When we bought shirts in actual stores

Shades of blue and white
London, ON
May 2014
This photo originally shared on Instagram

We don’t shop in brick-and-mortar stores these days, and it isn’t clear when that might change.

Which makes throwback images like this one - taken 7 years ago - all the more resonant. Because from where I sit, no app can replicate what it’s like to browse the merchandise on a store shelf, to discuss the options with a trained salesperson, to feel the atmosphere of a place that once defined a significant chunk of how we lived.

I took this picture with an old BlackBerry Z30 (look it up. I’ll wait) because I was having a good time and wanted to remember the experience in some small way.

These days if I need a dress shirt, I’ll order one on a much more capable smartphone than that ancient BlackBerry. But I doubt I’ll be taking pictures of the experience. It just doesn’t feel worthy of a placeholder, another example of how we’ve advanced, yet lost something along the way.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #throwback #store #shopping #mall #retail #random #photography #apple #blackberry #z30 #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything

Related:

Clinging to life, September 2014

After the interview, August 2014

Getting metaphysical in the fruit aisle, April 2014

Thematic Photographic 124 - Candid, November 2010

I'm not wearing pants, June 2009