We went clothes shopping tonight, as we have two weddings to attend: one tomorrow and another at Christmas. Some people might have enjoyed the hunt, but this is one of those chores that both of us don't care much for, albeit for different reasons. I hate how boring and dull men's clothes are; J hates how much variety, in sizes and styles, there are in women's clothes.

Buying clothes is something that I do as a hit-and-run: try and find something that I like that's not too dull, make sure it fits, and get out of there. This is easy for me because there's really not that much variety in men's clothes. You've got coats and sportscoats, oxford shirts or turtlenecks (mock or full), and slacks or dockers. The color and pattern selection runs the spectrum from black to brown. I wonder where the hell Tom Wolfe goes to buy his white suits, because I never see anything similar in any of the places I shop at. A light tan or beige is about the closest I can get. I actually prefer lighter colors, as my skin tends toward being a tad flaky, and I dislike performing a Breakfast Club Ally Sheedy imitation everytime I wear something that's all black, such as my formal suit. I got lucky, though, and found a microsuede, stain-resistant sportsjacket that came in a light gray. Dress it up with appropriate black slacks and a maroon mock turtleneck and I'm not too formal and not too casual--just the thing for a wedding where I'm a guest and not a participant. As normal, I was done in less than an hour.

J's experience was another matter. It's much harder to determine what size you are in women's clothes because every year the size numbers seem to be shrinking while the clothes do not. What used to be an 8 is now a 6, and there's actually women's sizes 0. Next year, she says, they'll be in the negative numbers. Women's fashions also are much more bold, but at the same time they also follow trends, and one of the trends this season seems to be pants that are too short (for winter, too--it's already in the low 30s here in the Metro DC area). We spent three hours at the mall searching for something that she could mix and match, for the wedding in December is a four-day affair, and just one outfit wasn't going to be enough to cover both tomorrow's affair as well as the one in two months. She did finally find a store where the clothes seemed to match her taste, and once she started trying things on, I had to agree that what I had first thought as uninteresting worked quite well for her.

That's probably not the last of the shopping we'll have to do for December, but it was surprisingly productive, given the short time we had given ourselves to shop in.