random thoughts – Day 1,215 – (Saturday) – shopping

Shopping happened today. Mom and I made the journey to Frugal Fannie’s Fashion and Shoe Warehouse. The place is huge, full of stuff, and we entered full of optimism. A clearance sale was going on with big discounts in most departments. 

We started in swimwear because it was near the entrance. It was depressing. There were hundreds of swim suits, most sold as separates. Despite several rounds through the racks, I couldn’t find a top and a bottom that worked together. Some of the pre-clearance discounted prices were nuts. There were swim suit tops tagged at $75. Seriously? For just the top part of a bathing suit. 

Dressing room rejects.

There were pants suitable for work and blouses, and a couple were tossed in the cart as we made our way to the true reason for the trip – dressy stuff for the eldest niece’s upcoming wedding. The big department of special occasion dresses offered a sea of sequins. It was hard browsing the racks because all those sequins kept catching on each other and snagging the fabric of neighboring dresses. 

A lot of the dresses were floor length gowns, which were too formal, and a tragic percentage of them were matronly. Pass, pass, pass. I found three cocktail length dresses with potential, but the trip to the dressing room revealed they looked better on the hanger. The potential blouse for work was too big, some pants were very unflattering. Ugh.

Shimmery pants.

We wandered around a bit more before I stumbled upon a corner marked as designer stuff and there were even more sequins. On a rack labeled Isle with clothes tagged “Isle by Melis Kozan,” which I never heard of before but Google tells me is a brand out of New Jersey, there were a few pairs of shiny, dressy pants. Boom. 

A multicolored pair of pants covered in the tiniest of sequins for allover shimmer were bought. Victory! Finding a top was less successful, but the chances are good that there is something in the closet that will coordinate. Mom didn’t find anything, but we have a few more months.