Oh....Viva!! I so hear your frustration and get it. Big time.
When I joined YLF, I HATED shopping. HATED it. Going into a store was enough to make my stomach churn and my mind come to a screeching halt.
It was overstimulating. Crazy-making. And so, so irritating, looking for things that I could never, ever find.
A few years later, and while I still can't call myself an expert shopper...guess what? I actually have fun at it!
I think my issues might have been a bit different than yours -- I came here pretty much a fashion neophyte with no idea of my style and also no money. Oh -- and a completely empty closet that I had to restock after weight loss!! And did I say I had no money? (This was before my paid job..I was doing really low paid contract work.) So part of my shopping angst had to do with that.
In your case -- you have fabulous style, enough money to buy yourself some nice things, and a good sense of what's out there and what to look for.
But you also suffer from two problems that I shared (and still share): Limited availability of bricks and mortar shopping where you live, and time pressure to get a lot of shopping done on your few occasions for doing it.
I tell ya....that can suck the fun out of almost any shopping adventure. I say "almost" because I have figured out a way to shop with the famed Sveta that is genuinely fun, even though we are in a major rush -- and I can easily imagine that a one hour shopping trip with Angie would be an education in style you would never forget.
Oh -- and there's one other issue we are plagued with. The "dream" of the "real life" shopping trip. Online shopping has its own frustrations, and doing it so often, we sometimes fall prey to the fantasy that if only we lived nearer to real stores we would have an easier time of it.
For me, the trick has been to combine online with in-person, and to try to reduce my expectations of each in-person shop. Basically, I consider in person shopping to be like a reconnaissance mission. I scout out the styles. Touch the fabrics. Try stuff on. Get a sense for what fits or doesn't in this, that, or the other maker. If I actually buy something, that is a huge bonus. Mostly I go home empty handed or almost empty handed, and then do my ordering online, armed with the better information.
I love touching the fabrics, seeing the precise colours, looking at the proportions on my own body or other real bodies in real life stores.
I also find that shopping when it's busy can be a disaster. It just makes me more frustrated. I hate lineups at change rooms. I hate the disarray -- it offends my sense of order and beauty.
Bit by bit, I have built up a wardrobe this way. Sometimes I get lucky in store and come home with treasures; sometimes I lose with online shopping because I have to send so much back. But combined with Angie's recommendations and what I see modelled here on the forum, I've made some good buys both in store and online. And the in store experience is getting better.
