Sunday seems so long ago now, but just because I didn’t get the chance to write up our adventures at the time, it’s no excuse for shirking my Sunday saving responsibilities.
Given that there were a few Sunday afternoon activities planned close to home, we decided not to stray too far away from the city. We were without Doug (Douglas, he would like that one), so Cara and I decided that it would be the perfect opportunity to do something particularly girly: shopping in Bridge Road. Now, I know that this technically isn’t part of the Sunday saving philosophy – we have both been to Bridge Road before – but we figured that it had been so long since either of us had been there, it counted as a new adventure.
We left home and headed into the city to catch the number 75 tram to East Burwood. Unfortunately, because we didn’t leave until fairly late in the day (that’s the problem when Saturday night involves drinking for a good cause) and so we were caught in a mass of Carlton and Collingwood supporters on their way to the footy. After they all disembarked en route to the MCG, we had the pleasure of a relatively empty tram for a couple of stops before arriving in discount shopping heaven.
We went to several clothing stores in the same strip where we found same old, same old clothes. It’s very easy to see what’s ‘in’ when it’s in every shop just in slightly different shades and fabrics. Amongst the oversized retro 80s sunglasses (which looked bad enough the first time round, let alone stuck on the face of a bleach-bond acne prone teenager with no sense of control when it comes to partying) and rainbows of neatly folded tops, I made my first purchase – a dress at Dotti.
I have decided that I collect dresses, given that I have many of them and never like to throw them out. Other clothes I find easier to part with, but lately I haven’t been able to bring myself to get rid of any of my old dresses. I also bought a slip, useful considering the dress I bought was made from sheer fabric – something that is ‘in’ every second shop. It was actually something that was on my list as well – not that I had a proper list – but it was something I had at some stage planned to buy before I actually saw it. I bought a couple of things in Landes to wear to work, always a good excuse, and a seemingly justified way of spending hard-earned money.
Without Doug, the witty banter wasn’t nearly as abundant as it would have been otherwise. There were hardly any bad puns, at least none that were so bad I can still remember them today. Without Doug, we could do a lot of girly shopping though – my biggest bargain find was going in to Brands United and finding bras that cost $2 each. I also found a $50 bra that was reduced to $15 and was pretty happy with that, until I realised that everything I was looking at was on the ‘50% off the marked price’ rack. Three undergarments for $9.50 – bargain! Who cares if the fabric is some lairy kind of zebra print, it’s a $2 bra! Besides, they were better than the hideous g-strings we found in Cotton On.
We went to the Gorman Surprise store to longingly stroke the soft, soft cardigans that, although on sale, are still out of my price range. I did get some lovely organic cotton pyjamas though (also on my list), and as the tail end of my hangover kicked in, I was spurred on by the thought of going home and testing out said pyjamas.
By then, we were getting hungry – shopping can be hard work, and Bridge Road (at least the part that we were in) is not exactly known for its fine eateries. I wanted to go to The Tofu Shop because I’ve always been intrigued by just how interesting they can make tofu. I realised why I’ve never been there though when we arrived: it’s never open when I go there, because it’s usually a Sunday. We went across the road for Thai instead, to Krua Thai 2, and had some lunch specials – there’s nothing like a lunch special at 3.30pm on a Sunday. I had a very nice green chicken curry, but did look enviously at Cara’s Pad Thai with some big prawns poking out of the top.
After that, it was back to Dotti for Cara to buy a jacket, the only thing she decided to buy, compared to my many bags of shopping – she has such restraint. Then we headed back in to the city for a quick stop at home before going to Trades for the Anarchist Guild Social Committee, which was thoroughly entertaining. Just as well really, because all I could think about beforehand was how much I wanted to try out my new pyjamas.
