The Great Pant Search
Sunday, 25 May, 2003
Sometimes I think I've failed as a girl. I'm not really into clothes shopping. I enjoy shopping generally, in moderation and only on the rare occasion when I have money to spend, but I loathe shopping for clothes. Shopping for books, CD's, DVD's, decorative objects is fine; clothes are a trial. I think it's because usually when you buy clothes you have to try things on and I hate undressing in strange places. I'm never sure if what I see in the changeroom mirror is the same as what I'll see in real life. I cringe from shop assistants and their inane false comments (“That looks really good on you.”) I loathe facing indecision—to buy or not to buy. I've never had the problem that other girls have of things not fitting me properly but I've always had the problem of never being able to find what I want because all the stores stock what's fashionable and fashionable and me just don't mix very well.
So imagine my horror when I discover that a pair of my favourite Giordano jeans which I've had for eight years suddenly develops a hole in a very embarrassing place—a hole that's impossible to fix. Aargh! I said an eulogy for them as I chucked them in the bin and struggled to face the inevitable fact: I was going to have to go clothes shopping and I was going to have to go soon.
I had quite a few errands to run yesterday morning so I decided to take a look around Wollongong mall. At Jay Jays, the sales girls have to unlock the changerooms for you and they ask you to leave your bag visible on the floor at all times. At Jeanswest, I was ignored. At Just Jeans the shop assistant looked at what I was wearing as if to say, “What on earth are you doing in my store?” I couldn't find anything but hipsters and bootcuts which I dislike because they show off too much skin and make me feel like I'm standing in the bowl of a bathroom sink. Why is it necessary to show off your navel? What is so attractive about wearing pants so low they look like they could just slide off you in just one tug? Why don't other girls feel cold like me when their tops and bottoms don't meet and their midriffs are exposed to the air? Why does everyone around me look like they're just bursting out of their clothes and can't wait to get naked? Cade has mentioned before that this kind of scanty immodest style isn't very helpful for guys. A friend of mine gets quite upset at the way women dress because she thinks it encourages lust and adultery and I tend to agree.
But knowing all this didn't really help my quest for a suitable pair of pants. I wanted ones that were comfortable, durable, smart enough to wear to work, not so tight that they'd cut off my circulation and not so loose that they'd look like they were falling off. They also had to pass the ultimate test: expose no skin when I bend over. I was beginning to give up hope and put off searching for another day when I wandered past Colorado who were having a 30% off the second item sale. I found exactly what I wanted (Stratton Colorado women's jeans) and the shop assistants were very helpful too. I bought two pairs - one in black and one in tan. Hurray! Hopefully they'll last me another 8 years and I won't have to go pant shopping again!
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I think that the hipster jeans that are sold to women at the moment are quite revolting. In the effort to expose too much flesh (a problem in itself) they are totally unflattering. Who wants to see a roll of stomach flesh hanging over the belt when one bends over? Yik. Karne, next time a favourite piece of clothing develops a hole or a tear, I recommend my seemstress in Randwick, who can fix anything, and fix it well. I don’t like jeans at all, and the only pair I wear are a pair of black baggy style jeans that I bought 6 years ago. They developed an embarrassing hole, too, but the seemstress cleverly fixed them at a cost much cheaper than a new pair of jeans, which averted the trial of jeans shopping - which would have been a major trial as this style is totally ‘out-of-fashion’. This woman can fix anything - she even fixed my full length leather coat which I managed to tear the first time I wore it. Nevertheless, even though the coat is lovely, I will never spend such a ludicrous amount of money on an item of clothing ever again - now I look for clothes that are cheap and durable.
*sigh* Clothes shopping. Nothing seems to suit, and stuff you do like always ends up being really expensive. Bras are so ridiculously over priced! What is the deal with that? Even at 25% off, I spent about $60 on just two pairs. But sales are so good. Sometimes its just a matter of waiting for the sales…
I don’t normally shop at Colorado so I may check it out. I normally get my jeans for $30 at Grace Bros. At the miss shop section. My mum got me a pair of hipster cords (I too was running out of pants). She doesn’t like hipsters, but I really needed pants. They feel really weird and I always have to make sure my jumper/top is long enough. After all who wants to see that unsightly roll of stomach flesh (as Drew mentioned) or a bum crack?? Feral!!
And just the other day, I tried on a pair of pants I bought in year nine and the top of the pants went right above my belly botton - that’s so unusual these days for pants to be that “tall”!
I used to clothes-shop a lot but these days it’s like, “Seen that already, ho-hum!” I’m also finding it too much bother to take off what I have on just to try on something I’m not sure I’ll really like - ugh.
The current trend in Malaysia is very Japanese with equal amount of Hong Kong influence (read: flourescent, clashing colours and extremely ugly clothes). I stay away from clothes these days and look at shoes instead…
By the way, as far as shop assistants are concerned… I’d rather have them ignore me than hang over my shoulder. I know how to ask for help if I want it, thank you very much. I don’t know how it is in Australia, but over here too many shop assistants have this totally irritating habit of tailing you once you step into the store. They tail you, but don’t say anything or offer any assistance. I once actually took two steps backward and bumped into the shop assistant behind me, on purpose. Two steps! For crying out loud! Those people make me claustraphobic!
Karen, you’re not the only one who feels cold when their tops and bottoms don’t quite meet up! Argh, I suffer from that all the time.
Oh good! I thought I was a freak or something!
RE shop assistants: having worked in retail for four years, I know that they’re supposed to ask each customer at least once if they need any help. If the customer doesn’t need help, then the shop assistant should disappear. If the customer needs help after saying no, it’s then the customer’s job to ask for it. I don’t know shop assistants who dog you either.
Hmmm. I’m happy if a pair of jeans fits frankly. Being 6 feet 1 inch tall (I recently discovered this - I’ve spent the last 15 years thinking I was only 6 foot) - that’s 185cm in case you were wondering, my main criteria is
a) does it do up
b) is it long enough
With that in mind I recently went shopping and found a pair of jeans - flared but thankfully not hipsters (I don’t know if hipsters come in my size but ewwwh I hope not) that I’m trying to wear at every and any opportunity. Main reason is that they’ll be out of fashion in a season so this is it.
Mmm - I think jeans are a great torment to women-kind!