May 19, 2003 04:13 PM
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(Updated May 19, 2003 04:14 PM)
On the whole, my sex has a bad reputation when it comes to shopping. We've all heard the comments on the deadening boredom of going shopping witha woman, seen the comic strips where Archie staggers under the weight of Veronicas shopping, The Flintstones with Wilma and Betty's now famous cry, 'Charge it!'. So it may come as a surprise to you when I say I'm not a big shopping fan.
I'll admit, I do enjoy it occassionally.There is something reassuring in trying on new clothes or shoes, the excitement of having new things never quite loses its charms. But, this reveiw isn't for people who LOVE to shop. Its for people who feel like I do, that shopping is fun, in its moderation and shouldn't be overdone.
I remeber as a kid, my aunts would come to Delhi, and though I loved meeting them, the last few days of their trip were always so horribly boring, because of what I called'salwar-kameez shopping'. Delhi is blessed/burdened with so many boutiques, full of Indian clothes, and my family seemed to want to visit every single one. Now, thankfully, I can opt out of these trips, but then I had no choice. I remember sitting there, dragging my toes on the plush carpets, longing to lie down on it, though my mother gave me stern looks if I even attempted it. And then, just as the shopping was over, and I thought maybe and ice cream or some such deserving treat, it would be time to go home, and exclaim over the yards of clothes and other things we had bought that day.
I'm going to take it for granted here that when we say'Tips On A Shopping Mall', we're talking about clothes. So heres how I keep my shopping trips toa bare minimum, and still return with good stuff.
First of all, during the week, I keep an eye open for shop windows. If I see something I particularly like, I note the name of the shop and the price, and try and come back later. If I'm just looking for new clothes, I try to rememeber what I'm buying the clothes for, like for instance, I start work soon, so I went to Delhi's Ansal Plaza to pick up some'semi-formal-semi-casual' outfits.( By the way, if you do go there, check out The Royal Sporting house, I picked out a great top from Converse, which was reasonably priced as well!)
But besides'classy' shopping, I do a lot of shopping, at Sarojini Nagar(the export surplus market to you non-Delhiites). They have some great clothes if you know where to look. I spend about an hour there, buy many clothes and usually not for more than 400 rupees. If you don't know where to look, DON'T go into the stores which are stores, coz they are just over priced, stick to the sidewalk shops, which usuall have huge signs saying the price of a particular pile, which you should rummage through, and clothes on hangers, which are better.Remember to bargain, and you'll usually get some good clothes at a throwaway price. The only problem is, most of these clothes only last one season, so get the most out of them.
So here are my tips to keeping your shopping simple and fun:
make a list, or have a picture in your mind of what you want to buy.
Go with someone lese, it makes shopping more fun, and helps you make up your mind about things.
Stick to your budget, and only carry as much money as you need, in case you have a tendency to over spend.
Happy summer wardrobes everyone!
