Glimpses from 'Fashion Days' at the Textile Fashion Center on Saturday. (Which houses our Textile Museum as well as the Textile College and some other textile-related businesses.) I only looked in briefly... I found the atmosphere a bit noisy, with loud music as backdrop to the fashion show going on just then. I think they were showing summer clothes from some of the local fashion stores.
Upstairs, there was an exhibition of flower arrangements. It's that time of year... Graduations coming up soon; and weddings are also popular in May-June here.
There was also an exhibition about sustainability and ways to "re-think" about fashion and recycling etc of textiles.
There is a lot of talk about re-cycling and up-cycling, clothes-swapping and buying second hand these days... (And this being a textile-centered city, I guess we perhaps get even more of that kind of discussions.) And yet it seems to me, almost any time I enter one of the regular fashion shops in the city, that they are more overcrowded (with clothes and accessories) than ever - offering a million similar choices, and no real chance to get a good overview.
By the way - how do you react to music in shops? For me, it usually has the opposite effect than I suppose they intend... Unless I know exactly what I'm after and am really determined to get it, background music often makes me turn around right at the door and walk straight back out again...
Just now I'm thinking that I don't really need a lot of new things for this summer. That may depend a bit on what kind of summer it will turn out to be, though! (So far, I think it has not made up its mind yet...)
However, I made one purchase last week that I'm happy about - at least so far. Not clothes, but a new handbag (shoulder bag). It wasn't second-hand, but half-price, and just what I wanted. Or coming as close as one can expect to get in reality, anyway...
(In my imagination, I'm constantly looking for the equivalent of Hermione's magic handbag in the last Harry Potter-book... Tiny on the outside, weighing nothing at all, but with room for a library and a tent the size of a fully equipped small house inside...)
I'll donate some less successful purchases from the past to a charity shop instead. (Not sure if that makes the world a better place; but it will save me some space, anyway!)
I really like your purse. I think you have achieved your ideal vision of one! I pay attention to the music in stores. Many times I find they are playing an old favorite, or something I like. Their intention is to make people stay longer, but there are probably a lot of people who don't like it at all. I have been known to delay leaving in order to listen to a song all the way through. Just got your card a few minutes ago, it is delightful! I like the baby/man of Jesus! Maybe the artist was trying to show how advanced he was for his age??
ReplyDeleteIt is a nice bag, good size and no unnecessary extras.
ReplyDeleteAs for music in shops, it depends on the volume and style. I have once asked a shop assistant if they could please turn the volume down, and she breathed a huge sigh if relief, thanking me! The young woman said she did not like the music (and not at that volume, all day long, while she was supposed to work), but her boss had insisted on it, claiming customers would want it. She said now that she could tell her boss that it was in fact a customer who had asked for the music tu be turned down, she could justify it in front of her boss.
So far this year, I have bought a shirt and two pairs of socks in Ripon, a silky top, a dress, a jacket and twp pairs of shoes in Ludwigsburg. None of it necessary, all,of it new...
Meike, I'll probably end up with more "not strictly necessary" purchases as well, before summer is over. I am trying to get into a habit of "thinking twice" before buying, though :)
DeleteI like the purse and that is to funny about one with a library. love it.. I do like the looks of the place but loud music would make me stay only for a short time. I have left many shops because of the music. here in USA resturants play loud music and it ruins our meal.... even our favorite burger joint plays it, sometimes the music is ok because we like it and sometimes we hate it. all time we prefer quiet while eating.
ReplyDeleteSandra, I'm the same with music in restaurants as well. Soft instrumental music at low volume may sometimes be okay but I prefer no music and being able to talk/listen at normal volume to whoever I'm with.
DeleteI usually block out music I hear when I'm shopping, I guess my mind is more focussed on the task at hand.
ReplyDeletePerhaps sometimes I do, too (and if so, I most likely don't remember! lol)
DeleteI've always looked for the perfect carrier of stuff: rucksack , suitcase, man-bag or whatever. When I 'commuted' to New Zealand I had it all down to a fine art and had the near-perfect travelling back-pack for my laptop, change of underwear and shirt (I know you wanted to know that!) book (later Kindle) etc.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a lover of music in restaurants but The Woodlands does have music at a background level and if there are only a few people in first thing in the morning it does mean that one can have a conversation without everyone else listening unintentionally.
I often use a backpack as well - if I'm going somewhere where the handbag isn't enough! :)
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