The other half has been asking for a new pair of shoes so I thought I'd take him to our nearest big town now that Les Soldes are in well under way and see if we could pick up a nice new pair of modern loafers.
Firstly we got caught out by the Monday morning closure of most non-chain stores (oops forgot about that - thought it was just small towns that did that) but then after a nice lunch (where we managed to get a high chair - often a task more difficult than finding gold dust) we commenced our hunt which went something like this:
First Shop - hubbie saw a pair in window, looked ok, went in, saw price 300euros in sale, walked out
Second Shop - couldn't see anything suitable - all too pointy & shiny - not his style at all
Third Shop - browsed sale items, was accosted by sales lady who asked us what style we were after. Round & not too pointy modern loafer, no laces please was the requirement. She brought back pointy, no good, then laced, no good, then finally a pair which fitted the bill - except they weren't in the sale at all & were 200 euros. Hubbie politely said 'not quite what I was looking for' and we made our excuses & left. He was very embarrased as they were actually suitable & what we asked for but not for that price! Is it reasonable to say to a shop assistant & not extortionately priced please? We're in the Midi not Paris.
So we ended up back at home on our site www.UK4Me.co.uk & got a lovely pair of perfect loafers for £45 from £99 in the sale at Jones Bootmakers plus a pair of sandals for the little one (to make the most out of the delivery charge).
Next time he wants something I'm not sure I'll be able to drag him away from the PC. 3 hours of shoe shopping & 3 minutes on the laptop...not comparable.