Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Shopping and How I Hate It.

From time to time my daughter will suggest a mother/daughter trip to town to do some shopping. The cynical among you will suspect her motives, I know. After all I'm the one with the plastic but, no, what's she's doing is attempting to share with me the sheer pleasure of standing in an overheated space rifling through racks of clothes searching for the perfect garment, along with hundreds of other girls who all look a bit like her. Later, of course, I'll be allowed to strike up a relationship with one or two other mothers outside the changing rooms while we wait...

What I've never told her is that I hate shopping. I'd rather spend the afternoon having root canal work done...WITHOUT anaesthesia. I hate standing waiting while she makes a careful choice between 2 almost-identical black t-shirts and I really hate it when she asks my opinion because I know that that's the one that'll end up in a ball on the wardrobe floor, unworn and unloved. But I go along because she's my daughter and I love her and, yes, of course I always buy her something..
I blame it all on my mother, of course, who knew how to shop and still does in spite of having rheumatoid arthritis, poor eyesight and high blood pressure. To see her and my daughter shopping together is a delight: they speak a language that I've never learned and have total recall of every garment they've seen in every shop...and their prices... and they're willing to walk miles back to the first shop they visited. Such dedication exhausts me...
So why this diatribe? I do avoid clothes shopping if I can so my wardrobe is, let's say, lean..I don't like too much choice or too many decisions. Give me too many clothes and at least half will end up in my ironing pile until I've put on weight, usually, lost weight, rarely, or just go off the colour.
Once upon a time I found the perfect black t-shirt that goes under jackets perfectly, fits beautifully with trousers or a skirt, can be dressed up or dressed down. It is lined, has a v neck and enough lycra so it pings straight back into shape without being too clingy. How I love this T-shirt.
Tragically one day I picked up a bleach impregnated cloth to wipe fingerprints from the door and I really don't need to tell you the rest...
Tomorrow I go shopping for a replacement. There goes the blood pressure.

16 comments:

Kerry-Anne said...

I sympathise. I too hate shopping. I love the idea of shopping, but the reality never quite matches up. I like getting new things, but I can't bear the effort it takes: traipsing from one store to the next, and having to make choices! Making choices is by far the worst part. And I think when you reach a certain age (for me it was 25) things just don't fit the way they did before. In fact, things just don't fit.

So, good luck with your upcoming shopping expedition - be strong, the pain will be over before you know it.

Shaz said...

I love shopping if I dont HAVE to buy something.
I hate being on a mission with a list.
And yes my daughter likes to ask me to go shopping with her because she knows I am way to generous.
I am a bargain hunter but I have lost my drive.
I used to be like that, now I am more like you.
And dont get me started on bleach, I have way to many accidents with that. LOL
PS. I have to cut my hair as it is all starting to fall out and thin badly due to my treatment.

Hugs xxx

Anonymous said...

Having had root canal work done this week, I can say that I definitely prefer the clothes shopping!

deedee said...

I understand! If anything happens to the black sweater that I am now wearing, wore yesterday, and probably will wear tomorrow, I'll cry;)

Unknown said...

Oh my, I don't know what it is, I used to love shopping but it ended when I was about 22. For some reason it's become the most dreadful waste of time. May be having sons is what spoiled it all for me...no one to share with. But there are the times when you have to shop, there simply isn't a choice. I do hope you have much success! I resort to ordering through the mail. Goodness help me if I ever have to get something special ;)

tut-tut said...

I can't believe it; I just did the same thing today. Do you know how frustrating it is to hear, "No, this is navy blue, NOT black" for an entire rack of clothes? Or to offer, "Doesn't this look nice?" and get " I'd NEVER wear that!" in response.

However, I found a great pair of jeans, with a very withering eye to help me out.

And my tooth is fine, thank you!

Anonymous said...

I used to be a very driven shopper but now I go out to shop like I am on a mission. I know exactly what I want, what shop I need to go to and even where to park the car for a whizz in and out of the shops!

Jackie x

Unknown said...

I was just thinking today that I will never be a good dresser. I am o.k. at the shopping part, I just refuse to wear anything that isn't comfortable, and if it needs dry cleaning it sits for months balled up on the closet floor.
I hated clothes shopping in Paris--the store personnel always followed you around as if you were a shoplifter. It didn't help that I had no money when I lived there either.

Gigi said...

Hmm. I don't mind shopping with my eldest girl because she's not really bothered about clothes and will find something fairly quickly. The other two are a nightmare...one has great taste but is a perfectionist so will drag me round several shops several times...for hours. And the youngest will always pick the most vulgar, tartiest, tacky piece of clothing she can find and expect me to pay for it..."compromise" is not in her vocabulary and on more than one occasion, one of us has stormed off home in a temper :-)

Open Grove Claudia said...

OH! I despise shopping. If I go with my husband, he traps me in the changing area until I scream (literally). Gratefully, we do not have children so I am not tortured in the manner of "let's find the black shirt". It might be enough for me to get a handgun.

Like I said, I don't have children. ;)

angela said...

It's nice to know I'm not the only one!

Gigi: I guess my daughter lies somewhere in between your second two..I feel for you.
Claudia: this scenario works the same with committed shopper friends.
Angela

Tinsie said...

I hate clothes shopping with a passion. I do as little as possible (I've been known to buy 2 or 3 identical items so that I don't have to return to the shop for the same item for YEARS) and I e-shop as much as as I can.
On the other hand, I do love shopping for books, shoes, cosmetics and accessories, which I find a lot less tedious. I guess it's the waiting around waiting rooms that pisses me off the most.

JP (mom) said...

I love shopping like your mum & daughter, but understand how others don't! So sad about the perfect shirt, I hope you find another!! JP

Mandy said...

put me down as a hate shopper too. I don't have a daughter nor a mother to go shopping with so look in a few shops, find what I want and go home

Betty Carlson said...

My daughters are big shoppers and I agree -- it's a mix of loving to spend time with me and knowing that I can pay at the cash desk! And I'm not much of a shopper -- but I try to focus on the "sharing time together" aspect. I also find we have more fun when we go to other towns to shop.

Anonymous said...

I've often wondered why I avoided clothing stores for years, making do with what I had. I remember my mother going shopping with me when I was in my early to mid-teen years. Always, "put that back . . . no, not that one, put that back." I always left disappointed. Always. I would agree the hardest part is deciding on which item to purchase. Clothes are expensive, and it's exhausting to make the final decision. No pleasure in it!

I have more fun shopping online, I confess!