Hop into the shop

Ever since Bangalore Central opened their new branch in Jayanagar 9th Block, I was looking for excuses to shop. I 'desparately' need a black T-shirt or black jeans or green shirt. I love their main store too because its the only place in Bangalore where I always get what I want. I am not a compulsive shopper or window-shopper. I shop (for clothes) only when I really really need something. The moment I find what I am looking for, I don't like to linger even for a second longer. I recently shopped in Bangalore Central (got all the above things I 'badly' needed) and I did a study of the shoppers there...ok, jeez kidding, I billed my clothes and ran home :-)

 

I don't know what goes on in men's shopping zones and so do not want to venture into unfamiliar territory (Ok I know a little, but I'll get to it later). All my friends (guys) tell me they are quick shoppers but with the girls, I know the never-ending saga. All too familiar wonly!

Gang of girls : I have been a part of this needless to mention. I've shopped with all my friends at some point or the other, but one of them sticks out prominently. My closest friend A is a living example of a mall-rat! She has the patience of a donkey coupled with the keen interest & inquisitiveness of a little child when it comes to shopping. We have spent days loitering in and out of malls, walking up and down commercial street and  when all else fails, even national market together! I can be a nice friend in case it didn't strike you yet. There are a few fringe benefits  - When she tries on something that catches my attention, I don't hesitate to pick it up myself. We have the same capris, same jacket and umm.. have I missed anything else A?  She's now in California , still a shopaholic,  spoilt for choices with the innumerable malls, but A, I can bet you won't find another friend like me? ;-)


           I have another friend who is a compulsive shopaholic - she looks for excuses to shop. Everytime I talk to her, she has 4 new t-shirts or 2 kurtas or a night-dress even. Yeah S, I'm talking about you - 'Exam was ok so I rewarded myself by shopping!' :-O Is there a cure for her? I'm convinced it is a disease.

With my Mother : Ha! Thank heavens my mother doesn't blog for if she did, she'd dish out a zillion posts about her hair-raising traumatic experiences with me. When I was in school and college, I hated everything in every shop we went to. Just like now, I'd have a fixed pattern and colour in mind and wouldn't budge to settle for second-bests. My mom used to be stark raving mad by the end of these shopping trips and would beg me to go with dad next-time around! Nothing much has changed over the years. A minute improvement - I learnt to explain exactly what I am looking for to the attendants, however stupid I sound. The only positive part is that I surprisingly love 99% of anything my mom buys for me. The catch is she has to buy it without me around.

With my Dad : My dad loves to shop for anything from CPU, Mobiles, DVDs to Tools! We are poles apart when it comes to shopping. My dad would do extensive research , go to a dozen shops , talk to two dozen people , think about it for two more weeks and then finally arrive at a calculated decision. I honestly find this trait of my dad extremely endearing but it was far from cute when my dad bought me my first cellphone. It was after so much research that he could've submitted a thesis on phones! Last year when we went to buy jewellery, I (as usual) had decided I wanted something tiny and in emerald green. I don't like gold jewellery all that much. I took a look at my options, narrowed it down to 3, tried them on and zeroed in on one set in 15 minutes. My dad was alarmed and couldn't imagine spending such less time on something that cost such a lot!! My mom was looking at me with thinly veiled disgust!! I escaped to the crafts store nearby.

With my Brother : My brother also.. hold your breath..loooves to shop!! I often wonder whether these people are truly related to me. Last Jan, I offered to take my brother out on his birthday and buy him a bunch of gifts. My brother wanted t-shirts. He only wears branded t-shirts these days (he's the ultra-cool and happening dude, totally unlike his dud sistah) . He has 5 black, 5 dark blue and 5 white t-shirts- all plain mind you! If you took a magnifying glass and checked the 15 T-shirts carefully , you'd see a Nike , Adidas or Puma logo somewhere in a corner! First shop we entered was Adidas - I found a black sweater I'd always been looking for. Brother didn't find anything. Since my  brother knew what a tough customer I usually was, he urged me to buy it and threw in some compliments. Second shop was Reebok - I found 2 t-shirts that were calling out to me. Brother - nothing called out to him. Third shop (Shoppers Stop) - I found a pair of sandals and nearly bought it when my brother got all irritated and dragged me home. Since I usually don't find what I want that easily , I told my brother what a lucky charm he turned out to be. He looked daggers at me but the whole episode was too funny!

How can one forget the ubiquitous trial rooms - such an essential part of shopping trips. Its partly the reason why I hate frequent shopping trips. Some common scenes --

****** Out comes a girl from the trial room and orders her friend - "Go get Medium, Small isn't fitting" and so on. Until the Medium comes along, she waits..and waits and keeps the queue outside waiting too!
****** My mom - she'd be in another corner of the shop when I go in to try on clothes. I'd have to scan the entire shop , listen to her oft-repeated comment  ( "This is too tight  c! Take Large" !!!  I don't wear 'tight' clothes by any stretch of imagination; to my mom, anything that is comfort fit is figure-hugging tight ) , convince her that I don't want to be swimming in a gunny bag and finally return to find out that all the trial rooms would be occupied.
****** Have you observed there are a few guys sometimes waiting outside these trial rooms (for their girlfriends of course). They have the maximum fun. It is a fashion parade for them! I mean, must they stand right outside the trial rooms and stare at everyone? I have half a mind to quip - 'Muft ka entertainment kya? Hato yahaan se! ' ( Free entertainment is it ?? Move it man ! ). 

****** There's a mysterious category too - 2 or more people get inside 1 trial room. OK, I'm going to put it down to time-saving tactics. It is imprudent to list out my thoughts (and yours!) here.

          As far as guys are concerned, one close college friend of mine N loves to shop. He once dragged a few of us to as many as a dozen shops before he decided on a watch. By then, I couldn't tell one watch from another and I started praying to all the Gods I knew to help him find that elusive wrist-watch. Haven't met any other like him though. So I think most guys tend to shop faster as I've never seen snake-like queues outside trial rooms in the men's section. Have you?


I can write a whole book on shopping (see I never mentioned sarees or shoes yet) but if I cover everything now, I'm going to run out of topics pretty quickly and leave my blog dry. All I can say for now is - never ask me for fashion tips !! :-)