Conference turris::womannotes-v3

    gosh, my mom is a shopper but she was never able to teach me.  I hate
    shopping (as anyone who knows how I usually dress can see...;-) because
    it takes so long, you get so tired, you have to double back to get the
    best price, etc.
    
    maybe it has something to do with those 3 Xmas seasons I worked in retail!
    
    even worse is to go shopping with 2 kids, ages 6 and 8.  While you shop
    for one, the other sulks.
    
    Shopping alone with my daughter (8), is an experience tho: she loves it! 
    and she cannot possibly have learned that from _me_!
                                                                              

    Oh, wonderful.  Something I can truly relate to!!!  :-)
    
    Shopping (at least in my family) has been raised to an art form.  It
    has been passed down through the years...
    
    My mother is the consumate shopper.  She is the one who taught me the
    difference between a siza 9, and a size 10, when to go for Petites and
    when to stick to Missus, why bother to shop at Saks 5th (they get great
    sales, and they will ship anywhere...).  She taught me about designers,
    how to find a line of clothes that worked for me, and how to "put
    together" an outfit.  I don't always follow the old rules, but I love
    it.
    
    The most fun is taking a friend who is a "novice" shopper on one of my
    trips. 
    
    Sue_who_is_waiting_for_the_end_of_September_(the_fall_buying_trip!!!)

    I love shopping.  The ideal for me is shopping in big, outdoor antique
    shows such as Brimfield, and finding good deals on unusual, vintage or
    antique jewelry.  I only know a couple of people, one of my best
    girlfriends and my daughter, who can look at antique jewelry as long as
    I can without having a mental fit!
    
    My mother wasn't much of a shopper but I took to it naturally.  The first
    time I was in a big, indoor, shopping mall as a kid, I looked around
    and thought I was in heaven.  (I've since realized that Brimfield is
    heaven,however!)
    
    My daughter seems to have inherited the ability to shop from me, and,
    in fact, I consider her to be my most compatible shopping companion. 
    We both love looking at and trying on clothes, browsing in book stores
    for hours, browsing in record stores, and antique shows.  Some of our
    favorite shopping places are Commercial St., in Provincetown, Mass.,
    Newport, R.I.,  and Newbury St., Quincy Mkt., and Copley Place, and
    Downtown Crossing in
    Boston.  We often combine lunch and a movie with shopping, and also
    have interesting conversations about all sorts of things (sometimes
    even =wn='s) while we browse.  
    
    The only time anyone ever outshopped me, that I can remember, was when
    I went Christmas shopping once with my ex-mother-in-law when I was 8
    months pregnant.  I think she was trying to kill me.  I actually had to
    sit-down and rest.  
    
    Lorna
       

    I have a very good "nose" to "smell" a bargain miles away! I also love
    to see everything, mainly clothes, and love to find the Best quality
    for the Best price and when I find something that I especially like but
    it is pricey... I just copy it! (I make a quick, fast sketch of item
    and go home and duplicate it... I never need a pattern to sew, so it is
    easy for me to make whatever takes my fancy at just a fraction of the
    original piece... and when I get the end product makes me feel like a
    queen, knowing that I got what I wanted at less than rock bottom
    price... My daughters are also thrifty shoppers, they usually get very
    smart, cute clothes mostly at bargain prices...
    I also LOVE jewelry... but not custom J... the real thing! and since I
    like 18 or 21 carat gold stuff I don't go out shopping too often!
    	(I stick to clothes...for the time being, and if I hit the lotery
    then I'll change my mind)

    
    so, Lorna, you off to Brimfield next week???  
    
    As for me, i have to be 'in the mood' to shop.  And i like a big
    mall, or a street/s of different shops.  I can't just look at clothes,
    clothes, clothes.  Or hardware, hardware, hardware.  I like to be able
    to see a little of everything.  So...i like Kittery!
    
    :-)
    
    deb
    

From the Ritz-Carlton to Tower Records and everything in between.  Newbury
Comics to Laura Ashley and my favourite grocer.  Fine wine, fine fresh fruits,
and fine art. Furniture, crockery, t-shirts, and antique silk kimonos. Old
books, new books, rare books, and bistros.

Do I buy? sometimes, but that's not why I'm there.

I'm there to shop and browse and imagine and dream.

  Annie

    
    I hate to shop.  However, you'd never know it to see my behavior in a
    store.  See, since I don't like doing, it save it all up (kinda like
    housework ;-) until I've really got to do it (the December 24 syndrome)
    and then I do it ALL AT ONCE AND AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.  I become a
    small psychotic shopping hurricane, knowing just what I need, grabbing
    it all off the shelves as quickly as possible, pile it on the counter
    and toss a credit card to the cashier - "Just charge it so I can go,
    ok?"  This phenomenon caused the proprieter of one establishment to
    look on in horror, and recite, "It came, It saw, It shopped!"  The next
    time I was in that particular shop, the same proprieter saw me walk in
    the door, and said, "Nail down the shelves, she's back!"
    
    				/It's all in the wrist ;-)/Rita
    
    

    re .7 seconded !
    
    Dana_who_loves_catalogs_&_toll_free_numbers_8-) 

Ann, where's your favorite grocery stor?
	Mez-who-will-need-to-find-food-in-Boston

    Many people swear by the Fenway Star Market.

    Grocery store?  There's  a  Toscanini's  in  the  basement  of the
    student center. Isn't that enough?

Wilson Farms (Mass Ave at Rt 4/Pleasant St in East Lexingtoh).  From Rt 2,
exit at Rt 4 (Westbound) and bear right 1/2 mile or, if Eastbound, Pleasant
St/Concord Ave and turn Left 3/4 mile.

In Cambridge, try Bread and Circus off Central Square.  (Prospect?) or
just eat at Mary Chung like all the other Teccies.

Martin.

    Grocery shopping!  Now *that's* boring!  Bleah!
    
    Lorna
    

Hey, grocery shopping is the only kind of shopping I *do* like.  Food is
something I understand and can get into.

Hey all you shoppers, wanna go shop for me?

Seriously, my last SO *hated* shopping, even more than I do.  Especially
because he was a perfectionist, so whatever he was buying, anything from a
snow shovel to a new car, had to be the "right" one, so he would look at
a million of them.  He always wished he could just *hire* someone to do
all the research for him, make and educated and informed decisions about
what the best was, and buy it for him.  If he was buying something like a
TV or appliance, he would wait till some friend of his had to buy the same
thing, wait till the friend had made hir decision, and then trust the
friend's judgement and buy the same one.

D! whose idea of hell is a huge, endless mall, and an infinite shopping list

    re .15, I would *love* to be a professional shopper!  But, not of
    groceries, or tools or mundane household items.
    
    I have a friend who sells paperweights, perfume bottles and jewelry at
    antique shows, craft fairs, street fairs, etc., and this summer I went
    to two craft shows (for dealers, retailers only), and helped him pick
    out perfume bottles and jewelry to sell in his booth.  It was a lot of
    fun and I got to meet various glass artists and craftspeople who were
    trying to sell their stuff.  Now, I just hope the stuff I picked out
    *sells* or he may be a little upset with me!  It was fun, though,
    picking out expensive things that I didn't have to pay for.
    
    Lorna
    

    
    Well D! one person's hell is anothers heaven!!  
    
    Shopping is definitely one of my joys and if I do say so myself, one
    of my talents.  Keep thinking that one of these days I should look 
    into starting a shopping/gift consulting service, but *I* couldn't
    *imagine* anyone needing the service.... because *I* can't imagine
    anyone not *liking* to shop!
    
    lsn

    I shop twice a year for myself.  Occasionally, I'll buy some clothing
    through a catalog.  I shop once a year for my step-daughter for school
    clothes...this year, a second time for a graduation outfit. 
    Altogether, I spend about five hours in Jordan Marsh.  This year, I
    also hit a sidewalk sale near my grocery store and bought a vacation
    wardrobe...another 20 minutes.  I'm another whirlwind shopper.
    
    For Christmas, I buy everything by mail or at crafts fairs and ship 90%
    by mail to relatives and friends.
    
    grins,
    
    

    I love catalogues and craft fairs and the speciality shops 
    in places like Thornes Market in N Hampton or the Fennual Hall
    (sp) market place in Boston.
    
    But I hate shopping in the standard generic clothing stores
    and supermarkets..
    
    I like to shop not for bargains but for the unusual..
    
    and the only reason I don't do it more often is with two young
    men in college and three at home I have no $$..
    
    But I intend to 'go crazy' when I get into my 50s
    
    Bonnie

oh dear.

I missed that somewhere.

I always thought that shopping was for experiencing new tastes, textures,
styles, and people ... and for conjuring up alternate visions of reality.

_THAT_ must be the reason my friends find it dangerous to shop with me; 
because they actually feel the need to _buy_.  hmmm.

re.9 Mez - my favourite grocer.

short for greengrocer [a complementary place of food procurement to butchers,
poulterers, fish markets, and bakeries]

I blush to confess that I don't know the name of the place. If one is walking 
down Newberry toward Mass Ave, it is one block past Exeter on the far
right corner.  They always have the most wonderul fruit and vegetables.  In
spring and summer I often browse the fresh selection of fruits along the 
sidewalk until I find something irresistable for lunch.  Then I walk across
the street and down a ways to the baker for fresh bread or rolls.

I confess that it is hard to shop for food and not buy; but I do enjoy
envisioning the lovely nectarines or berries I had to pass up as a cobbler or
a trifle capping the perfect leisurely dinner ... now let's see, maybe with
the Celebes coffee, or should it be Tanganyika-Kilamanjaro this late, with just
a splash of Cointreau ...

  Annie

    re .22, I'm like you in that respect.  I don't have to buy to enjoy
    shopping.  I enjoy looking.  I just pretend I'm in a museum and
    nothing is for sale anyway. :-)
    
    Eagle, sure shopping for guns is still shopping.  Not shopping I'd want
    to do, but still shopping.  BTW, I don't compare gemstones that much. 
    I'm actually more interested in the settings the gemstones are in, than
    the stones themselves.  That's why I like antique jewelry because the
    settings are so intricate, and not plain and ugly like most
    contemporary jewelry.
    
    Lorna
    

I love bookstores (especially New Words at Inman Square in
Cambridge). When it's especially important to stick to my budget,
I have to stay out of them completely, because I lose all my
resolve around books.

Hardware stores are fun too. And every few months I just
*have* to walk into K-Mart and look around for stuff to blow $20
or $30 on.

I don't mind grocery shopping, but I do hate carrying all the
groceries into the house afterwards. (And I've always avoided
living in 2nd or 3rd floor apartments for that very reason!)

I have to psych myself up for clothes shopping every so often,
cause I really hate clothes stores. I also have a hard time finding
pants that are long enough. I think there's a conspiracy against
women who are over 5'8" tall! (I'm 5'10". And most jeans and
dress slacks are about 1" - 2" too short.)

Kathy

    
    
    While I hate shopping, I absolutely *love* vending, especially in a 
    festival/concert/gathering context, in a group of vendors spread out in
    a grassy field, with our wares spread out on blankets and little racks
    and tables.  It feels a little like an ancient marketplace to me, and
    the whole atmosphere is totally different from The Mall (which is what
    I envision when I here "Let's go shopping...")  I love being a
    shameless huckster - "What a lovely shirt - try this piece on with it,
    it's PERFECT" - calling out to the people passing by.  I could see
    myself as a gypsy selling trinkets and giving tarot readings in a
    former life :-)  And *then* I shop at the other vendor's booths,
    trading and bartering, sharing our techniques for creating our wares.
    I enjoy the sense of comraderie and friendly competition with the other
    vendors.
    
    Oh, and bookstores count?  I put bookstores in the same category as
    grocery stores - places you need to go on a regular basis to make
    purchases geared to elementary survival.  And my friends *won't* go to
    bookstores with me anymore :-(  Rumour has it I need to hire Sherpas.
    
    					/Rita
    

    There are bookstores, and then there are bookstores.  Last, but not
    least, there's the Tattered Cover bookstore in Denver--all three
    stories of it (or is it four)?  I lose all self control when I go
    there, and I inevitably end up spending money.

    -- Mike

Speaking of which, any hot tips on great out-of-the-way bookstores in
Boston/Cambridge? I go crazy at 'em too; I like used bookstores and wimmin's
bookstores best (I know about New Words and Crone's Harvest).
	Mez

    re .27, Rita, I've been helping a friend do antique shows, and street
    and craft fairs this summer and it is fun.  He sells paperweights,
    perfume bottles and jewelry and represents various artists and
    craftspeople across the U.S.  It's fun to sell people pretty things
    that they don't need.  People seem happy when they buy themselves a
    luxury like a $100. blown glass perfume bottle or $300. paperweight. 
    Two weeks ago I helped him do a big outdoor antique show in NY state
    and we camped out and I *did* feel like a gypsy.  (Helping to set up a
    *tent* and cold showers 1/2 mile away was a little more than I had 
    bargained for!)  Weekend after next I'm helping him do a big street
    fair in NYC.  I'm too shy to shout to the passersby, but sometimes he
    does.  We did one balloon festival in Ct., too, but your description
    sounds more like King Richards Faire.
    
    Lorna
    

    Bookstores don't count as shopping. More like taking a course
    in diversity.

    I'm another who doesn't particularly like 'shopping'.  I can't do
    bargain hunting, 'cause I can't see how the pieces of an outfit will
    come together unless I see the whole thing in one place at the same
    time.  I am not only willing to pay full retail to get that result, but
    would *kill* for sales help which is actually *helpful*.  (I find such
    folks in Chicago and Denver, but haven't yet in Boston.)  
    
    If I knew someone who could do for me what my mother used to, I'd love
    it.  Sit down once or twice a year.  Go through everything in the
    closet and the dresser drawers.  Write down which pin goes on which
    suit, which necklace with which dress, where I've got Skirt A Blouse B
    and Jacket C which can make an outfit, and what the bits and pieces are
    that I need to get new this year.  Then go out and find those bits and
    pieces and outfits.  Well - there'd be some real, live money in that
    for someone.  The trick to it is knowing how to let my personality and
    comfort levels come through into currently stylish items.
    
    Alison

    re .32, your reply reminded me of a T-shirt I almost bought once,
    "Every morning I wake up and thank God for my ability to accessorize"
    
    Lorna
    

    re .32
    
    Emily Cho's book "Looking Terrific" might help you pull your wardrobe
    together.  There are wardrobe consultants and personal shoppers, if you
    can afford them.
    
    I'd recommend the book first!
    
    Judi
    

	I love to shop!  But what I shop FOR goes in cycles.  Sometimes I'm
	really into kitchen stuff: Crate and Barrel watch out.  Sometimes
	I really want clothes: Limited [Express] and Pasta, here I come! 
	Occasionally it's a Victoria's Secret binge.  Then there's the
	I-feel-like-pampering-myself shopping spree: Crabtree and Evelyn,
	The Body Shop.  I'm ALWAYS ready and willing to spend money on books.  
	In fact, I've started going to the library in order to stop spending 
	so much money on them!

	I also get a real high off of getting something at a bargain price.
	The bright red, double-breasted, lined dress I just bought for 
	instance: I got it for 20% of its original cost!  Gotta luvit!

	My mom is my best shopping buddy.  As soon as we get to the mall,
	we say, "I'll meet you in front of Au Bon Pain in three hours."
	Zoom. We're outta there.  I'm a pretty high speed shopper, most 
	people slow me down.  Except in bookstores.  That's where I could
	literally spend hours. 

	Aaahhh....  I think I'll head to the mall now....

	Sue 

    re .33 (?)
    
    Mom gave me Emily Cho's book.  And a couple of others.  I liked 'em,
    but I can't seem to apply them.  And how does one find personal
    shoppers anyway?  They aren't in my yellow pages :-)
    
    Alison

	I have a personal shopper & interior decorator.  The last time I told
her to watch for jeans on sale, she showed up a week later with 5 pair for the
price of 2.  

					--D

    
    Well, I LOVE to shop. The only kind of shopping I hate is grocery
    shopping. When I first got married, I was still in college, and 
    whenever I had an argument with my husband, I sailed into the
    mall and bought myself at least 2 new outfits!!!
    Needless to say, my husband almost never started fights with me,unless
    it was really necessary. Then he waited until he was calm and started
    a DISCUSSION. Today, nine years later, we still resolve our
    disagreements that way.
    
    LONG LIVE SHOPPING!!!!!
    
    For me, nothing lifts my spirits like that special new outfit. What I
    like even beter is the thrill of the chase. Running from store to store
    trying things on to find that special fit. I have been known to go
    back to a store three times to try on different outfits, finally
    buying something at a store at the other end of the mall. 
    
    I usually shop alone, beause I don't think anyone will have the
    patience.
    
    Desryn.
    

    
    	I love to shop.  Much to my husband's dismay. =)
    	I inherited that trait from my dad's mom.  She has closets
    	and closets full of clothes.  She doesn't throw anything away.
    	She still has clothes from when she was a size 9.  And she's
    	not even close to that now.  =)  My mother has always hated
    	to shop.  Or at least to spend the money while shopping.  She's
    	the type that will go into a store, pick something off the rack,
    	try it on, love it and then put it back.  Me, I'll try something
    	on and if it looks good and isn't outrageously priced, I'll buy
    	it.  I will say though that I have become a 'sale' shopper.
    	I used to just buy something no matter the cost....but I'm not
    	single and living at home anymore and have a lot more expenses!
    	So, now I shop a little bit more like my mom...I look for the
    	sales.
    
    	My biggest weakness?  Shoes!  My brother's in law call me Imelda!
    
    	JJ
    

    JJ
    
    I concur about shoes.  Sometimes it's a toss up...shoes or sex?
    
    ;-)  
    
    
    It usually depends on what's available and how much it costs!  ;-)
    
    Nanci

    
    	Nanci,
    
    	It's gotten so that I actually smuggle them into the house.
    	A few weeks later...
    
    	He "Where did those shoes come from?"
    	Me "Oh...these? Well, ummm...(sheepishly) I just bought them"
    
    	Drives him nuts....even moreso now that we've moved to a new
    	apartment, I have to use some of his closet floor for my shoes!
    
    	Next to that it's earrings....
    

    Long live MARSHALL'S and TJ MAXX!!!

    justme....jacqui

    
    
    shoes!  Yes shoes!  I have also been called Imelda on a number of
    occasions.  I was actually banned from buying shoes for a while 
    as we were trying to save money, I did sneak in one pair though.
    
    It's about time I had some more new shoes I think.  I spotted this
    really nice black pair the other day!
    
    Whenever I go shopping with anyone I have to be (literally) dragged
    away from the shoe shops.  I just like looking! :-p
    
    		Holly

    Oh I have enjoyed the responses.  Seems that there are many kindred
    shopping spirits here.  My husband just announced that I have to
    remove my overflow clothes from my daughter's closet as the rod
    is pulling away from the wall!  
    
    Bobbie

    Bobbie,

    *My* husband is building me a new eight (8) foot closet in our
    new four-seasons room and will be installing special rods in 
    one of my old closets and in this new one to better organize
    my *stuff*!  ;*)  Good thing I did all this advance shopping
    as I have to give it up for the next year or so while I work
    and also go to this intensive Bachelor's degree program at 
    Lesley College.

    Oh, well, *one* must make some sacrifices for learning!

    justme....jacqui

    I justify my shopping by going to factory outlets.  My favorites
    are in Kittery, Maine, North Conway, New Hampshire, Freeport, Maine,
    and Fall River, Ma.  I have found some really terrific bargains.
    I also enjoy shopping at Talbots and LL Bean due to the quality of the
    clothes and the liberal return policies.
    My other weakness is gold, pearl and precious gemstone jewelry.  One
    summer eons ago, I had a part time job at a jewelry store so I
    learned quite abit about the quality of jewelry.  If I can't haggle
    the price down by at least 30% - then they lose my business.  
    When I return home from my shopping excursions, I show my husband
    my purchases.  At times he has commented, "Why didn't you buy more...
    you got such good deals."  (Ah yes, one of the reasons I married 
    him - he's sooooo supportive!)  :^)
    
    nmp

    re .48, I love the Royal Doulton (china) outlet store in Kittery,
    Maine.  *sigh*  I mean I *love* it!  All that beautiful china!
    
    My biggest shopping weakness is also jewelry, especially antique rings
    (gold with gemstones), and secondly all sorts of antique and vintage
    costume jewelry - necklaces, earrings, pins.  My second weakness is
    clothes, primarily dresses, and sweaters or blouses I guess.  After
    that I guess it's books, tapes (don't have a CD player yet), and pieces
    of antique china, glass or art glass.  I have never had any interest in
    buying either shoes or pocketbooks, which I know some women love.  I
    could wear the same pair of shoes for 30 yrs. if they didn't wear out
    and stayed in style.  The same with pocketbooks.
    
    Lorna
    

    
    	re: Lorna
    
    	Yes!  Antique jewelry.  If you ever get up to Quechee Vermont,	
    	stop at the antique mall just down the road from the Quechee
    	Gorge.....an antique lovers heaven....and more antique jewelry
    	than we'd know what to do with!  I love old rhinestone jewelry
    	and colored stone pins......
    
    	JJ
    

I think the reason I hate shopping so much is because of clothes shopping/
shoe shopping - that's the worst!

I have to wonder if the people in here who love clothes/shoe shopping don;t
have much easier to fit bodies than I do.  I am 5'10 and a tad heavy, with
wide hips and thighs and a narrow waist.  I can *never* find jeans to fit!
They are always too tight or too short or something else.  Shirts are a little
easier, although invariably the ones I like are too short in the arms or
gap at the bust.  And shoes!  oy!  Forget it!  i have bad feet and bad
knees and a bad back - I can't wear heels over 1 inch.  And my feet are
big (size nine) and very wide, so it's hard to find them in my size.  They
are also pronating, so I need shoes that provide a lot of support.  And
they are strangely shaped.  Shoe shopping has always been traumatic for
me - I can look for hours - the ones I like are too small or the heel is
too high or they don't provide the right kind of support, or...and the ones
I do find are always the really expensive ones (Rockport, etc.) and I 
usually pay $60+ for a pair of pumps or sandles.

At least shoe shopping doesn't depress me.  When I go clothes shopping, I
have to go to special stores, because average "fashion" clothes stores don't
carry clothes that fit me.  And I get reminded time and time and time again
that I don't fit society's idea of what a body should look like.

D!

    I wonder how many women enjoy shopping for purses?  I don't!  I have
    many pairs of shoes, enjoy shopping for them, enjoy matching them up to
    things (or things to them), but I only have about 5 purses, and I hate 
    shopping for a new hand- or shoulder-bag.
    
    Why?  I think it's because of all the things I carry in my purse.  I
    get used to having them in certain places in the bag, and can't always
    find a new bag that meets the need(s).  Also, I'm picky about my purse. 
    I wish I could buy some in different colors - to match the shoes ;) -
    that were all (the purses, that is; well, heck, the shoes too now that 
    I think of it!) bigger on the inside than the outside...
    
    aq
    

    I had to respond to ,53 - I LOVE shopping for handbags, I have at least
    35 of them in a closet at home, buy a new one about every 6 weeks.  I
    don't know why, they intrigue me.  I also have about 20 wallets, from
    tiny to huge.
    
    Shopping is my stress reduction system, I know that for a fact.  When
    things get hopping, I go shopping!  I shop for me, my kids, my husband,
    the house, the cars - you name it.  I can shop  lunch hour, after work,
    weekends, vacations.  Big malls, tiny local shops, they all have
    they're fascinations, their bargains, their "must haves".
    

    I _love_ shopping for pet supplies, and books.  That's about it.
    I have a very low tolerance for clothes shopping.  Luckily I don't
    buy new clothes very often.  Oh I also like to shop yard sales and
    thrift shops.
    	Linda

    I love that I found a fully lined wool suit - skirt and jacket - at a
    secondhand clothing store, for 35 bucks!  It would have cost at least
    three times that in a regular store, even in tjmaxx.

I don't like to shop very much.  I find a lot of my shopping is
neurotic.  I think we get a lot of conditioning around how having
*things* is supposed to make us happy.  That has not been my
experience.  In fact, I have found the opposite to be true.

Anyways, now I try to just buy things I really need and then I try and
get a good quality and price for it.

john

    I like shopping at LL Bean....I could do some serious shopping there.
    
    

    The only kind of shopping I like is for antiques.  But in this area
    of the country, autumn is the WORST possible time to do that.  All
    the "leaf peepers" hunt for genuine New England antiques and drive
    the prices outasight.
    
    And I need a new piece to work on.  Winter is coming and I need
    a restoration task to make me happy.
    
       Margaret

    Margaret, Brimfield is next week.  There are always bargains there if
    you hunt long enough.
    
    Lorna
    

    Shopping! Ah, yes! Hunting through the racks at the game-and-hobby
    stores, looking for a new lead miniature with that Special Something...
    "Oh, wow! A female bard playing a lute and carrying a hand-and-a-half
    sword, *and* she has a feather in her hat! And look at this package: a
    herd of goats! Hey, I bet I could do something really fun with those!"
    
    Oh, inch-tall leaden folk, why do you make my hands sweat and my heart
    race? What is it about teeny-tiny people, monsters, buildings, and such
    that send me thumbing through catalogs and crawling along dusty
    corridors in dimly-lit storerooms? 
    
    And why is it all so much more fun than <urk> trying on clothes? ;-)
    
    -b

    re: .52
    
    i've been shopping once with D!, and i thought she had 
    some fun with it.  or maybe she was just having fun
    watching me have fun?  or maybe fun is not the proper
    word to use here..............
    
    jonathan (open mouth, see how much can fit)
    

Will somebody please stop talking about that personal shopper service
and open it up?  Preferably someone my size?

I don't mind other kinds of shopping (or even clothes shopping for 
other people) and window shop a fair amount, but I HATE HATE HATE 
trying on clothes.  Nothing fits.  And if it fits, it's overpriced 
and in a color that turns my hair green.  And if it doesn't turn 
my hair green, it's inevitably got a hole in the back.  And then 
some well-meaning salesperson will tell me I'm so lucky, that I 
have the figure of a model and she would just *kill* to be my height.  
And I'll have to bite holes in my tongue to keep from asking her how 
well she likes impossible scavenger hunts, or suggesting possible 
first victims for her height quest (Calvin Klein, Levi Strauss, the 
store's sportswear buyer...)

Actually going out on a Clothes Shopping Expedition when I need 
something makes me unbearably crabby, so I get most of my clothes 
mail order, or one at a time as I run across them on other missions.  

Accessorization?  What's that?  I'm lucky if I can find an entire 
body's worth of clothes that fit me properly (bonus points if they 
actually match).  If that ever gets to be easy enough that I won't 
buy a whole rack of bras or socks at once because *the store actually 
has my size!*, I'll accessorize.  Until then, it's in a category with 
getting a set of fake toenails.

On another note, Margaret, have I got the table for you.  It's part-
mahogany, maybe 3'x4' in size, Federal-style (?) with a sturdy base.
It'd make a great restoration project, and it's yours for next to
nothing (mostly I just want to get rid of it -- I don't have the 
space).

    Sharon

>                          -< what is 'biker' stuff? >-

Ah, ya know, black leather jackets, chains, spurs, brass knuckles, etc.

>    i've been shopping once with D!, and i thought she had 
>    some fun with it.  

Alright, I admit it, I enjoy *certain* kinds of shopping.  In some cases,
I enjoy certain kinds of shops, regardless of whether I am shopping.  
Leather shopping, book shopping, t-shirt shopping, vendor shopping, these
I could do for hours.

But not "normal" shopping like clothes, accesories, appliances, audio-video
stuff, records, furniture etc...yuck.

D! 

    records?  you don't like record shopping?  if a mall has a record
    store, i am happy.  i won't buy anything, just check it out to
    feel smug in my knowledge that i listen to good music and the
    masses listens to music for the masses.  (well, depeche mode is
    okay, but they aren't the only group i listen to...)
    
    don't forget comic book stores....they usually have cool buttons
    in addition to the comic books, but not always.
    
    jonathan (who is happy that he found a New England Comics outlet,
    and now can pick up any issue of The Tick he damn well pleases...)
    

    I used to claim that I don't shop.  If you didn't have to have
    clothes to keep from freezing, or being arrested, I wouldn't own a
    stitch of clothing.   I hate malls and I hate the time it takes,
    and when I can, I buy from a catalog.  Once I find something I
    like in a catalog, I order several just so I don't have to go
    looking for it again (how many LLBean sweaters can one woman wear
    before somebody notices?).
    
    Until Neil pointed out to me that whenever I'm feeling blue, I go
    out and shop.
    
    Not for clothes.  For pencils.  Paper.  A unique pen.  A new
    notebook.  A package of colored paper.  New ink cartridges in new
    colors for my fountain pen.  Paper to write letters on.  Notebooks
    and folders and ring binders to put it in. 
    
    If the paper and pencil industries in this country go bust
    tomorrow, I can still write for the rest of my life with the stuff
    I have stocked up.  
    
    --bonnie

    Stationary Stores!!!!!!!
    Office Supply Stores!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    
    Ahhh, heaven.
    
    (*8
    
    E Grace

    
    I like hardware stores.  (For longer than I can remember, I've been 
    especially fond of the aisle where the galvanized steel ductwork is 
    kept.)  I don't know, I'm just intrigued by all the what's-its and 
    doo-hickeys you can see in a good store, and I like to just look at 
    them and think about how they can be used.
    
    CQ

    re .68 >fond of the aisle where the galvanized steel...is kept
    
    Maybe you're suffering from zinc defficiency ? 

	I can spend hours in a good stationery store and days in a good
	bookstore.  While at DECUS in Cannes, France I spent more time 
	in the bookstores than on the beach...

					clb 

	Did you know that French looseleaf notebooks have four holes and
	that most notebook paper is a grid rather than simply lined? ;-)

    
    Ah! Bookshops!!!
    
    These are my weakness, my downfall, and the root cause of my bankrupcy.
    
    Clothes I can pass by - fancy shoes do nothing for me. Even, on
    occasion, exotic delicatessans lose their appeal......
    
    But bookshops! I adore them, and I literally find it very hard to walk
    past one without a quick snoop around - which leads to a longer snoop,
    a whole afternoon of browsing, and usually a fairly high tab.
    I love the specialist ones (comics, fantasy, sci-fi, New Age, wmns,
    music), the generalists (Dillons, Smiths, Waterstones, Foyles) and many 
    of the professional shops - suppliers to law (I work near Chancery
    Lane), medical profession etc.
    
    I was brought up to love books - to believe that money spent on books
    and learning was always well spent, and to never mistreat or throw out
    a book. So I do all the above with no guilt, and I have a house FULL
    of books! :-)
    
    'gail
    
    
    

    re .71, I was brought up to love books, too.  My mother used to say
    that it's always okay to spend money on books because they are a
    necessity, not a luxury.  :-)
    
    Lorna
    

Bookstores have always been a favorite of mine along with pipe shops (which
seem to be disappearing).  Lately shops specializing in cooking stuff have
become a favorite.



Jim

    RE: .70
    
    YES!!!  Isn't it wonderful??
    
    I bought a bunch of those little square booklets, the stapled ones with
    orange plaid covers and grid paper in them, that looked like they were
    used mostly for schoolwork.  Unfortunately I'm almost out of them.
    
    --bonnie

    Another book store fan here.  I always like to see what's new.
    
    I've found a new outlet for my shopping yen:  Furniture
       stores.  Browse browse browse.  I love to see
       beautiful pieces, even if I can't afford them.
    
    When I'm at the Cape, my mom and I do estate sales,
    yard sales, house sales.  It's becoming a
    Saturday morning ritual!

    Well, there's shopping, which I enjoy, and there's shopping for
    clothes, which I loathe.
    
    Cordwainer Smith wrote about the Department Store of Heart's Delight,
    and he's right.  When I hit a convention Dealers' Room, or a mall,
    or a collection of boutiques/winkels, I'm looking for my heart's
    delight.
    
    And I'm not likely to find it hanging on a rack.  First, it takes
    me so many years to get used to a style that it is no longer *on* the
    racks by the time I'm willing to wear it.  Second, designers' ideas
    about attractive colors and mine almost never coincide.  Third, their
    clothes are made with such skimpy seams and short hems (to save on
    costs) that alterations and comfort are equally unlikely.  Fourth,
    exclusive of the seams, so many pieces of clothing are just plain
    badly made.  Fifth, not only is the expense to quality ratio poor,
    the expense to pocketbook ratio is poor.  Sixth, I like fabric with
    a nice feel to it, and this just doesn't seem to be a consideration
    to the manufacturers.  Seventh, I have a hard time visualizing what
    something will look like on me when I see it dangling from a hanger.
    
    So I buy only a few things each year, and I drag other people shopping
    with me, so that they will keep me going, and say encouraging things,
    and keep dragging things out for me to look at and try on, and numb
    me to the amount of money I'm spending.
    
    And I sew.  Well, mostly I collect fabric that I am Someday going to
    turn into clothes.  (I bought three pieces of fabric in Edinburgh,
    all of it cotton lawn.)
    
    						Ann B.

    I love to shop. Kitchen and Gourmet shops are my favorite. Kittery is
    heaven to me, I get frustrated though because I can't get to all the
    shops in one day. The Royal Doulton shop is one of my favorites also. A
    few years ago I purchased some china roses that are absolutely
    beautiful. Because I have Royal Doulton china, I always seem to find
    something in my pattern that is a bargin. 
    
    +pat+

    When I hear "shop", I still think "Grolier Book Shop".
    
    Although I did hit $100+ my last trip to Wordsworths...
    
    Ray

    
    	I've been looking for a windbreaker/jacket that can
    	be keep me warm in very windy conditions (sailing).
    
    	The problem is, I can't seem to find the colors I'm looking for
    	-- cobalt blue and fuschia, or maybe a deeper blue and fushia,
    	preferably with the blue in the background and the fushia in
    	some stripey design or as 'trim'.  
    
    	(Is it true that Goretex should be avoided if it's going to
    	be exposed to salt spray?)
    
    						nancy b.
    

    re .79 have you looked in the LL Bean catalogs?
    
    The newer Gore-Tex supposedly better resists contamination than
    the original stuff did. You might ask in the Hiking conference.

    re: .79
    
    Might also try the Patagonia catalog.
    
    cj/

    Or your nearest EMS store

	Definitely try EMS, LL Bean, and perhaps any other mountain-type
	store.


	I know that Land's End carries a Squall Jacket (for sailing) and
	they might just have it in those colors.


	kathy

    Goretex is no longer sold for the marine market. From the people I
    know  who  bought  Goretex foul weather gear, it wasn't waterproof
    enough, so when you sat in a puddle, the water would soak through.
    (If  you  sail  long  enough,  you'll  find  yourself  sitting  or
    kneeeling  in  a  puddle).  From  what  I  hear, the salt wasn't a
    problem,  but  you  might have to wash it a little more often than
    other gear.

    Since you  seem  to  be looking for something lightweight I assume
    that  you  won't  be  sailing  in  bad  weather. For your purposes
    GoreTex would probably work fine.

    Sources include  LL  Bean,  Patagonia,  bicycling stores for light
    weight  stuff,  and  outdoors or sporting goods stores. I've found
    EMS to be horribly overpriced except on their sales.

    If you  want  to  get  serious  foul weather gear, mail order from
    Defender's  in  New  York  is  the  best source. (I can dig up the
    number if you want.)  I don't think you will find fuschia.

    For serious  foul  weather  gear,  I  would avoid blue, green, and
    white,  as  I want to be visible if I fall overboard in a blue sea
    with  white caps. For that reason my sailing gear is either yellow
    or a flourescent yellow-green.
    

--David

    
    My favorite store for outdoorsy stuff is REI.  The nearest one to me in
    Mass. is at the junctions of 128 and 129 in either Wakefield or North
    Reading (it's right on the border of the two towns and I'm not sure
    which town it's actually in).  If you become an REI member -- no charge
    -- you will receive some money back at the end of the year, typically
    this is 10% of what you've spent there.  They have great stuff & may
    have exactly what you're looking for.
    
    CQ   

	Another suggestion to look into LL Bean and Land's End.  I was just 
looking at both catalogs last night and I'm sure that at least one of them 
had the colors you were looking for.

Tracey

I need suggestions on finding a good/classic wool black suit.  

I'm not having much luck here in Chicago so I thought I'd check out a couple 
of places in the Mass/NH area when I'm there next week.  The only place I know 
about is Filene's Basement and I don't have the patience for it.

I don't want to spend a mint but if it's a "deal" that will last me (and I
beat the bejeebies out of my black suits) I'd spring for it.

Basically, I'm looking for a quality suit, cut along classic lines in either
wool or worsted wool (I hate Rayon).

-Andrea (waiting_for_the_shopping_fairy_to_bless_me)

Advice I read in John T. Malloy's "Dress for Success" suggests that black is a
very strong power color and may be overwhelming. If this is for business you may
want to look at dark navy as an alternative. Of course, if you are a winter and
look smashing in black... liesl

    Also, Brooks Brothers, if you are looking for a very conservative,
    banker-type suits for women.  Maybe by now they have their wool suits
    on sale.

    
    Or you can still do Filene's Basement...just go to the suburban
    stores..Burlington MA, Dedham , Framingham, etc.
    
    There's also 'Designer's Clothing Ltd." in Burlington, and
    Newton (and elsewhere?) which carries a very nice line of suits.
    
    And there's always Ava Botelle in Newton/Needham which has lots
    of fashionable suits.
    
    deb
    

    
    
    Spoil yourself... go to a good tailor and have one custom made.  The
    fit will be much better than off the rack and you will have a wonderful
    selection of the tradtional suit wools.  And I think you'd be surprised
    by the cost... depending on the fabric you choose it will run between
    $125 and $250.  Certainly withing the price range of Brooks Brothers.
    
    Allison

    RE: .93, a tailor made suit for $125, not sure where you are located
    but here in Massachusetts tailor made suits cost alot more than that.
    At one time I looked for a tailor that could make me a suit
    and talked to six different tailors and was looking at a price of over
    $150+ for the fabric, lining, notions etc - and the labor would have
    been another $150+. 
    Also I have never seen a woman's suit for sale at Brooks Brothers for
    $250.  You could easily spend $200 for a skirt alone at Brooks
    Brothers.
    Many of my suits are tropical weight worsted wools.  In womens suits
    there are two places I like to shop.  Ones is Talbots (I could forward
    a catalog to you) and the other place is a factory outlet in Fall River,
    Ma. called Mikki.  Mikki's carries tropical weight worsted wools,
    worsted wools and wool flannel.  (My tailor says that their suits
    are of exceptional quality - well constructed, good quality linings
    etc.)  The selection is very good.  Since you are looking for black
    I'll mention that in black they usually have several different jacket
    styles in several different weights of wool.  The styles range from
    very traditional to contemporary.  You could probably find a black
    skirt in any number of styles (below knee, above knee, pleated,
    straight, different waist line features depending on your build).
    The sales people are very good and not at all overbearing. Right now
    there is a sale.  Regular prices are $50 - $90 for a skirt, and 
    $90 - $150 for a jacket.  Oftentimes (now) there is a 30 - 50% off sale.
    As with most sales, not all sizes are available.  (They usually run out
    of the size 10 selections first).  ;^(
    If you will be doing your shopping on a weekend I would be glad to
    accompany you to Fall River.  We could even try to plan a Womanotes    
    shopping excursion!

    What about Frugal Fannie's in Framingham?  They're only open on the
    week-end and some Friday's, but they do have  a large selection and the
    prices are reasonable.

    Haven't been there myself but I have heard good things about Wallach's.
    
    D!

    There's one (I'm guessing that there are more.) in the middle of
    the Natick Mall, which is on Route 9, on the Framingham/Natick
    border.
    
    					Ann B.

    I have three "good" suits.  Two came from Wallach's in Worcester
    Center, one from Lord & Taylor in Boston.
    
    Tracy
    

    ...save to act as a springboard for Dan C. D'Eramo to respond to.
    
    No other noters need apply.
    
    :-)
    
    PS -- the C. above should be interpreted as a Roman Numeral.

    
    moo ha ha!
    
    -Jody
    
    

    Watch out, He may strap on that FIN again and head for the FLOTATION
    TANK!
    
    There's NO controlling him when he gets FRUSTRATED!!!!!
    
    
    You Have Been Warned
    
    :-)