Last week we took a train trip up to Sydney. While The Other half has been going to uni on the train, he never gets to make the full trip so this time we went right into Central together.
When I make a daytrip like this, I like to set goals otherwise I can easily get lost in looking at everything – whether it be shops, food, or landmarks. This time we had exactly four goals –
1. Visit Uniqlo for heat tech layers for me. Achievement unlocked. I got two things – this one you see below was especially great to buy on a super cold day.
I’ve been wearing regular and extra warm heat tech turtle necks for over a year now and they are brilliant in highly airconditioned environments where you are not the one in charge of the temperature. They are awesome in winter when you have to be outside, especially as layers under a Ghanda hoodie.
My goodness, they do an incredible trade in this place. Visit at lunch time at your personal peril. So many people, so little space, so many clothes, so much awesomeness. I do have a Uniqlo regret though – I wish I’d bought this fluffy thing above. It was fluffy on the inside as well and the price was pretty awesome.
2. Eat lunch with a friend who works in the city. Achievement unlocked. No photos because we went to a private dining room in a special building where they work. ;)
3. Drop into Sephora to explore their sale. Achievement unlocked.
4. Find new work shirts for The Other Half – when you’ve been wearing a uniform for over 10 years and suddenly you have to wear your own clothes there is a good chance you don’t have a big range of clothes to choose from. Especially so in the case of The Other Half who has lost about 10kg over those 10 years. Achievement denied. EPIC FAIL WHALE.
The Other Half was very specific with what he wanted – must be short sleeve – must be one of four or five colours he is happy to wear – must be 100% cotton (or 98% with 2% something else) – must not have checks, stripes, or a boring pattern – can have very random patterns.
This shirt from Zara would have been perfect if it were the right fabric. Especially the style of collar was appreciated. But the material was very thin and not quite right.
While some of the shirts were very funny – eg the prawn shirt seen below – most of them did not fit his criteria. Or when they did, they were in a wrong material, like this Kenji koi shirt which we found in black but it is rayon.
We went to all the possible places. Topman, Zara Man, H&M, Myer, David Jones, various random menswear places we found in our travels. We did find things to try on in a couple of these stores but the result was never a win. The cut was wrong, or the shape was off, or the fabric turned out to be thinner than The Other Half is ok with.
Admittedly, you likely will find a larger range of short sleeve shirts in the summer but FYI stores, some guys can’t tolerate long sleeves even in winter, some offices run quite warm and short sleeves are needed..
Anyway on the way home I suggested we hop off the train in Wollongong and see if we had more luck there. We checked TKMaxx – not one short sleeve collared shirt to be found. Then we checked Target and finally had a win – a couple of shirts and a pair of pants were purchased.
We had a lovely day out together, it was NICE TIME. :) Now that The Other Half has dropped back to working 2 days a week, it means we have a little more time together to do some things we’ve wanted to do for a while.
I bought that “fluffy thing above” for last winter here. I cannot praise it loudly enough. I wore it with a turtleneck underneath and was adequately warm in a house I keep cold to save money.
Looks like I’ll need to make another day trip just to get it, I think! ;) I could order it online but the fluffy turtleneck I bought which I thought was my size turned out to be a touch on the larger side than I expected, so I really would prefer to try it on. ;)
It is a very narrow choice of shirts if you don’t want checks or stripes and have other criteria as well. I seem to have more luck with finding the right clothes when I am not looking, but just noticing as I pass by.
It’s always difficult to find what I’m looking for when I want it. I seem to shop in season, when the stores have already moved on to the next one. I’m very picky about my tee-shirts; they have to be cotton and thick, with a man style neck. (not a v neck)
Great shopping! I have that Zara shirt in olive green. I love it, but i don’t work! My brother only wears short-sleeved polo shirts year-round, under sweatshirts in winter. So I shop in spring and summer and hold them for him for my annual visits.
Sound like a great day trip and the jacket in third photo seem so cozy.
Coffee is on
Men can be so fussy! I was going to suggest Target but you found it anyways.