Had a very busy day in the office today, catching up on work that piled up while I was away yesterday. Grabbing a sandwich for lunch, I had a look through a newpaper that someone had left on a nearby table.

The headline that caught my eye was about having more fun shopping if you are thin. This brought back memories of those large communal changing rooms that were all the rage a few years ago and the fact that I hated using them.  They always seemed populated by tall slender women, who wandered about in various stages of undress, trying on the smallest of clothes without a care in the world; whereas I would try to hide in the farthest, dimmest corner with my back to everyone.

Most women do like shopping and use the trips for inspiration and ideas as well as buying clothes.  The problem that I have is in the sizing of the clothes. One store’s size 12 will be another’s size 10 and, if you are not having a particularly good day, struggling into a dress that you think should fit you, only to find when you look in the mirror, that you look like a sack of potatoes does nothing for your self esteem and your memories of shopping will be mainly negative.

Nowadays, most shops have thankfully realised that their customers are much happier and more relaxed about clothes shopping, if they provide well lit, good sized, individual changing rooms. And, if those shops also offer a good choice of clothes, in sizes that fit us, we can all have fun shopping.