I accept now that sometimes I will need trousers sometimes but obviously women's not male ones . I like the look of some Chino style in Cotton Traders , they do soft pastel coloures in shorts , cropped and long . I have no problem ordering online but have put a few pounds on so I'm in a UK 12 for some items and a 14 for others , the obvious solution is find one of their outlets and try them on but so far I haven't found an outlet stocking them and also we can try on coats but not dresses , skirts or trousers . Today I was in a large garden centre with clothing outlets , I found a sales girl in the Mountain Warehouse department and told her I wanted some Chino's so she said , " Oh yes , ours are very lightweight and slim fitting " , with that she pointed to the male racks ! I gave her a fixed stare and said , " But they're for men !" She looked puzzled at me and said , " Yes I know they are , so what size does your husband take !"
When she realised her mistake she confirmed they don't sell women's and passed me over to a young salesman in the Cotton Traders section . He explained that with lockdown just ending their stocks are very inconsistent but then I found a really nice 3/4 length raincoat in a dusky pink at half price which fitted nicely in a 14 so I might treat myself to that .
I must admit I was slightly annoyed with the sales girl , the comments in the recent thread on " Passing " and being read going through my mind but obvioulsy she hadn't misread me , so now I must finish this thread and go and prepare my husbands meal