Friday, January 16

shopping

I hate shopping. Especially in Italy. Land of skinny little people. Everyone is thinner and shorter than me. It is impossible to find shoes, shirts, dresses, even bras here. Especially bras. For some reason, bras do not come in a variety of cup sizes. WTF? They do vary, so you're trapped into trying on every friggin' style in the store. And none of them fit as well as the one you took off.

There are women with big boobs in Italy... WHERE DO YOU BUY BRAS?!!?!!

I'm in a pissy mood because I have to buy a dress. Long ago I learned that I don't shop well under pressure. I got in the habit of buying things I liked when I happened to just stumble upon them. All the planets have to be aligned, the right side of the bed woken up on, the right time of the month... doesn't happen often. I don't worry about it. And I stopped shopping. I've been SO much happier.

But now I have to buy a dress. A solid black tea length dress for my brother's wedding ceremony. Easy enough, right? I've been "keeping an eye out" for this dress for months now. To avoid the whole shopping thing, see? But it hasn't happened. I'm going to have to actually go look for it.

find me, fit me

In Italy, my size is boarderline normal. I'm what they call a 48. This sounds HUGE, right? But translates into a 12 in the US. Still, most stores, if they carry it at all, get only ONE item in this size, so you usually don't find it on the rack. They have to order it. They take your money and then two weeks later tell you that it's no longer available. Grrrrr.

So, wish me luck and sanity. I'm going shopping tomorrow.

11 comments:

  1. Everyone is skinnier in Europe because they wear "slacks"...just fregin relax you Europeans!

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  2. Anonymous6:50 PM

    When I was in Italy, everyone looked so well put together and I think I may have seen someone in that dress. Maybe you can track her down and borrow it for the night.

    Or, you can just go shopping.

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  3. Anonymous6:50 PM

    Oh, and I forgot to say that I love your new header.

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  4. That's a post I could have written!
    Stars Aligning and all....
    My suggestion? Move here to Hawaii. clothes are secondary to say the least. Men wear (the right sort of) Aloha shirts to work in a bank. At LAX ready to fly back to Honolulu it's easy to spot the Hawaii plane. Just look for friendly folks wearing flip-flops! It's a slobs paradise! aloha-

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  5. Who the hell is Italy kidding??? Europeans are normal in size, and Italian women....woah...!! i mean, c'mon...they're kidding themselves if 12 is considered large there.

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  6. Tell your brother you're busy that day. :) He's your brother - he has to love you forever no matter what, right??

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  7. I would not do well in Italy either then! I tend to stumble onto things that fit me. Usually I walk into a store, glance quickly around and leave. I know when something will work with my hips! Have you tried ordering something online??

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  8. I am sorry. I hate shopping too, I can't even IMAGINE how I would feel shopping somewhere that considers 12 to be large, especially since I am a 12/14.

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  9. You have no idea how often I hear this from fellow expats who are in Europe for the first time. The slightly larger ladies are having huge troubles finding something decent in their size.
    I'm small (36) but I can barely squeeze into Italian L. L!! That's crazy.

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  10. If you don't like shopping in Italy, never ever try to do it in Korea. Korean women are tiny. I am not. If I shop in a "mall" I just wander around until someone yells out, "Big Size!" at me. Otherwise I shop at places with the kinds of charming names like "Fat Girls Store" or "Big Sister" (which is bling to the extreme, as it's run by a Nigerian woman.)

    I will shop again when I am next in Canada... In like a year. Or so.

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  11. Anonymous12:22 AM

    so true- i do all of my shopping when i go home once a year to the states.

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...and you may ask yourself, well...how did I get here?