Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Shop like a man

I shop like a man. I go once a year, maybe twice. I buy staples. I buy plain colors. I dress for work and weekends. I dress to impress with my height, my stature, my stance, my pose, my ... grace. I wear long things that would sweep the floor on a shorter woman. I buy what fits. I buy what is easy to wear, what is comfortable. I try to avoid dry cleaning. I avoid ironing. While I'm shopping, I imagine an audience in dark clubs where poets read & musicians play. I imagine lighting, decks of ships, ferries that waltz across the harbor in Duluth, and ship channels. I imagine islands where people go camping. I go to Goodwill and buy used clothing. I buy frivolities cheap -- a flouncy skirt for $5.99, a cheap thing, and return it. Sex is not in this wardrobe. It is not part of the agenda. A windfall & a small budget at Macy's took me shopping to the mall. I bought:

6 white items
5 dark brown items
7 black items
4 navy items
10 Goodwill items
5 shoes & boots
1 leather bag
1 leather belt
3 Chanel for eyes
1 Mac lipstick
5 tights
3 stockings
5 bras
4 panties

60 items

I spent everything I had in savings: $880 & my windfall of $1,000. That is how men shop, on a mission of errands.

Best finds are an ankle-length brown skirt & brown knit jacket; black applique tiered skirt; patent leather ankle boots, and pin-striped J & Co. jeans. I also like my used pointy t-straps, Coach sandals, black clogs, black leather bag, brown eyeliner, russet mascara, and Viva Glam lipstick. I like the Michael Kors long dress for summer and the three white blouses. I like being back in basics again: white, black, and dark brown scoop necks, v-necks, and turtlenecks. I like the fun of a cashmere poncho. I liked getting for $20 the $276 cropped embroidered pants at Bella Blu in Navarre that Sheryl Crow wore in a magazine photo. I shopped after 13 pounds weight gain, which began when summer was over. I gave away durable clothing I had outgrown. I gave it to Goodwill for resale.

1 comment:

mark wallace said...

I clothes shop twice a year, with about a $300 budget each time. There are occasionally other expenditures like a sudden need for new shoes, but on the whole it's twice a year and that's all.