Shopping!

If you’ve read before, you might know that I am not a fan of shopping.  Give me grocery shopping over clothes shopping any day.  I know, weirdo. Right?

I am quite partial though to shoe shopping.  So imagine my delight when on a trip to TK Maxx I found some beauties.  I know, I know, TK’s doesn’t give a great shopping experience – you have to dig around for your size, then have another root around for the matching partner, plus you don’t even get a free shoebox!  Who cares, though when you find these beauts for such a great price….

I love loafers, especially shiny ones. I think they go with EVERYTHING.  So these are just perfect.

With an even better bargain, the Mr. found these, which normally retail from £200 plus, for £35!!!  He’s a crafty bugger.

So, get yourself over to Tk Maxx and find yourself a bargain.

Happy Shopping

When Your Kids Dress Themselves…..

Today, the girls, as usual dressed themselves.  Only this time, without ANY  interference from me.  I think I should trust them more as they did a pretty good job.  Although, I did have to interfere when I heard them gossiping about what colour glitter eyeshadow they were going to put, I mean, PILE on….

Eva looks pretty cute, I think.  Although, she is now 7 years old and still likes to squeeze into this age 3 dress!!!  She just can’t let it go.  I’ve tried sneaking it into many a charity bag, but she always seems to find it and retrieve it.  Will we be seeing her on one of those ‘Hoarder’ TV programmes in the near future? Or did we influence her obsession by making her wear it all the time when she was smaller to justify the cost of it? Hmmm….

Olivia, I can’t fault her.  I think she looks adorable in her mix and match clothes.

And to Frankie, since his Daddy bought him his first football kit a week ago he has wanted to wear nothing else.  Every morning is now a palaver due to his spoilt-brat tendencies and his un-willingness (men, eh?) to settle for anything but  his full kit, complete with the matching socks. Grrrr!  We’ve bought a second kit, and are contemplating getting a 3rd just so he always has a clean one.  I fear this is pandering to him though….. The upside is he can put the whole outfit and socks on himself and sometimes, rarely, but sometimes he puts his shoes on the right feet too.

And this is what happens when Daddy does some internet shopping and buys this for himself:

Am I the Only One?

Right that’s it, after a (hideous) day in town today I have realised there is nothing else for it,  I have come to the conclusion that…….  (now, this may come as a shock to some, especially as I am indeed, of the female variety):

  I HATE SHOPPING! (Apart from grocery shopping, I get great satisfaction from a well stocked fridge – that’s the mum in me, I suppose.)

As women, as carriers of not one, but two x chromosomes we are meant to delight in a spot of retail therapy. To enjoy it, to make a day of it, to relish the buying of a new outfit. We should have a natural aptitude for it, no? Well, no. Not me.

 I get frustrated with the inconsistent sizing of clothes from shop to shop, the unflattering changing room mirrors, the way that outfits look great on a hanger or (size 6) shop dummy, but not on. Well, not on me anyway. It’s a minefield.

 I like the thought of it though, I like the idea of building up that ‘capsule’ wardrobe of timeless outfits all the magazines tell you should have. I even enjoy (to a point, and only when I’m wearing comfortable shoes) wandering the shops looking for the clothes that are (for want of a better word) ‘me’. The clothes that are flattering and comfortable and smart and make me excited to get dressed in the morning. I have yet to find these elusive garments.

I have trawled the shops, I have chosen clothes, I have happily trotted off to the changing rooms laden with them – yet I still come home empty-handed….. Apart from 2 tubs of Ricotta, to make a Ricotta pie. (Have I mentioned him indoors and myself have been watching  obsessed with the Soprano’s and they eat it all the time)

Is too much choice to blame? With jeans alone you can have cuts in skinny, bootleg, boyfriend, straight-leg, super skinny etc etc. Or is it that there isn’t enough choice if you’re over 25, above a size 10 but still too young for that ‘Isme’ catalogue? Am I the only woman who has a hard time clothes shopping? Surely not.

 (I’ve heard on the grapevine though, that I’m a teeny tiny bit fussy…..So, maybe this is just me.)  

Once upon a time………..

Once upon a time there was a young woman who loved nothing better than a bit  lot of retail therapy.  She counted the days til her pay-day, where she could sprint into town and buy ‘noooooow shooooooes’ (that’s what her and her friends called them) and an outfit or two for that months partying and clubbing (God remember clubbing?) outings. It wasn’t all roses though – she did get herself into a reasonable amount of debt ( and she therefore did some irreparable damage to her credit report).But that didn’t matter, she was surrounded by heaving wardrobes of beautiful, wonderful  CLOTHES!!!!  Aaaaah.  Those indeed, were the days, as you’ve probably guessed, that girl was ME!

What happened to the clothes, and indeed, that girl, I hear you ask.  Well, she got……pregnant!

Yes, I got pregnant and therefore sooooo ginormous that in a cloud of hormonal rage I decided i would never, ever fit into anything but tent dresses again and donated the lot (shoes included – ridiculous I know) to charity.  We will forget the fact that after a week of being forgotten about in hospital (due to the fact I was with E on the special care unit breastfeeding her all hours of day and night) and not being kept any food but a plate of lettuce – yes really!  I came out of there almost back in my pre-preg clothes!!!  I admit, I have never been back to that size since as six months after having E, I fell pregnant with Olivia.  Close age gaps are amazing, but not for your figure…

So, since then my obsession with clothes and fashion has gone tits up (or should that be down?).  Neither my wardrobe, or my sense of style has ever recovered.  I don’t know if it’s because my body shape is different and the things I do like don’t suit me anymore or I just don’t have the confidence to wear them (where the hell did these hips come from, and these boobs (?) I used to be an A cup and could wear backless tops with no bra! Imagine that.  I need scaffolding to hold the puppies up and out now!) Or if it’s that during my time of being pregnant, carrying the baby weight, losing all most of the baby weight (repeat 3 times) I have gotten older, my taste has changed and I just can’t decide what I like anymore.  I am always liking clothes…..but not for me.  Nothings for me.

A couple of weeks ago, I decided that I would sort out my wardrobe, which consisted of skinny jeans – 3 pairs, a few boring tops/t-shirts and 1 pair of black ballet pumps.  This is my uniform.  It is so boring, so I wanted to shake it up and get a little bit smarter.  On the very trusted advice of the other half (who is so well dressed, it makes me sick, and is also the manager of a mens designer store) I decided I would go for the look of rolled up trousers, a classy blouse/ floaty top and a smart, yet still casual blazer, topped off with a pair of ‘on-trend’ (see, I have the jargon of the fashionistas – ha ha!) penny loafers.  Classic, smart and easy to wear, I think you’d agree. Non?  (For fashions sake, I’ll throw in an obnoxious token french word.  That means no for you non french speakers! ).  So, when off to buy these said loafers, I went into the store knowing exactly what I wanted and wearing the outfit that I wanted them to go with.  For some reason, the sales person kept trying to force me into buying a generic ballet pump.  ’No, I think I’ll go for the loafer’ I stated.  Yet she kept showing me ballet pumps!!  ’I WANT TO TRY THE LOAFER!’ I repeated politely.  To which she informed me that ‘only certain people can carry off loafers’.  What??? What does that imply?  That loafers are so trendy that they’re only for young people (I’m 28) with no children and I should stick to what I know – boring pumps, jeans and scruffy tops?

Humph!!!  I bought them anyway and love them!  I’m even thinking of upgrading my high street version to a desirable pair of Bass Weejuns (get me!) but in the back of my mind, with every step I am wondering if people are  sniggering to themselves whispering ‘she can’t get away with those’?  In my mind they’re just shoes, they’re not outrageous or too try-hard,  it’s not as if I’m attempting to wear a mini skirt or crop top!  Will I ever be the ‘certain person’ who can again wear fashionable clothes? I don’t know.  But I will make a concentrated effort to get my body back to a shape where clothes look good on me and to continue on my path to regain my old passion-for-fashion and find clothes that are ‘me’.    And don’t anyone suggest to me that catalogue Isme.  I am certainly not that person……yet!