Shopping Alone

It has been ages since I have combed through shopping malls on my own for a couple of hours.

The last time I have done so was somewhere beginning last year. It was a Saturday morning then. I started shopping at around 10 in the morning and ended around 2 in the afternoon.

After Ah Peng and I parted for our lunch, she decided to head home to rest while I decided to walk down to Robinsons. After hearing my colleague’s success at Robinsons and seeing many carrying the red Great Robinsons Sale bag, it would definitely be worthwhile to head down to scour for some bargains.

I have started around 2 plus in the afternoon and ended off at around 9 in the night. Apparently, I was not the only one. I have observed many ladies to be on their own as well. I have tried on many items but eventually just bought one. Nevertheless, it was still great retail therapy.

Shopping alone can be fun and liberating as one can go anywhere one like. One can try on an item as many times to ensure that the choice is right without causing any inconvenience to your companion.

The neverending queues in front of the fitting rooms can be discouraging and time wasting, especially with the restriction on the number of pieces one can bring into the fitting room. Sometimes, to save time, I pull on the clothes on to my tank top in front of any mirrors for the first trying. If it fits and looks nice, then it will be shortlisted as an item that warrants “proper” trying. If not, it will be cast off as an unsuitable item and will not take up the “vacancy” in the list of items for the fitting room. On the contrary, if I were with someone, I would feel more inhibited and most likely would not have done that.

I will also grab on things which may not be my normal style without worrying the critical views of my companion. It is excellent time to try out new styles and who knows what surprises may come along. When one is with a companion, the companion may helpfully pronounce an item to be ugly and stump any interest to be experimental. If it really looks ugly, at least now I have seen for myself how ugly it is. *Grin*

I will also dig into baskets of special buys. I am a firm believer that sometimes such baskets hold hidden treasures. The satisfaction one gets from finding a great bargain is part of the fun of shopping.

Of course, it is still fun to go shopping with someone. Someone will assure you your choice is good. Someone will partner you to speed things up, such as queuing for payment while you are doing the final QC on your purchase item. Someone will also hunt the ‘treasures’ with you and help spot treasures for each other which we have missed. Someone will also chit chat with you on your shopping trip to spice things up while waiting in the queue for fitting room or payments.

Well, it is different fun shopping with someone and being on your own. Different times will call for different shopping experiences. *Smile*