SHOPPING…… SENIOR STYLE

Shopping for clothes. 😨 Oh dear, I may be  viewed as a disgrace to womanhood, but I detest it. It’s not that I don’t like to look nice, but it’s so time consuming and irritating. The older I get the more I try to avoid  the whole business.

Anyway, I set off on a two day, clothes buying  trip to Sydney recently, staying the night on the North Shore  at Mosman.  The city is  always a shock after my quiet Blue Mountains nest. In fact, I’ve been known to change my mind  on these city trips, choosing to spend the day  at the State Library instead. However, there are times when I just have to grit my teeth and go forth.

As I walked through Martin Place damn me if there wasn’t a busker playing Silent Night… in mid September! Life slips by too fast for me already, so I only gave him two dollars. And do you know what? There was an ibis listening to him. I swear they’re taking over the city.  I took the following photo outside a shop  in George Street.

On I went, nearly colliding with a life size hippo in  Pitt St mall. Something to do with Taronga Zoo I think. I skirted around it, because sometimes the staff have live snakes they  encourage  people to pat. There are enough snakes in my own garden, thanks.

I prefer department stores to boutiques, because I don’t like to be pounced upon and pressured. Cynicism comes with  age you know, and  when someone says, ‘You look fabulous in that, Sweetheart,’  I don’t believe a bloody  word of it.  And then there are the shops that play VERY loud, thumping music. Is that really necessary?  As my mother used to say, ‘I can’t hear myself think!’ 

I avoided George Street and the light rail construction work. Just hurry and finish it please is all I’ll say. I want to be agile enough to get on the new trains…. or are they trams?

There always seems to be a sale on these  days . Am I right to be suspicious, or is this  just another indication of my advancing age?

Early bird bargains? I wonder!

Mind you, the big stores  do have their own hazards. Even though Meyers  has multiple  exits on different levels I am sometimes completely unable to find my way out. I wonder if this is all a deliberate ploy by marketing  psychologists? If so it doesn’t work; a panic stricken woman hardly has  more shopping on her mind.

I will gloss over the horror of finding the  fitting rooms and endlessly struggling in and out of clothes.  Sizing is all up the creek these days. I know I’ve lost a bit of weight, but it’s crazy that I now fit into size 8 pants instead of 10.  I suspect the manufacturers just want to make us feel thinner  and more inclined to buy. At least I found  a few things eventually. Oh joy! Might have to take the hems of the pants up though. Why do they make them so incredibly long?

Thankfully hat buying was  less stressful.  A fellow shopper  joined the search. We had so much fun that she even  took my photo.  At least she was honest in her comments, and  actually very helpful. She said she was supposed to be looking for a dress to wear to her granddaughter’s wedding. To my shame I didn’t offer to help her in return, though I wished her well.

Hat shopping.

Bought some shoes next; flat soled, soft leather. Soon I’ll be buying Hush Puppies.

Comfort rules,

Clearly the  store staff had been instructed  to ‘engage and chat’ with their customers. As  I handed over my credit card the middle aged assistant said;

‘You are very energetic!’

What a peculiar thing to say, I hadn’t exactly been leaping about the store…or swinging from the racks. I was unable to respond, apart from a quizzical smile. Her English was not fluent, but  I took it as a compliment until she added;

 ‘Some people are  in a really bad way’.  It’s terrible…. they can hardly walk. Even people younger than you. So don’t be sad dear!’

Oh good grief! And I’d been feeling relatively chirpy  after my ‘finds’. I thought the  sixties were  supposed to be the new forties.  Pity she couldn’t have seen me on a trampoline a while  back. Naturally I headed for the nearest mirror for reassurance. I didn’t think I looked too bad. Mind you, I do have the beginnings of cataracts; OMG, I probably can’t see myself as I really am.

It was  clearly time for a big hit of caffeine and carbohydrate. I sat down after selecting what used to be a cream puff, but of course  is now profiterole. It was served on a giant plate and garnished with a strawberry and toffee lattice. It cost me so much I felt slightly sick.

I caught the bus home after that, still in a state of confused deflation. As usual, it was very crowded so I had to stand up. A man smiled  kindly at me when I nearly fell over as the driver braked suddenly on the harbour bridge.  He didn’t offer me his seat, but I smiled back because he must have thought I looked young and energetic….relatively speaking!

As evening fell back ‘home’ in Mosman a full moon rose over the heads. I like to think this explained a lot. Lunacy!

Full moon over Sydney Heads. The answer to everything?

Have you had a shopping day similar to mine? Do leave a message in the comment box below. As always, scroll down and complete the simple anti-spam sum before pressing SUBMIT.

PART II – TEN YEARS ON

I  decided to revisit this article after a recent experience in my local shopping centre at Blackheath. It was an unsettling  revelation of how other people  must perceive me.

I was in our big antiques centre buying early birthday gifts for my partner when I thought I should check my phone messages.

I sat down on the far side of a wide step, but before I could get very far an assistant came rushing over and said

‘ Oh my goodness….are you alright?   

‘Yes, yes, I’m fine thanks’.    

‘Just  having a little rest are you?

‘No, I was just checking my phone before I go downstairs.‘

‘Oh OK, well let me take those for you.‘

She picked up my shopping  (two, very small  items) and escorted me down. For goodness sake, did she think I might collapse?  And honestly, she wasn’t much younger than me.  😎  After I’d paid for the gifts she even walked around the counter and put them in my bag!  OMG, I wasn’t sure whether to feel insulted or grateful.

The funny thing is that I still wear that Myers hat in the garden.

Much heavier than my damn shopping!

Mind you, underneath it  my hair is now grey (Well it was before, but I’ve recently stopped dyeing it.) Perhaps it wasn’t wise to do that.