Ethical Sale Shopping

The Sales are on. Because I’m only shopping ethically this year, I am completely ignoring the high street. Whilst I thought this would be very very hard (I’m an inverterate sale shopper) it has, apart from a few twinges, brought mainly a complete sense of relief and freedom.

This has surprised me. If I apply a little bit of thought I think what’s happened is that I have been suddenly removed from one of the structures of society. Just like when I was at school the year was nicely punctuated by the start and end of term and my actions and behaviour fitted in with that pattern, so too does it now revolve around certain behavioural expectations – one of them being sale shopping or indeed high street shopping. Without that punctuation my year is just drifting on and I’m having to make my own markers.

I’m not sure that that will make any sense to anyone reading this – I’m just trying to work things out in my own head.

In the meantime, I haven’t given up on sale shopping altogether, just on ‘doing the high street’ and so on Friday I bought this lovely organic cotton dress in the Adili sale.

It is gorgeous and soft and swishy and beautifully made.  The colour suits me brilliantly.  The shape however is not the most flattering – the pleating in the skirt makes my bottom look enormous, the sleevlessness shows off my bingo wings, the drapey cut under the boobs quite possibly makes me look pregnant (will designers ever design low cut tops for women with boobs?).

But I don’t care.  I’m positively reveling in the whole big arsed thing anyway – the black girls round my way really rock that look and they look great.