More or Less

I haven't done an official installment of "Ticked Off Topics" in a while, but yesterday we went shopping and this post began forming in my head.

Since Hometown's mall is somewhat lacking in the latest fashions, we ventured "across the bridges" to the Big City to see if we could find HannahKate some spring/summer clothes. I seriously worry about the child because when she's not wearing standardized dress for school, she is wearing dark jeans and a black t-shirt of some sort. Always. Its one thing for her dad to dress that way~he works for a band. But its another thing for her to look like a roadie-in-training. But I digress...

Anyway, on to our shopping trip. Let me first say, that as the older I get, the less I like people, er, I mean crowds. The first store we went to was so crowded that the sales attendants had to carry around a sign on a stick that said, "I work here. Ask me for help." Needless to say, claustrophobia and the fact that they had already sold out of $1 flip-flops made that foray unprofitable.

The next store we went to had adorable outfits in the windows. We'd been there once before and I wasn't impressed, but not being one to hold a grudge, I wanted to give them a second chance. Oh. my. word. As we rifled through the articles of clothing, I was amazed at how small the sizes seemed to run. HannahKate has an atheletic build. She is just the right size for her height and bone structure. She is not, however, an XS, S or M...especially when the clothing manufacturer must have used malnourished pygmies as their guide to sizing. Sheesh! So~fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me and now we know to never waste our time at that store again.

Next we ventured to a Name-Brand Teenage-y Store (but not the one with all the naked boys in their advertising). Here, we were awarded a small victory~one pair of capris and a cute top. Thank you, Lord. This was also the time when I was reminded of how thankful I am that not only is HanK relatively unconcerned with the variety of her wardrobe, she is also extremely modest.

And that brings me around to my Ticked Off Topic (finally, you say). It should not be so difficult for a teenage girl to find clothing that is not too short, too tight, too low-cut or too see-thru. According to my observation, the smaller the amount of fabric used in an item, the higher the price. Why are we paying more money to get less clothing?

And to think, we were only shopping for shorts. I dread what it will be like when we have to find a bathing suit! When that time comes, dark jeans and a black shirt might not be such a bad thing after all...