I don’t go shopping these days. With my master’s course and trying to keep up with the big city, it’s just too much to ask for time to spend looking at clothes and jewellery for myself. Not to mention the money scarcity almost all those in graduate school deal with. Thanks, I’d rather buy food an dust wear my years-old, hole-y clothing.
Now the first term is over. I cannot believe how quickly it’s passed. Everyone says that about time’s passage. We are an ill-equipped species when it comes to time perception. But already the bizarre double effect of time is apparent, in my early-onset nostalgia for the beginning of September. So fast, thank goodness. So slow, what an effort. I am deliberately avoiding my work for the start of term two this week. So I found myself at Spitalfields Market, near Shoreditch. It’s in the neighbourhood of my favourite pub in London, the Pride of Spitalfield (which I affectionately refer to as ‘The Cat Pub’ because of it’s lovely cat mascot, Lenny).
Despite the occasional blunder, I’m not one to be much of a hipster. This is deep hipstering territory, complete with prints of John Lennon with LSD-induced colours splattered over him, pointless felt hats that all seem to be in tiny sizes, and a whole lot of ‘vintage’ stuff that’s actually made in China. Sadly, I bought a skirt and a necklace. But I love them. So, that makes it okay, right? Right? Ugh, I got caught up in the holiday maelstrom of materialism. So sue me.
I went to Collectif, a lovely little shop with non-vintage, vintage-style clothing. It suits my recent desires to go back in time, and be a bit of a pin=up girl. Wonderfully, they have plus sizes! They make no big deal of it, but include those
of us who fit a size 16-18 without qualms. For those of you in the US, that’s a 14-16 (isn). Yes, US sizes are a whole size bigger at the very least than those in the UK. I’m firmly in the plus-sized range these days. I went through a couple attempts at crash-dieting and cutting out all…everything (dairy, gluten, meat, caffeine, alcohol, and happiness)…this year. It made almost no difference at all. I’m slowly making my peace with a bigger body in favour of eating delicious foods and drinking beer.
I truly enjoyed shopping in the little store, and almost everything fit. Such a difference! I lusted after a skirt at French Connection for a few weeks, looking at it every day as I passed on my way to classes. Imagine my frustration when I went to buy it as a reward for the end of term and found they didn’t carry my (apparently too fat) size! My money is better used elsewhere.
It’s a tradition of mine to go to Whole Foods occasionally, to spend a bit of money and enjoy the beauty of food there. All problematic aspects of Whole Foods aside, it’s like my food cathedral. I go ‘on pilgrimage’ only once or twice a year. That’s all I can afford.
It was wonderful to go to the Piccadilly Circus Whole Foods. I got some organic body wash and a bunch of beautiful food. And a fermented ginger ale. Money well spent.
As I get some time (ok, a lot of time) to sit around the house, I am messing around with makeup and hairstyles. Since I started messing around with Pintrest a few months ago, I’ve had a bunch of great ideas and no time to try them. On Saturday we’re going out for our yearly present to each other, a steak dinner in the city. I tried out a new look for it on Tuesday, hoping to perfect it by the weekend. The lashes and makeup are all fairly green and not tested on animals, even if one of the companies is named ‘Bourjois.’
It’s strange to notice that I wear far more makeup than ever before here in London. Might be due to how much I see on other women.
I plan on writing more about London (and better) soon. Sorry about this being such a disorganised post!
Reverse Retrograde 