Thursday, October 25, 2018

How I succumbed to the temptation of shopping

Guest Blog by Sharmila Srinath



      You know it when you find it:  the perfect black top for your fabulous Levis jeans, the wind chimes for your new home, the dungarees for your sister's kid. Well, it's a long list. The mission may be anything where you indulge for yourself or your loved ones but this marks life's major events, celebrates your inner passion to shop, exhibits yours taste and uniqueness in choosing the best stuff. Shopping is therapy and it can be fun too!
      I used to take shopping a bit too seriously, dress up for the occasion,  plan for the action the previous day itself and set course with a lot of anticipation that I can strike a great bargain with a winning smile.  I used to frequent the popular market areas of Delhi like Sarojini Nagar, Lajpat Nagar which are famous for a variety of women wear especially the ethnic collection like Kurtis, Salwar Kameez, bed linen. I used to just get carried away seeing numerous shops and eye-catching displays with the latest fashion. 
Whenever I wanted to buy something, the minute I bargained they would easily make out that I was not a localized from my Southern accent and I would pay a price.
The onset of e-commerce and subsequently online shopping hit the market which was a blessing in disguise for many women like me who are staying at home moms and need to attend to home keeping and also jostle with shopping. 
It all started with ordering books and electronic goods on Amazon. This turned out to be a win- win situation! Then I got a hang of it. 
 Myntra, lifestyle,tatacliq and many more sites have redefined fashion, style and accesibility and created a sense of convenience for us to just click a button and choose what we want customising the size, pricing and trends. Some brands even offer to try and buy option which is like icing on the cake!
The options galore are aplenty formal, casual, lingerie, party wear, you name it; all categories are available and even there is a great choice for plus size clothing. Luxury brands from other countries also offer apparel, handbags and cosmetics.
  • The flipside is that our security can be compromised when we share our personal information while making online transactions and so it is better to shop on reputed sites. Be cautious with local vendors and opt for cash on delivery.
  • Taxes may be levied when we order goods from other countries along with delivery charges.
  • This can actually affect the employment of sales girls as we don't frequent retail outlets much as we are happy shopping in the comfort of our home.
  • Sometimes I want to feel the fabric,  mix and match some colour hues and get dresses stitched which can only happen in the real shopping experience.
Given a choice, sometimes I love the flea market shopping in carnivals, trade fair where we can buy trinkets, accessories, stoles, hairclips, tops at throwaway prices or thrift sales but I'm really hooked to smartphone and prefer loading carts with my wish list and sensibly buying only the selected ones while I'm stretching myself comfortably on my couch. I’m saved from the hassles of rushing to the tailor, paying a hefty charge for his creation and then again pay visits for alteration.
Definitely online shopping is for women like me who are not very finicky about the perfect fit unless it is a blouse and also so convenient to buy size 41-foot wear as I'm blessed with flat foot issue, I'm saved from embarrassment of coming out empty handed from branded shops as they only have slipper for dainty feet.
 I would not mind if I'm wearing a loose outfit but particular about availability and accessibility and have zero tolerance for tight outfits as I need to camouflage my waistline!
Let's sign off on a lighter note-I have enough money to last me the rest of my life unless I buy something.      -Jackie Mason

Global Knowledge Works



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