Saturday was a big shopping day for Gwennie and it was quite ironic that one of the last things I read before heading out was “advice” from Lifehacker.com: One In, Two Out.
I run now on Saturday mornings and since I don’t run often enough during the week, the long distances (13K this time) wipe me out. We are also working out harder for these long runs so I’m that much more tired! This weekend there was no time to dawdle after the run and I was off again after a quick shower.
I started by walking to the clothing donation bin (6 blocks away) to drop off an Old Navy long light khaki skirt and Old Navy evergreen slacks that I have not worn for a year or two.
On the way to the bin, I walked through a yard sale oddly taking place at an intersection and not in front of a residence but an empty lot. There, I spotted some “fur” coats and muffs, a “Prada” bag and wallet, and a black “Kate Spade” bag. I was pretty sure it was a fake - a quick check that the interior had no design whatsoever pretty much confirmed it - but paid only $3 for it. (It is indeed a fake as closer inspection shows there is too-close spacing between the “S” and the “P” in the label.)
Then I was off to get my budget haircut. For adults, it’s only $15, but I can wave my student card for a little while yet and got $2 off. Good for the stylist as I am then less stingy about tip! She refreshed my layers and thinned out my hair.
I went to the library to get a card and borrowed what books I could. Since the library system is still coping with backlog from a 3- (or 4-) month strike, it is not yet possible to place a hold on a book through the system and I’m not traveling across the city for my silly self-help books! Fixing myself can wait for a few weeks!
It was by then 2 p.m. and I was already so tired. I met up with The Boy to help him choose a retro outfit for his work party and we were off to the MegaMall where I got my lunch-dinner from Tim Hortons.
Rant: Across this city every last Tims employee is aggravatingly incompetent. I want to give the employees more credit but they keep looking for reasons to appear unreliable. After checking the contents of each of the six soups twice, the boy still gave me the wrong one. And they were all generally slow.
The Boy took off for his party and I had time again for myself….!
My first stop was The Bay for a winter-appropriate bell hat. I found the same style of angora hats in cream, black, light pink, and light blue and considered them despite Lil’ Sis’ suggestion against angora. It was just $25 when I was somewhat poised to plunk down $38 at a stupid trendy store, Accessorize, where the only option was black angora. I went with cream angora bell hat and was further pleased with myself when the cashier said it was 25% off!
Then I was off to T&T with the primary goal of picking up some mirin. But getting one thing was lame so I also bought some dried mango, seaweed snacks, and Taiwanese rice cakes. That latter is a “gift” for my family when I visit for Christmas.
I stopped at nearly all the jewelry kiosks in the mall. Will I get Lil’ Sis something like that? My friend, Flame, is having a birthday coming up, and Christmas is coming up, too. I was letting ideas come to me.
I went to Sportchek to look at waterproof shells. It seems not to be the season for it and I exited feeling discouraged and completely drained.
Good thing I brought some snacks and while seated on one of those sofas provided as respite to weary shoppers, I downed my Vita Lemon Tea and a Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Peanut Butter bar.
Needing to conserve energy, I mapped the last few shops to hit up: Smart Set, Jacob, and Fairweather. I had spent all day happily avoiding the difficult task at hand: buying a suit.
Along the way, I stopped in at Seduction for accessories. I quickly found a blue-on-blue striped scarf that will diversify my navy H&M blazer. I also saw a pretty green plaid sateen hairband. The other colour option was red and that’s just so cliche. Then I found a pair of ultra-cheap ($3.95) dangling gold-coloured and rhinestone earrings and it was 2-for-1 so I looked for another accessory. As the cashier was processing the red earrings made from shells and shaped as a flower, I change my mind and swap them out for equally-priced bangles (6 “silver” and 6 “gold”). She also told me the hairbands are 2-for-1 and I threw in the cliche red plaid sateen hairband as well!
I went to Fairweather first to definitively rule out their blazers. They are decently priced but I didn’t like the pockets with obnoxious flaps. I wasn’t hitting up Jacob for a blazer because I knew they were $100+ so I was back at Smart Set.
At Smart Set, they had two blazers. One was a one-button, gray, and with slanted slit pockets. It was $49.99 and had a matching trouser ($39.99) and skirt. The skirt style was definitely not A-line - it flared on the bottom. Because I have broad shoulders, I have to wear a size 5 jacket and can squeeze into size 3 pants. The black blazer had extra vertical seams in the front that did not look very good on the hanger and I can’t remember the pockets. It also cost $49.99. It had a matching A-line skirt ($34.99) and presumably pants, too. I grabbed a fitted white shirt with subtle metallic stripes ($3 
to wear under the jacket.
Shopping for a suit is about as harrowing as shopping for a bathing suit. :S I tried on the black one first and felt just plain weird. I did not pick up pants to try on because I brought my own pair of black pants and - because I have foresight - I brought the pointed-toe pumps that I would wear with a suit. I felt wrong in the black - too serious for myself. So I went over to the gray suit. The blazer felt as if it fit better because it was just one button but it seemed so trendy. The gray skirt was a nightmare - I am too short for where it started to flare. The trousers were nice but I needed to get them hemmed and to remove the pockets - I hate when you can see the outline of pockets on your thighs! Then I gave the black blazer another chance and felt rather decent afterall and went with it. Many factors pointed to the black blazer and A-line skirt being the right choice: not trendy with just one button, matching A-line skirt is a decent item on its own in my closet, no need to buy a pair of pants, and my first suit in over a decade should be a basic black and not “Are you trying to stand out?”-gray.
That trying ordeal took the greater part of 45 minutes. :S But it was a huge weight off me to know that I had a suit whenever an interview should come around….
The final “shop” was the Superstore. Since I was alone, it was a good opportunity to peruse the aisles of clothing a la Joe Fresh Style that have advertisements with whimsical diddies playing.
Quite immediately, I saw a cream down vest ($29) and a beige cargo jacket ($39). These seemed like the priciest pieces they had to offer. The vest was a size medium and ended a little too long for my liking - otherwise it was quite perfect… except for the used toothpick (from, say, a sausage sample) in the pocket. Ewww! I was bent on a light-coloured jacket because The Boy and I are tired of my navy jacket and it fit right and has enough details to make it look worth more than it is. For all it’s details, the jacket is, however, not lined. A few other food items were cheaper at Superstore and I walked away a happy customer!
The ride back home was long and I was weary, but it was a really great and productive day! =)
