On Sunday we went to the Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet with the intention of buying some clothes for my husband. He hates clothes shopping. I am not sure whether it is the spending of money or deciding what to buy that he hates - probably both. But a visit to B&Q or PC World is a different matter - he will happily spend ages in either shop. Also I am not sure where the designer fits into Cheshire Oaks as most of the clothes that they sell are a season or two old or are seconds, but there is plenty of free parking there and it is only about five miles from where we live. Since we moved to Chester, five years ago now, we have only been shopping together in Chester, once. The reason for this is that the car parking in Chester is in short supply and costs an arm and a leg. The alternative is to use the Park & Ride, which for two of us is equally expensive. As I would not trust my husband to shop on his own, I now buy some of his clothes such as shirts, jumpers and trousers, myself. Usually I buy things from Marks and Spencer so they can easily be returned if they are not right. He really does not care, too much, what he wears, but he will not wear anything that he considers as the latest fashion. I suppose that, in some ways, I should be grateful for this. At least he does not look like the male equivalent of mutton dressed as lamb.
The clothes that I cannot buy are suits and shoes, both of which he needs to try on. We/he bought a suit earlier this year. On Sunday we were looking for shirts and shoes. First we went to Marks & Spencer who did not have what we were looking for so we headed for the Clarks shop. When we got there it was only about 20 minutes after the shops opened and the shop was heaving, mainly with children. And there I was, with my big child, looking for a new pair of shoes which we easily found, thank goodness. Then we had to join the queue of about ten people to pay. I had never seen this shop so busy, even I was glad to get out.