Buy cheap ... buy twice.

I cant believe what happens in the shops when Autumn hits.

Are we a nation of depressives?

Everything is black, grey, navy, dark brown.
You walk into a shop and immediately you think ..."OMG it is winter, its depressing and everything is going to get dark except for that horrendous purple fluffy jumper dress there which frankly makes me want to cry.' 

Shouldn't we be getting more colourful as the grey days of winter loom ahead.  Should we not fly by the seat of our black pants and wear some colour to cheer ourselves up and make crowd scenes more interesting and less LOwry.  In fact theres more colour in a Lowry crowd scene than some stores at the moment.  I can't stand all this black.  Why the hell does everyone wear so much black?  Whats great about BLACK?  Other than it goes with yet more black?  

Its bloody morbid.  Its boring.  It fits in with the crowd.  You disappear into a black blackness greyness and darkness of people and everyone shuffles along wearing black and everyone goes together as they are all in black.  Does it makes you more invisible?   Surely it shows up more loose hair and dandruff and fluff.  I mean all the coats are such boring depressing colours except for the random 'PILLAR BOX RED CHARACTERFUL NUMBER' thrown in for the arty farty.  And the occasional taupe, mauve, fawn, mustard, olive and grape ... Oooooh!  Its not often you see someone who is dressed well these days... Everyone looks the same!

(OK I know I am generalising here but let me have a rant!)  

Yes OK I grant you BLACK can be smart but most of the time its smart business office funeral waiter / waitress smart.  There's so much gorgeous colour ... dark interesting colours too.... beautiful greys and blues!  Come on everybody... save your black for another day and lets get some colour out!

I went to buy some new clothes the other day and I have to say there really is some crap out there.  Mass market rubbish.  Lots of people do it ... buying quick fix cheapo clothes from Primarny and the like.... ITS A LOAD OF RUBBISH! Where is it all made and by who? It might be cheap but it is mass produced and feeding the commercial monster that this country is becoming! It doesn't change your life.  

I never go into Primarny anymore.  Last time I went in was two years ago and I bought a sequin pair of gold hot pants for a fancy dress!  Ooh get me!   BUT no more. It makes me feel sick because I don't know how they can produce that many clothes for those prices.  What happens to the mountains of clothes that aren't bought?  How often do people wear these things?  I am not saying I am completely blameless and I am sure you could pull me up on some less ethical shopping here and there... but if there's two companies I try to avoid ... its PRIMARNY and Tesco.  

I nipped into Manchester on Monday to buy some paper, paints and new materials and it was absolutely packed with people shopping.  On a Monday.  Whats that all about?  What is happening to us? I find it really worrying and sad.  We have become a nation of shoppers.  We all need a fix. The fix doesn't last and there we are chasing the fix again.  

So stop and think (I am talking to myself as much as anyone)  .... I can remember the days when my Mother used to take me out to buy something new when I was little. It was a really special treat and I treasured the clothes that she bought me.  I can remember them.  

So think about the clothes you really remember .. were they from Primark?  Or were they a little bit more special....?  I don't know ... maybe we should all shop less often and keep it as a treat ... not a fix.  Maybe we should stop trying to change ourselves from the outside, buy less black and more colour to feel good and bright and cheerful! 

Buy cheap buy twice ... that's what my Nana used to say.