You did great Viva!!! And this thread is so full of amazing smarts and good ideas, I adore YLFers!

Shopping was a ton of fun when I was in my teens, twenties and thirties. I had endless energy, a slim silhouette, and a Mom who loved to serve as my fashion editor and financier! (I used to almost beg her NOT to offer to buy something, sometimes. blush!)

There are times when shopping is fun now, but not as often. Oh, I love LOOKING. I love seeing lookbooks, and window-shopping, and I am tactile -- so I like to visit B&M stores and touch and listen to the sound of fabrics. But I do a ton of online research (and more and more, shopping itself) online. I am fortunate to be retired, and although I still work part of the week, I can arrange my work so that I have time other than weekends to shop. I adore grocery shopping on weekday mornings, and similarly, if I really NEED to buy some clothing (i.e., a wedding reception or dressy event is coming up), shopping during a non-rush time is the ONLY way. In fact my household try to do our chores and work duties around the house, on weekends. It's a little antisocial, maybe, but it is saner!

I'm sorry that the experience seems as though it left you demoralized and frustrated. That's the WORST. But you DID find a couple items, and it sounds like a good day, to me, considering weekend crowds!

What Mo said!

If I'm shopping with real purpose, for me it helps to focus on one category, such as "skirts for work." Then I load up the dressing room with every possible skirt I can find, often in multiple sizes. That works better for me than if I try to find a "neutral topper, a work skirt, a patterned scarf, and bf jeans" all in the same shopping trip. If I have a whole bunch of items I'm looking for, I get scattered and frustrated at all the options I have to consider and all the racks I have to scan.

(By the way, if it helps at all, I blame the movies for your disappointing day. : ) They feature WAY too many montage sequences of the breezy young ingenue tripping down NYC streets, flitting in and out of shops, and emerging with scads of stylish shopping bags filled with tissue-paper swaddled treasures.)

Viva, don't feel bad. I went out to return some online purchases that didn't work out yesterday and (of course) also looked for new items. I shopped for hours and only bought two tops and a sweater! And I am thinking I should have sized up in the sweater. And before I moved to a city with halfway decent shopping? Forget it! All my clothes were just too big and/or ugly.

I am off the forum today, but wanted to chime in to reassure you Viva that it's all normal and okay. You have to relax into it all sans expectation. Go with the flow and enjoy the hunt. Move on when it's frustrating. And eat. xo

I'm with ya, Viva! I love fashion and shopping but find the process tedious and draining at the same time. I often take many garments into the fitting with me but leave with none. Being an inverted triangle with broad shoulders, my sleeves are either too long or too short, the shoulders/armholes are cut too high or too tight, pants and skirts are too big in the waist but narrow in the thighs and vice versa, etc. And through all the trials and errors, I am continuing to learn about my own body, style preference, and fabrications and constructions that work for me. Try to make it a learning experience and don't give up! As I have experienced from time to time, the hunt is worth it when you do find an item that looks amazing on you!