Back in he days when I had a rich husband, if he had been particularly nasty I would take my revenge by buying very expensive things. Spite shopping I called it and it's why in my now impoverished state I still tote a £700 Mulberry handbag. I would upload a picture of it because it's that good, but the iPad won't let me. Indeed the iPad is also a nifty bit of spite shopping.
Anyway, today I was in the metropolis known as Devizes, mooching around the second hand shops as is my want these days, when a bright young thing serving in one of them admired my handbag and pointed out a similar one but in tan. Mine being black. Thinking I might pick up a bargain I inspected it closely. It had been stuffed with all manner of interesting stuff to show its perfect lines. And I was impressed with this idea, much more satisfying than screwed up brown paper. I was flicking through a diary that had been in the bag, after returning to it a rather nice tortoiseshell hair clip, a silk scarf and a exquisite little mirror, and wondered whether the bag came with the contents,
"How much is it?" I asked "and does it come with the contents?"
"eh no," she replied, "it's my bag. I was just pointing out the similarities with yours."
I returned her diary to the bag and zipped it up smartly. I backed out of the shop in a confusion of heartfelt and profuse apologies.
Oh god, I still haven't got over it.
And there was a very nice mirror in there (shop, not bag. Although there was one in the bag as I think I may already have mentioned) but I am far, far, far too embarrassed to ever go back there.
In fact I may never go out again.
23 comments:
Excellent. That was so good that I read it from beginning to end, even though it was about shopping.
Oh thank you for making my morning. That is exactly the sort of thing I would've done. So glad to know I'm not alone. And do show us the handbag! :)
Brilliant. How embarrassing though.
I'm pretty fed up about this. When I was in India in April, I discovered that grown-up children were buying their mothers iPads. Now I find that husbands unwittingly buy them. I bloody bought my own and am wondering where I went wrong.
That is something I would do. And I would go back to the shop though. Screw it. So I'm an idiot at times. So what.
I want to see the bag too.
Vic, you old flatterer you, mwah
Oh Andre, thank you!
Z, but Sage is so wonderful you can't do spite shopping, so sorry you just have to suck it up, the price if a decent husband :)
Oh and thank you for the iPad advice will try to follow it shortly. Unfortunately have lost higher cognitive functions to, to, to, I don't know, but find myself no longer able to work these things out. Or spell profuse.
Joy, hello you, hope all's well over the pond. I might go back, perhaps in disguise, or send an offspring in for me.
Z - thank you! As you can see I have paragraphs!
http://www.mulberry.com/store/products/daria%5Fsatchel/soft%5Fspongy%5Fleather/black/HH7436_571A100/daria
That is a link to look at my bag - I still can't upload pictures, however paragraphs are a real step forward n'est pas?
I always thought spite shopping involved purchasing a new pouring bit for One's teapot
It could have been worse Zig - at least you didn't haul a packet of tampax out her bag and muttering "ohmigod would you look at what some folk do?"
Why didn't the silly git just say, "Oh I have one just like it, only in tan!" Then you would know not to look through the contents. It's her fault, Zig, not yours. Go back and look at that mirror.
ROTFLMAO!!! nice one Zig
True, love, but he does spend an awful lot of money on himself. He reckons it doesn't count as they're antiques and in theory he could resell for at least the same money. It's only been in recent years that I've felt it's okay to spend on myself though.
:-) perfect bedtime reading, thank you.
Sx
Yep! I'd have done that, too. But I think Pony is right-the shop girl really ought to have said.Perhaps it's a sales ploy? Make people so flustered and embarrassed they buy things?
Mistake anyone might make - me certainly.
Most of the staff in our charity shops are a bun short of the full dozen (or a farthing or whatever) and it sounds as if at least one of yours is too.
On the other hand, what a good idea it would have been to have some of the other goods in the bag as a selling thingie!
Was there anything interesting in the diary?
if I wasn''t so embarassed about not having been here in (such) a (very long long) while, I might tell you that that was SO funny I read it aloud to A Teen
who laughed
however, I'm so embarassed about my absence that I feel awkward about sharing the joy you have brought to my/our day
*shuffles out backwards*
Rog, you are correct, except I bought a whole spite tea-pot, in Ireland I seem to recall.
Macy that's very true but I was reading her diary - I'm still shuddering.
Pon if anyone touches my handbag without permission I'd take them off at the knees, perhaps she was shocked into silence!
Pete have no idea what that is... Is it a lol but larger?
Z to continue ... Himself spent money on himself too and I never felt I could but I decided that was actually my problem, not his, so I addressed it!
Sx I went back in today and it was a different lady so I have my mirror yay.
Di not much of a sales ploy it made me leave in great haste! However the lady that was in there today was Mother of other lady and she said that they were now going to hang things for sale from the hatstand and it had given them a good idea.
Mig the diary just had lists in it, I'm not a list person but I really should be these days. My short term memory isn't. Such that I can't remember what you said in the comment while I write this though I read it bare second ago. Only the dairy bit remained by the time I moved to reply!
Jax oh dear Jax so happy you popped by! Hope all's well with you and yours (-:
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That's very funny. I wonder why she let you rummage through it? It's a very visual scene you have unfolded. Perhaps you could try the same sort of thing with somebody's very expensive car...
Greetings Rosie, I think she was stunned into silence!
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