As with supermarkets, shopping malls can be daunting for people with MS.  Apart from any mobility issue, there’s lots of open space, there can be lots of noise and, if the shopping mall is any good, it should have lots of people.  And often people in crowds move at a faster pace than the person with MS.  A few things that I am starting to find useful, particularly when the need arises to buy clothes…

• Ironing no longer holds the thrill it once did and that once thrill was fairly small anyway, so I now look for clothes that don’t need ironing.  They don’t have to be horrible polyester numbers – and luckily there is a current fashion to venture out wearing a crumpled look.
• If you find buttons awkward, go for shirts that don’t have them!  Or get into the habit of only unbuttoning a couple and taking the shirt off over your head.
• See if you can find some slip on/tie up casual trousers as an alternative to jeans.
• Slip on shoes can also be a boon.
• If you need something that takes a bit more ‘trying on’ in the shoe department, call on the family to shop for you.  Because my feet are sensitive and wearing sneakers requires tying up laces, an extensive ‘fitting’ at a shoe shop is no fun at all.  Recently Annie took in a favourite old pair of sneakers and asked the assistant to replicate the brand and size as closely as possible.  Worked a treat.
• Always take your teenage daughter with you when clothes shopping.  She will NEVER allow you to purchase something uncool!
• And, finally, go placidly amid the noise and the haste – no less than the trees and the stars, you have a right to be there!

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