Reduced

Easy winter option, crew neck jumper
Relaxed cotton, contemporary style.

The glory of a full-price item
chosen in the hot bloom of the season
In every size, in every length, no rush
Take time to build and choose, plan ahead, think
of this look or that, this image or that
The one I want to lay on me, draped,
The one that says what I want it to say.
Easy payment. Security. It’s mine.

Exceptional comfort, supersoft yarn
with smart trims to create a neat finish.

Displays cater to my every need
A smorgasbord from which I choose
though noble ideas are deeply polished
with glowing safety. This life is inside
the well-wrapped box, tied, sealed, served with Dior smile.
Shall I compare this to another’s life?
I hardly bother, busy curating,
filling the rails of my mirrored wardrobe.

***

With January eyes, I see shops prepared to launch and throw
Missile attacks on a cratered high street
Clearly, I remember the decorum of the time before.
Choosing, building,
the slow selection, the knowledge that all is before me, for me.
Now unravelled.

Arms stretch and grab.

The crunch of hangers underfoot,

a cruel mixture of trousers with skirts

Fighting colours. Tonal palettes forgotten.

Disordered sizes, lying labels, the sale sticker skewers across the collar.

I feel the loss.
Touching with sudden, overwhelming clarity, the fading image of careless success,
I remember the time of choice and purchase, the easy accumulation,
the beautiful utility of the day-to-night outfit. Seamless.
Now boutique turns bric-a-brac.
I battle, elbows and eyes sharp, for the end of line.