This is JM's first year of football. He is required to wear a dress shirt, tie, and dress slacks to school on game days. The first of those days is tomorrow and my darling son falls short on the dress clothes supply.
As luck would have it as we stepped into the mall yesterday my boss called; needing my services for an hour or two, so after checking with the boys a plan was hatched. Hubby and JM would stay at the mall and shop while I took care of work-related matters. They were given a budget and these last minute instructions:
1. Please make sure the pants, shirt and tie are color-coordinated.
As luck would have it as we stepped into the mall yesterday my boss called; needing my services for an hour or two, so after checking with the boys a plan was hatched. Hubby and JM would stay at the mall and shop while I took care of work-related matters. They were given a budget and these last minute instructions:
1. Please make sure the pants, shirt and tie are color-coordinated.
2. Dress shirt should be long-sleeved so make sure the sleeves are the appropriate length.
3. Tie; no clip-ons. JM wants a real tie.
4. Button down shirt, not an oxford.
5. Dress slacks, please choose a shade of tan - not black.
And off I went. While I was gone I checked bank balances to see where they were shopping and whether or not they were on budget, but I didn't tell them that. Just under two hours later I was back at the mall and quickly spotted them as they went meandering on their way.
Hmmmm, only one bag. This did not bode well. Upon my arrival I was told that we were out of luck. No button down shirts. Of course this made no sense to me; an entire mall and not one dress shirt in the entire place? Hubby said the only choices were two shades of blue and two shades of white. Again I didn't see the problem. Oh wait, the bag. I was forbidden to open it, but I could see through the bag that the pants inside were black. Still, I didn't understand the problem.
It became clear when Hubby explained that he was looking for "button down" shirts. JM said it didn't matter as long as they were dress shirts. Hubby was sticking to shirts with button down collars and JM just wanted any old dress shirt, preferably black, with a tie. Poor hubby was laughing, but defenseless when I reminded him that he was from a different time (read: old) when a "button-down" meant something different. Of course his suggestion that we talk to a haberdasher didn't actually help his case either. When JM suggested it was 2009 not 1909 and we lived in America, not England where such things still matter, I though he was going to pop a blood vessel. Fortunately, we were able to resolve the discussion with a quick search of Wikipedia on the iPhone. We were both right. "Back in the old days" a button-down referred specifically to a shirt with a buttoned down collar. These days however, it simply refers to a shirt that buttons down the front. These shirts no longer being worn simply for "dress", but are often paired with jeans and left untucked. But, I digress...
Grumbling and grousing that they had been all over the mall, four times, and now knew it so well they found things they had never known were there, we headed back to get JM his dress shirt and tie. The one he wanted two hours earlier, and would have had, if his Dad lived in the current times. Fortunately Hubby had a sense of humor about the whole thing, but I'm still trying to figure out why he headed for the nearest exit as soon as I arrived, leaving me to handle the shirt and tie portion of the event...
And off I went. While I was gone I checked bank balances to see where they were shopping and whether or not they were on budget, but I didn't tell them that. Just under two hours later I was back at the mall and quickly spotted them as they went meandering on their way.
Hmmmm, only one bag. This did not bode well. Upon my arrival I was told that we were out of luck. No button down shirts. Of course this made no sense to me; an entire mall and not one dress shirt in the entire place? Hubby said the only choices were two shades of blue and two shades of white. Again I didn't see the problem. Oh wait, the bag. I was forbidden to open it, but I could see through the bag that the pants inside were black. Still, I didn't understand the problem.
It became clear when Hubby explained that he was looking for "button down" shirts. JM said it didn't matter as long as they were dress shirts. Hubby was sticking to shirts with button down collars and JM just wanted any old dress shirt, preferably black, with a tie. Poor hubby was laughing, but defenseless when I reminded him that he was from a different time (read: old) when a "button-down" meant something different. Of course his suggestion that we talk to a haberdasher didn't actually help his case either. When JM suggested it was 2009 not 1909 and we lived in America, not England where such things still matter, I though he was going to pop a blood vessel. Fortunately, we were able to resolve the discussion with a quick search of Wikipedia on the iPhone. We were both right. "Back in the old days" a button-down referred specifically to a shirt with a buttoned down collar. These days however, it simply refers to a shirt that buttons down the front. These shirts no longer being worn simply for "dress", but are often paired with jeans and left untucked. But, I digress...
Grumbling and grousing that they had been all over the mall, four times, and now knew it so well they found things they had never known were there, we headed back to get JM his dress shirt and tie. The one he wanted two hours earlier, and would have had, if his Dad lived in the current times. Fortunately Hubby had a sense of humor about the whole thing, but I'm still trying to figure out why he headed for the nearest exit as soon as I arrived, leaving me to handle the shirt and tie portion of the event...
