking for suit jackets, and rejecting others outright b/c they were too short, and ended up buying suits where I cannot wear this shirt anyway. Isn't v.logical, but I wasn't quite in a logical state by the time I left.
