Clothes shopping fun? or no fun? Alone? or with friends?

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merryone

Registered Shopper
Joined
Jun 24, 2008
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Clothes shopping - Love it or hate it? I hate it. I'm not that into buying clothes anyway but when I need something I will usually buy it from my catalogue, or elsewhere online. On occassion when I do decide to buy a few bits from the shops, I like to go into as few shops as possible and be very quick about it. Today I need to buy a few bits and bobs for my holiday, so I'm going to pop into sports direct, cheap n' cheerful and first shop on route, then if necessary Primark (hopefully I won't have to, as it's a nightmare), then I'm going to meet a couple of friends for coffee. No doubt they'll want to have a look around the clothes shops afterwards (they always do). However the thought of actually trying to do shopping with others in tow is not one I relish, that's why I'm going down early to get it done and dusted!

Shopping for clothes alone, or with friends? Don't get me wrong I love being in company but I'd always choose to go shopping for clothes alone..No distractions, no having to look at stuff they're interested in, waiting outside changing rooms for them, having to go to umpteen different places, and being offered advice that you don't necessarily want...I'd go for the shorter one, the black one etc etc...Or why not try this one?? No, I know what I want, I know how much I want to pay for it, and I want to be quick about it!!!

Don't mind accompanying someone clothes shopping if I don't need anything myself, I don't enjoy it as such but it's ok. Christmas shopping with friends....lovely, enjoy it immensely...clothes shopping...Leave me alone and let me get on with it lol!
 
The only clothes shopping trips I enjoy are with my sister when she’s looking for an outfit and I’m not. She calls me her personal dresser ! We choose a few items and while she’s trying them on I look for more pieces. I know what she likes and what suits her and she trusts me. I can’t stand shopping for my clothes with anyone, not even my sister ! I get most of my clothes on line, or in the US when I go on holiday there.
 
Goodness me - I’ve found someone who feels the same as me about clothes shopping. I hate it!!! I only look for clothes when I absolutely have to i.e. when my old ones are too embarrassing to wear anywhere other than at home.
I love to ‘mooch’ around the shops for other things, mainly anything I can use in my crafting but not clothes. I usually get a huge shock at the price of clothes because it’s been a while since I last shopped LOL!
 
Went to town early as I said I would and fairly quickly located the items I wanted in Sports direct. I knew exactly what I wanted as I'd browsed their website earlier, they had the colour I wanted, my size..then noticed that the price tag was more than double the website price. So I whipped out my phone and thought I'll order on line as I should have enough time before I go away to get it, and lo and behold, they'd completely sold out. Why didn't I just order on line at the time?!!! Had just enough time to browse a couple of other shops before I met the ladies but couldn't find anything I liked that didn't cost a complete fortune. Of course we all went shopping afterwards. I ended up panic buying something that wasn't quite right - It'll do for the holiday I guess, but I don't love it! Then when they were oohing and ahhing over dresses, I was so bored that I actually tried on a dress myself so I wasn't just standing around waiting outside fitting rooms, fell in love with it and bought it! It's a gorgeous dress, but I couldn't really afford it, and to be honest I'm not that sure when I'll actually wear it..but hey!!! Think I was carried away with the fact that the size 10 fit, as I'm normally a good size 12! Anyway...Online all the way for me from now on!
 
I enjoy online clothes shopping but hate bricks and mortar shops. I tend to use the same websites for most of my clothes and must admit I`m a bargain hunter, try never to pay full price and always look for a voucher code or wait for the sales.
One of the websites I use have a local shop and I was in there yesterday browsing their sale. I happened to mention to the sales lady that I had a voucher code but obviously it could only be used online but she said that`s wrong. She said most retailers will honour email or website voucher codes if you show proof of them on your phone so the next time something is more expensive in store than it is on their own website then show proof of this to the sales assistants and they should price match it. Of course it has to be the exact same item from the exact same company but if you don`t ask then you don`t get and most of us now have access to the internet on our phones so it`s easy to prove the price difference.
It`s amazing what they can do if they try and one of my sons is in the Military and wherever he shops he always shows his ID card and gets what`s called a forces discount. They don`t advertise this but it`s there and his discount varies between 10% to 20% so is worth having.
 
I think the worst part of bricks and mortar shopping, is when you've got something specific in mind (especially clothing) and have to traipse from shop to shop and usually never actually find it. At least on line, you can browse from the comfort of your own home and compare prices too. Ok you can't try anything on, but most places worth their salt have quick and free delivery and returns policies. I remember having in mind the dress I wanted to wear to my son's wedding a few years ago. I wanted it to be coral coloured with pleats,chiffon& loose fitting with a bit of a sleeve on, and just below knee length. I looked around literally every shop in town and found nothing even similar..looked on line and found one made by Falmer jeans believe it or not and it set me back £12!!! Got a lovely white jacket from IW for about £8. Seriously the outift looked like it cost a lot more than £20!
However just occassionally I'd like to be able to buy something from a shop there and then but pretty much every time I got to the high street to buy something I come home empty handed!
 
In some ways, being (ahem) generously proportioned is a blessing, for me it means that you only have a small range of retailers to shop in, I admit for basics and surprise bargains (some of which I've bought in their sale), M&S still comes out on top. Debenhams is (if they still manage to have a high street presence) very good for occasion wear (and you can find terrific bargains in their sale if you are prepared to rummage!). We no longer have any branches of Evans locally, as far as I know, not even concessions (it used to be in BHS, which I miss). I have found occasional bargains in Forever 21, Select and Primark. I also have been known to buy linen separates in TKMaxx, Jeans in M&Co and odd bits in ASDA, Tesco and Sainsbury.
 
It's been a long long time since the buying of clothes excited me. I wear a uniform for a lot of my waking hours, otherwise I dress for comfort. Socially I don't get up to much..go to a weekly quiz, where it's jeans and tshirts, meet friends for coffee, drinks, shopping etc, and again it'll be that sort of casual attire. I have a few summer dresses which in this country don't get worn that often, but I'll take them on holiday and for the odd occassion I have quite a few smart dresses I can wear. If I was invited to a party or a special night out, there's no way I'd consider buying anything new. If I do buy something 9 times out of 10 it's a complete "impulse buy" like the dress I bought last week! One of my friends is always looking for a new dress, I reckon she's got about 100 already...just can't be doing with it, and I just don't get the obssession..we're all different I guess!
 
Sometimes I like shopping alone, and sometimes I like shopping with others. It's a bit like food, though... if I'm shopping with someone else, I'm more likely to buy more.

I have one friend who is brilliant if you are shopping for something specific. She's got a great eye for what might meet your need, and I've clothes I've bought in her company that I still wear even 20+ years later.

I often don't go out to buy stuff though. I have clothes from Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury's - which tells you how that happens!

Generally though, I don't like to buy through the post or internet. I've found too much of it very disappointing. I like to see the garments, feel what they're made of, and ideally try them on quickly in store.

It can be a pleasure, but mostly it's a chore...
 
I love shopping for anything & everything, in shops, from catalogues or online & I absolutely love buying clothes. I prefer to go shopping for clothes by myself because I don't want others being bored while I'm in changing rooms. I'm a very savvy shopper & some of my best buys have come from eBay & the reduced rail in Sainsburys where I once found a dress that was marked down to £5 because it was missing a shoulder strap & had a final price of £3.75 thanks to a 25% off event. The strap wasn't missing it was stuck inside the stitching, I got it out & this dress has been a staple on holidays for the past four years & always gets compliments.
 
Because of my size and shape I have to shop in actual shops as it a case of only a 10% chance of anything fitting
.

I reckon 90% of my stuff is purchased simply because it fits rather than actually liking/wanting it which stems back to when I was much heavier and it was a case of if it covered the “bits” it was purchased as it might never happen again. I have so much stuff never worn it’s a disgrace.

Mr L is a professional bag carrier but I don’t shop with anyone if it’s for me but don’t mind going with someone if it’s for them.
 

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