dina1965

I've already received five wedding invitations - the first three I managed to avoid going. to the next two (one next wednesday in the evening) I almost want to go - wednesday's groom is a close friend of OH and all our friends will be there - so at least it'll almost be fun. Having tried on various things I've decided (my OH also added his comments) that I've got "nothing to wear". So I'm off shopping this morning. I HATE shopping for me. I once saw a programme about the life of a famous architect (can't remember his name) who'd buy twenty identical suits/ties/shirts etc and continued doing so for his whole life. A bit like Armani who's always in black tshirts and jeans. That's my style. Identical suits in various shades of grey and beige for work, jeans and tops for weekends/going out. I don't wear dresses, high heels, sandals ... I don't like anything that draws attention. My style is boring (nice shop assistants say it's "classic" but it really is boring). I've bought the same kind of shoes in different colours for over ten years. So, this morning, 40 degrees in the shade, I'm going to be wandering in and out of shops looking for something apparently "different" ... sheer hell

ononno

Ciao Dina, so do I!
Not a man's job really. Donna C is now being beseiged by Dr. A, and can't cope with money/shopping decisions, so I do it all. After 70 years of somebody else comparing quality/prices I am totally lost, and don't have the patience any way. What I do is find the nearest shop/supermarket or whatever to wherever I happen to end up on my morning uscita, and fill the basket with what I think we might need. Tried lists, tried keeping all the receipts to peruse/compare prices later, and all the other 'good housekeeping' tricks. No good, we'll be bankrupt by the end of the year.
Got to go out now for some bread/milk/meat. Now where was it they had those special offers?
ciao for now,
'o nonno

indiebird

oh goodness!! I feel your pain. I'm not mad keen either. But mainly my problem with clothes is that nothing looks quite how I imagined it would when I put it on!! Hope you find something though Dina. Don't get something that makes you feel uncomfortable though. If you like trousers then stick to them just try and find something a bit more dressy.

As for the food shopping I can't be bothered with too much shopping around. Here there are two big supermarkets not too far away. I went to one to do shopping, ended up spending about €30 more than at the second one and there were loads of probs at tills so therefore I now always go to Supermarket number one. I have found nice ladies at the local market who don't charge me 'foreigner' prices for my fruit and veg and so I use them. I did discover Penny Market recently and they often have good offers.... must admit too though that at the moment my fridge is not keeping things long-term (Think the seal is not working as it should) and so I'm going to the local shops every few days for milk etc.

dina1965

almost three hours later mission accomplished ! usual trouser suit but a bit (very bit) dressier. had to settle for a crappy synthetic material (not reflected in the price though !!) which I usually avoid, but had no choice. murphys luck too - it wasn't on sale !! My OH had asked me to look around in the sales for shirts at the shop he usually goes too - couldn't be bothered so I 'phoned and said that there were none left in his size My son wanted some beige shorts and a new belt ... unfortunately couldn't find those either
As for food shopping - I always go to the local GS - they take "ticket restaurant" vouchers without discounting their value, unlike other supermarkets.

37100

Hate, hate shopping too. I've got a wedding to go to this Sat so had to go out and get a dress, but I picked the first thing that looked o.k. A bag and a pair of shoes tempted me into buying them today. Hate supermarket shopping too, but hubby is in his element so he gets to pick what he wants.

TestaRossa

Love shopping! Hate paying big bucks! Learnt a good lesson today though. Cheap t from H&m in black wore to Pisa to meet Alex and Steve. Went into Pisa for a look around. Noticed in mirror I had black gunk in pits!! T was shedding!! Looked awful! Bought a new top from Bennetton and put that on. Cheap too cost me €50 in the end....:P

Lorna at Vicenza

I don't really like clothes shopping here. I can almost gaurantee that if I deliberately go out looking for a particular item of clothing for any occasion, I won't find anything I like at all or that fits properly .... yet if I've gone to town for anything else I might see something in a window that's nice.
I'm not a big shopper in the UK either but I don't mind flipping through a few racks of clothes where nobody will pounce on me and ask me what I'm looking for.

I got Chloe a nice sundress in some shop in the UK. When we got to the till this young girl said,

"Hello luvvy, y'allright?" I thought she was talking to Chloe until she'd put the dress in a bag, looked at me and said,

"That'll be £4.99 then please luvvy."

I don't think anybody has ever called me luvvy before.

dina1965

That's exactly the reason I so hate shopping - as you walk through the door of a shop, the sales assistant asks "what are you looking for ?" with a menacing look on her face. I'd love to answer "cheddar cheese" but usually say "I'd just like to look around, I'm not looking for anything in particular". She then lets you in but follows you around fixing everything you touch and telling you how great you'd look in that item. When you do try something on which is obviously too big/too small she then proceeds to tell you it will stretch or shrink when washed ...

Lorna at Vicenza

I remember once finding a flimsy scarf inside a changing room here so I took it to the assistant telling her somebody had left it behind. She told me it was for shoppers to drape over their face so they wouldn't get make-up on the new clothes when pulling them on and off over their heads. I didn't use it but I could see why some shops might be sick of finding bright oranage thick and gungy foundation on new clothes. What is it with the females here and bright orange foundation?

Some shop girls/women are just a real pain - they make me want to behave badly like Edina in Ab Fab - fling things around and then shout "Oi shop girl - it's all tat in here anyway."

I did once fling quite a few cardigans, tops and jumpers around and left them in a pile before walking out. I hope it took the snooty cow hours to precisely fold them all up perfectly again.

Patty

Must admit I dont love shopping here - mainly cos even though I'm only about a size 14, here I am forced to buy XXXXXXL
I love M&S where I can buy trousers that fit me (short!) and bras that fit and t- shirts that dont show all the fat.

duffer

Also Seth Brundle did the same... in The Fly

Anderson Council

I love it when shop assistants hold my 50 euro (or whatever) note up for examination to check it's not a forgery. If I then get a 5 euro note in my change I do exactly the same. That throws 'em.

Patty

indiebird

I've always done this. I think it comes from all those years ago working in Primark as a Saturday girl having to call a flipping superervisor (always the prettier girls were made into supervisors regardless of ability ) to check a £50 note. Bloody nightmare in a packed shop on a Saturday afternoon. It taught me a lot of life skills that job... I hate snotty shop assistants now but then I hated snotty customers who constantly said the same jokes like: 'yeah I made that one earlier.' and then said you were grumpy if you didn't laugh at their original wittiness.

Lorna at Vicenza

Didn't know we had Primark ALL those years ago