For those of you who were surprised at the title of this post, I suggest you read it again.
My first trip to New York City looms in the not too distant future, and I’ve been doing a lot of shopping in the last two days. So, this post will be a mixture of my thoughts on that. And yes, I can tie this into writing. I call it research.
I have been many sizes in my life. When I married oh-so-many years ago, I weighed 102 pounds. Let’s just say, I do not weigh that now. Then again, I wouldn’t want to weigh that now because surely I’d be dying … or dead. How much does a skeleton weigh? Whatever. I was heading somewhere with this … oh, yes. I seem to be cursed. No matter what I weigh, I’m always in between sizes. I definitely need a personal tailor.
Men, in general, don’t have this problem. Their clothes come in more standardized sizes … not to mention, they can buy jeans and slacks by waist width and leg length sizes! When I take hours to shop and come home with two things, my husband says, “Why does it take so long? Just grab your size and buy it.” Yeah, right. If only women’s clothing manufacturers weren’t maniacs, I could do that.
Which brings me to shoes (just go with it). I saw a pair of shoes I liked in Penney’s catalogue. Do they have them in the store? Of course not. Husband tells me to just order them. Okay, the size thing is usually not a problem with shoes, but comfort is. How do I know if I can stand to wear them? I’ve gone barefoot every single second of my life that it was possible to do so. Because of this, believe me, it’s hard to find shoes that I can wear for more than twenty-minutes without wanting to kill somebody. Anybody handy, will do.
This week, I spent over three hours trying to find a pair of shoes for my NYC trip. Are they anything like what I had in mind when I started? Ha! The best I can say is, they’ll do.
All right, now we’ve come to my third shopping observation. I apologize to those of you who don’t recognize
the stores I refer to in this section. Maybe you can get the gist anyway. No matter how I’m dressed when I go to Trader Joe’s, I always feel either over-dressed or under-dressed. It depends on which customer I study. There are the to-be-expected hippies, young and old, because it’s just that kind of place, and even though I don’t quite blend in with them, I’m not really threatened. But I’m always alert for a sighting of the sort of customer who is more likely to be spied at Whole Foods Market—the “upscale” woman. I have to make sure I stay far away from her to avoid any other customer comparing the two of us. These women fascinate me. I want to know their secrets. Why do their faces never get shiny? Why do their flip-flops always look brand new? And who do they feed that food to? Because it doesn’t look like they eat anything … ever.
Envious? Nah. I’m just irritable because I hate shopping. Hate it.
Linda Cassidy Lewis 
I don’t know if this is a self-depreciating comment or not, but I fit right in at Trader Joes–about the only place in Fresno that I do.
Pants: don’t even get me started. It’s no fair that men can chose their pants with waist and length variations. I just have to hold the pants up to me and see if they are long enough. Or, God forbid, I have to try them on.
Shoes: I bought a pair of Tevas years back and they’ve practically gone around the world with me–three countries anyway. They are walking sandals and I don’t have to wear socks if I don’t want to.
Paul: I just love that he is the first to comment on the racy posts. We’re on to you, Paul. 🙂
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Oh, I love Trader Joe’s. It always makes me feel I’ve walked back into the summer of ’82, or ’72, or … well, you know. I’ll accept the Tevas, just don’t tell me you have a pair of white flip-flops you’ve worn for three years and they don’t have a mark on them.
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I don’t even know where to start! I hate shopping, hate trying to find pants that fit, hate uncomfortable shoes.
You sure struck a chord with a lot of people today!
I have found boots are more comfortable than most women’s shoes. And I found two great pairs, and a surprisingly reasonable price, shopping in NYC. Best of all, I was truly able to walk all around NYC in those boots. (Although it was late Spring, not hot, dripping summer. Short boots, skirt, no pantyhose (yet another thing to despise), still might work.)
Have a great time.
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Thanks Cathryn, seems I’m destined to shop in NY, but with two little kiddies in tow, I think most of my shopping might be done in FAO Schwarz.
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New York might change your mind about shopping, Linda. It changed mine.I lost a couple of kilos wandering around that city. By the way, some men have as much trouble as us girls – my hubby is a big guy. He’s 6’7″ and built like a brick $#!*house, as they say in Australia. He finds it hard to find clothes that fit comfortably. And forget shoe-shopping. Nine times out of ten the store will tell us they don’t make those in that size. Can’t wait to hear about your trip to New York.
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I’m not going to NY for a couple weeks, but I do hope I get at least one good blog post from the experience.
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Ha! You got me with the first sentence; I did have to read the title again!
I’m with Waggledance. When I find something I like that fits, I buy six and I’m done for awhile. I actually have a physical reaction if I have to shop for more than an hour–I start sweating.
I hope this helps with your research!
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Linda, Just now catching up on your blog…your Trader Joes v. Whole Food customer comparison cracked me up…I have wondered all the above about those Whole Foods Market ladies. What a mystery, and a funny one at that!
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Mari, glad you liked it. And happy to hear you’ve started writing again.
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