The Great Change: Turning Cathy into a Lawyer

Well, it had to happen sometime. I couldn't resist my New Jersey roots, I had to go shopping.

I hate shopping. Apparently I'm missing the gene which makes poring over racks and racks of clothes seem any way enticing. The thrill of the hunt for bargains? Not that thrilling. The chance to try on lots of clothes? Um, no. There's a limit to how often I can take my pants off before I lose my patience. And you will never catch me using the words "darling," "cute," or "precious" before any sort of garment. Garments are functional things. They are not toys. If I think of all the fun or fulfilling things I could do with my money, purchasing clothes is nowhere on the list.

But every so often the need presents itself and insists on being attended to and then it's off to the store. I went to Garden State Plaza, now (I believe) the largest mall in New Jersey. When I was a little kid it was an open-air shopping plaza anchored by a Bambergers and Gimbels. Then they enclosed it. Then they dug out a second level under one of the halls. Then they added and entire multi-level wing and now the thing is huge. I went there because for a change I was feeling patient, willing to check out as many stores as I could, and I wanted a large selection. I got there at 10 to get a parking space and spent all day.

I needed a few things, like a suit for moot court. So I walked into lots of stores. It was interesting how each store had a different theme for their clothing and different background music to go along with it. Sometimes the differences were subtle. We aren't talking "young" versus "mature" styling... even the stores aimed at the teen set were differentiated and had different music as well. Some with techno music, others with grunge. I began to notice that anywhere where I couldn't stand the music I was also not likely to be able to stand the clothes. Music that I was comfortable with made it possible to be comfortable with the clothes too. Similarly, jarring music tended to correspond with the jarring sensation felt after looking in the mirror after trying on something "hip." Such endeavors made me realize I am comfortable with my lack of hipness. I may not be on the fashion edge, but 5 years from now when I look at pictures of myself I doubt, unlike many, many other people out there, I'll be saying to myself, "What was I thinking???" I prefer to go for more timeless styles, mostly because it helps forestall the need to go back to the mall any time soon.

Date changed to when it should have been posted. Actually posted 1/2/04.