I’m possibly one of the very few people in the world who prefers to shop alone. The need to shop solo can be attributed to certain friends who have turned shopping trips into a living hell. These particular friends can be categorised as follows:

1. The “tight arse” friend
I like to spend lots of money on clothes. Yes it’s stupid, but, I don’t have kids or a mortgage so what else should I spend my money on? When I go shopping I don’t need a friend haranguing me for spending money on couture. It’s my money and if I only wear an item once, then it’s my business!

2. The “it’s only money” friend
This friend is the polar opposite to the “tight arse”. Miss “it’s only money” actively encourages you to spend all your money on clothes – usually on credit or to the detriment of your food budget. This friend is somehow able to convince you that you cannot take your new designer frock home without a pair of shoes to match. This type of friend will have you so poor you’ll be eating beans on toast for a fortnight – but at the very least, you’ll look fabulous while doing it.

3. The “style guru” friend
This is the equivalent of shopping with those vile monsters from What Not to Wear. How many times have you been coveting a beautiful item only to try it on and have your friend tell you it’s “just not your style” or, worse, “it just doesn’t do anything for your figure.” This type of advice is rarely sought and for that reason, you will inevitably continue the rest of the shopping trip feeling like a fat, unattractive cow.

4. The “hot” friend
Everybody has a gorgeous friend who looks amazing in anything. I love to socialise with my “hot” friend but I don’t like to shop with her. My “hot” friend is fully prepared for the return of high waisted pants. This is because she looks like Kate Moss in them. When I wear high waisted pants I look like Pee Wee Herman – in drag. When I go shopping I don’t need to be reminded that fashion fads are usually reserved for beautiful people.

5. The “dawdler” friend
This friend could also be described as the “tries everything on” friend. I’ll admit I’m a selfish shopper. For me, a good shopping trip will end in a successful purchase for me. The “dawdler” friend however needs to look in every shop and try everything on – just to ensure she’s not missing out on the ultimate item. This can be infuriating, especially if I’m on a mission of my own. It’s even worse when the “dawdler” ends up with an amazing array of clothes and I miss out entirely because we’ve dawdled so long the shop I want to go to is closed.

The above list doesn’t mean you have to shop alone for the rest of your days. It only aims to ensure that shopping with friends doesn’t end in disaster. The good news is there is a perfect shopping partner out there amongst your friends. She’s the friend who doesn’t judge you for spending too much (or too little) money on clothes; she doesn’t make you feel like you are either unattractive or unstylish; she recognises the importance of a shopping mission and makes it her business to make the shopping trip successful, and most importantly, fun.

If however you don’t recognise the perfect shopping partner amongst your friends, don’t despair. Look out for how to join the AskBronny community coming soon! Plus, when you join you’ll be in the running to win a day’s shopping trip with Bronny!!

The Clotheshorse Community coming soon ...