Chasing Club Shoes On Oxford Street (Part 2)

Oxford Street Begins

Arriving in the City after traveling all the way through the Granville line it still took us around forty minutes to reach Central. Jumping off at Central Station Shawn had the intention of heading to Town Hall Station so he could check out a store in which he thought would have some good clothes for him. However, as I suggested we start from Oxford Street we ended up catching the next train to Museum Station and thus, our glorious day began. Parading out of Museum Station I received a look from a blonde girl that was also heading out.

Not too sure if it was the clothes or something stuck between my front teeth but I’m sure she was intrigued as much as I. The day was slightly windy and as I looked at Shawn deciding not to take his jacket he looked considerably cold. Crossing onto the main part of Oxford Street we began our journey up the left hand side in which we firstly stopped at Urban Edge to Shawn’s request. Shawn was keen to buy clothes but he didn’t look too confident when it came to trying on clothes or looking around.

He looked a little like he was hiding inside his shell and I figured it was because he was just getting used to the idea of shopping with a horde of money but I guess it could also be that he didn’t appreciate much of the fashion. Myself, I was excessive with trying on gear as I noticed some cool club shoes near the front of the store. Asking if I could try a pair on she brought the same style shoe for me and trying the mostly white shoes with a Velcro strip I walked around the store in them for a little.

Looking at myself in one of their mirrors I liked the shoes but I didn’t like the $180 price tag. Seriously, prices for clothing and style have really taken a big step in the last couple of years. A good shirt will cost you an arm and matching pants will cost you another arm plus half your leg ridiculous. Anyway, I also tried on a black and blue jacket and as I took mine of I watched for the expression on the lady’s face. I was pretentious but I concealed it behind my humbled ways.

When taking the jacket off I didn’t do it in a pompous way but as with any other jacket. I knew that the shirt looked great on me and as I like being ostentatious with my fashion, I did it in a way that pleased me and pleased others without them thinking I was a show-off.

Shawn Finds His Groove

Finding nothing of interest in Urban Edge I asked Shawn if he wanted to try anything on and with his suggestive departures we done just that. Shawn was just building himself into a comfortable groove and as our next shop was Hound Dog I figured that Shawn would feel a little more at home with the fashion there. For the first couple of minutes I helped Shawn pick out some items to try on. Grabbing him a set of pants and two shirts he made his way to the change rooms.

In that time I quickly notched up a medium sized pair of those reflector pants that I’ve already bought and headed to the nearest assistant. I was told that there weren’t any more mediums in that style but holding one in my hand I asked the assistant if I could exchange the pants I had on if the medium suited me. She had a bit of concern as to my already wearing them but she looked as if she would consider swapping them.

“Go over and try them on, we’ll see how they fit you first” she replied and even though I didn’t have my docket on me it was still looking favorable. When trying on the pants I found that they didn’t really make a difference at all and what’s more, there was a slight difference in the color, these were a little grayer. Therefore, I decided not to hassle the lady with my request and perused around the shop a little more.

Boots Meant For Women

To my immediate surprise I noticed two racks of shoes on opposing walls and not hesitating to check them out I found two pairs of shoes that I thought were intensely amazing. Both of them were thick soled boots and one of them was a fair touch off the ground. Asking the lady if she could bring me my correct size I tried them on as Shawn came back out of the change-room. As Shawn sat down with me I told him how the shoes were designed for women but could have been taken for unisex.

Earlier on the train to the City I explained to him what I had been told about women’s shoes and how these days there isn’t much that distinguishes the difference, it is a thin line. When I tried the shoes on I was thinking that Shawn would show his opposing nature, mocking me for even considering trying on shoes made for women. However, Shawn was being institutionalized to fashion sense and for that his ridicule was being tossed out the window.

The apathy shown by Shawn was impressive as I walked around in the shoes despite their being one size too small. My toes were crunched up at the front and as I asked for a size higher I was informed that they were the last shoes in the store and basically, the stock had run out. It was a shame because the shoes had come down half price from $280 and they were a great boot.

Counting my losses I took the shoes back off somewhat disappointed that Hound Dog would not be the supporter of my fashionable shoes when on a dancefloor. Hound Dog on Oxford Street was basically the only store that sold groovy shoes so my bid to find them at a shop I loved was seeming hopeless. Just before the both of us left Shawn noticed a button up light blue shirt he thought was attractive. It only cost $15 but Shawn thought we would catch up with it at Hound Dog on Pitt Street.

Music Store Downstairs

The next place we stopped on Oxford Street was a couple of steps up the walkway. Shawn had heard that Central Station the Music Store was somewhere along this line so as we pulled up to its doors he found no hesitation to step inside. Bending to his zest of intrigue we headed down the steps, seeing fashionable jackets situated in glass panes.

When downstairs I was surprised that most of the place was to sell clothes with a small segment for actually selling CD’s, scratch tapes and LP’s. They had some of the coolest Rap, Hip Hop and R & B there including many labels on LP worth a mention. Shawn noticed a jacket or two which he thought were good looking but he didn’t try anything on in the store.

Myself, walking over to the hats and accessories section I asked the lady behind the counter if she could give me some assistance with trying on some glasses. Opening up the protective stand I tried on some yellow lens glasses but didn’t find them to be too attractive in price or on me. I also tried on a beanie with the glasses but once again, the beanie was too tight on my head. Sure it will stretch but I didn’t like the stress in which it adhered.

This little trek had already probably taken us from our arrival at 11:15 a.m. to the break of midday. Shopping thus far had taken us a fair while in each shop but neither of us looked too concerned about time. I was just thinking of all the shops we were graced enough to visit within the next few hours, I’m sure Shawn was as content as I. The next shop to my memory in which we walked in was at the end of our first odyssey.

A Jacket At Morrissey

Having come as far as we wanted to head up on Oxford Street our turning point came after we made our way into Morrissey. I’ve wanted to head in here ever since I had visited the sweater shop next door and I’ll tell you, I was glad I did. Although most of the wear inside was created for women there were two long racks of new arrivals designed for men.

Shawn himself didn’t try anything on as he probably thought it was way too classy for his first step but seeing a great looking jacket I decided I couldn’t go past trying it on. Besides, the ladies who were running the store were very friendly, one in particular. Stepping into their very cool change-rooms with sliding doors which sort of revolved from what seemed to be like a solid wall, I stepped inside and tried on the jacket.

The material of the jacket was one of the new fabrics I so much wanted to get my hands on. I’m not too sure what it’s called but its sort of a leather feeling without the gloss, density in fabric or richness of material. Rather, the material was without stretch and you see it on black rappers most of the time.

It was a hard task trying to get it on and I had to do the same trick of bending right over and stretching out my hands like in Tarocash when I tried on that immovable shirt. The jacket itself cost $180 which was a fair price for quality but I knew I didn’t want to consider such extravagance yet. As I gave back the jacket to the ladies one of them asked “So are you going to buy it today”.

Explaining my intentions for the day Shawn and I made our way back outside. As noted, one of the girls showed a keen interest for me which would have been linked to the clothes I wore and my hair being out. Not looking so bad herself she had a big smile on her face as we said goodbye and her eyes, like mine, followed me out of the store. Maybe it was just her flare of attracting me back for a sale or maybe it was genuine cupidity, I will never know…