I should have written this post last night, but I got stuck in my children's bedroom. Literally. Let's just say I will never ever slam a door again, or I will carry a screwdriver at all times...
Anyway, back to the real subject of this post.
For the past 8 years, I wore a uniform at work. I never had to ask myself "what am I going to wear tomorrow?", which in my case was just perfect because I absolutely hate shopping. And especially for clothes. Retail therapy? Well for me it's more about the therapy I need after the shopping experience...When I was a teenager, my mum used to give me money to go shopping, because she knew I would come back with nothing. And if I did, it meant I would definitely wear it. I'm just not lucky when it comes to clothes, and I'm not making this up, it's been witnessed by several people. When I eventually find something I like, you can be sure there won't be my size, or the colour, or it will be too expensive. If my size is available, it won't fit. The size above will be too big. Basically, I never win. The thing is, I just find the experience too stressful and I give up easily if I can't find what I am looking for. The fact that I usually have a very precise idea of what I want doesn't help either, because I rarely find what I have in mind.
Starting a new job, I had no choice but to go and buy office wear. I didn't even know if there was a dress code in the company, but considering I have a very casual style, I really had to buy something decent. I had a plan in mind: 3 tops/jumpers, 3 pair of different colour trousers, a new pair of shoes and a coat. Simple enough you would think, well, not for me.
Off I went to Penneys. I couldn't have picked the worst day. The shop was celebrating 30 years in business, so it was absolutely full. Basket in hand, I tried to make my way around the aisles. Every time I was checking something out, a few clothes would fall as the hangers were too full, or I would bump into a customer. The queue for the fitting rooms was unreal, so I just threw a brown jumper and a pair of black trousers in my basket. The only choice of colour was black or blue (or hideous prints) so I couldn't find any other pair I liked. I then tried on a few coats, and in the end I was lucky. I found the perfect one but off course they didn't have my size, so I took a chance I tried a smaller one, that amazingly fitted.
In the shoes section,things got a bit more difficult. Seriously, why are there no shoes with a regular heel? They are either completely flat, or 10cms high. I can't walk in high heels but I'm not very tall so I still need a bit of height! Needless to say I got very frustrated, so I just decided to pay and escape the battlefield.
I went to another shop. Same story. Giant heels or flat shoes, no middle. In the end I gave up and decided the pair of boots I had at home would be fine. I was so stressed I didn't even try on the grey pair of trousers and cardigan I found, and just made my way to the checkout.
In the end, I came home exhausted, with a headache and unhappy because I didn't find everything I wanted (even though I knew it would happen). Then I spent a good hour figuring out what I would wear and finally settled on the grey trousers and brown jumper.
I went to work yesterday in my new "office clothes". Everybody was in JEANS.
