Clothes shopping is not a day I set aside. 

It happens on a day that, well, it just happens. 

I will be out doing my thing, and I will see a store that interests me. 

I go in and walk out with a new shirt. 

Then it just rolls from there. 

I like to shop when this happens. 

I find things that really speak to me. 

Better still, they find me. 

Perhaps it is because I have an open mind. 

I am not looking for anything. 

I cannot shop with anyone. 

I must be alone. 

I want to be left alone. 

It is tough sometimes. 

I will walk into a store that has a minimalist aesthetic. 

You know the ones. 

A couple of racks with items evenly spaced out. 

The designer is behind the counter. 

This can work in two ways. 

You want everything. 

You don’t want anything. 

This is when it is tough. 

How do you leave? 

I know you have been there. 

I have concluded that the best thing to say is just a simple ‘thank you’ when I leave. 

Don’t go into some long-winded explanation of why I am not purchasing anything. 

Something I used to do in the past. 

On the opposite side of this is the big department store. 

There are a couple of beauties in Montreal. 

I like them both. 

But one stands out for a particular reason. 

It is understaffed. 

I can be left alone. 

I know what I like, I don’t know what I want. 

Let me just cruise up and down the aisles alone. 

There is another store. 

It would fit in between the two above. 

The one that has a staff of, say two or three. 

This is the tricky one. 

The one where the staff is champing at the bit to show you what they have. 

But you want to be left alone. 

They have a way of appearing out of nowhere. 

You pull out a shirt, and then suddenly you hear, ‘That also comes in beige.’  

It is almost as if they are hiding behind a pillar. 

Then there is perfection. 

That beautiful space that combines all three. 

I call it ‘Florence.’ 

I was in a store one time, and I found something I really liked. 

I asked the owner if it came in a medium. 

She said it did, but it was downstairs. 

But something happened when I asked her. 

We ‘clicked.’ 

I immediately got her. 

She immediately got me. 

I could tell by her smile. 

‘Florence.’ 

‘TJ.’ 

When she returned, she had my size, but she also had a few other items. 

Beautiful items. 

I am not one to use change rooms. 

I find my size and leave. 

But I was in a city that was far away. 

She insisted, so I did. 

We had so much fun together. 

We talked about everything and laughed about everything. 

She kept on throwing things over the change room door. 

‘Try this,’ she would yell, and a sweater would come flying over the door. 

I left with every item she threw over the door. 

I still wear every item she threw over the door. 

I still get, ‘Where did you get that?’ with every item she threw over the door. 

I was back in that city a year ago. 

I walked back in, and she greeted me with my name. 

I returned the greeting with her name. 

Haha, then it happened again. 

Online shopping is fine, but it will never beat this type of experience. 

Never. 

I love the shopping days that are a ‘Florence.’ 

I love it when someone gets you. 

I love it when I get someone else. 

It is like I found my stylist. 

I told her that. 

She called me her ‘muse.’ 

What a wonderful, heartwarming thing to say. 

I think nice things happen when you don’t set out with a game plan. 

‘Florence’ 

Insert heart on top of another heart emoji here. 

‘Dress Confidently. Ride Boldly. Ride YOU.’