AIBU to feel all out of sorts after a trip to John Lewis?!

[ButterPopcorn]

Got £100 of John Lewis vouchers for Christmas - lovely, thought we could maybe get something for the house etc. Never really go in there, occasionally to the gifty/cards department but don't venture any further in.

First we looked at kitchen stuff - fancied updating our mismatched and rusty saucepan collection... £70 for one saucepan! We started looking for a rug - even looking at bog standard plain rectangular rugs we couldn't find anything under £100. Next we tried curtains - £75 for one curtain! Thought maybe we could get a bedspread and couple of cushions to brighten up the bedroom - £42 for one cushion!?

I could feel myself getting irrationally would up just walking around - everything was so lovely and I wanted to all but knew I could never afford to have a beautifully John Lewis-ed bedroom. I'm never normally bothered about things like that, but I could feel a sort of illogical jealousy rising...!

DP eventually said, "Why don't we just look at the clothes, we could spend £50 each?". I went off into the women's clothes department and just felt SO out of place - women walking around in designer jeans and crisp white shirts, kids in Uggs and Holister hoodies with mums in Barbour. Everything I looked at was £80+.

In the end DP came away with a £40 pair of jeans, and I didn't get anything. He kept saying "Why are you complaining - you've got a free £50 to spend!?", so AIBU to have got into a fettle because I felt weirdly jealous of the beautiful people who must have beautiful homes and spend £70 on saucepans but also sort of disgusted by the ridiculous, materialistic lifestyle of the John Lewis shopper!? Argh!

I do know what you mean a bit, but they do have lovely stuff.

We had 100 JL vouchers at Christmas and spent 60 on a new king size feather duvet, 20 on two feather pillows and bought a matress topper on offer for 15 quid (so went over a bit but it was reduced from 40). This was in the sale though, it would probably have cost double that overall, but as it was we completely made over our bed and the quality is great, pillows still big and floofy.

I couldn't believe there were individual pillows for NINETY QUID! Even reduced.

So may pretty homewares... sigh will have to stick with Ikea for cheap fixes.

The thing about JL customers - brace yourself for massive sweeping generalisation - is that many of them are of the 'buy quality, buy once' mentality, hence the startling amount of £100 pans alongside the JL Basics ones. That pan will be heating warm cocoa in a kitchen in Bourton-on-the-Water for the next 25 years.

I mainly have the Basics stuff, which is good value, but eventually, between the sales and my rewards vouchers, I want my whole house to look like the fourth floor of Peter Jones, sprinkled with a little of the basement kitchenware section. I've never left a John Lewis without feeling 15% calmer with the world.

I love John Lewis. I won some vouchers on here once and used some of them to buy some decent cake tins and a baking sheet etc. Normally I would have just bought cheapo ones and then complained that they were rubbish - these are brilliant and have taught me to pay for better quality for things I want to use a lot.

op i feel like this every time i go in JL too! thought it was only me

Raahh, yes, I went back up to see friends a few months ago and I struggled to find toilets! Not been back since theyve completed the work though. Shame to think it's not as good. We moved away a couple of years ago when the recession was at its height-not that you'd notice if you popped in there on any given day. Apart from all the X5s and Range Rovers outside, the place was always heaving. I heard once that it was one of their biggest grossing stores outside of London! That doesn't surprise me as there was always a lot of wealth and bling coming up the A34!

I do miss JL and having everything else on my doorstep up there but life is so much calmer down here with less orange people dripping with gold driving 75k cars!

salemsparlkys I love JL,my BIL has worked there for 20+ years so we use his discount, I buy most of the childrens things from there,kitchen stuff, house stuff in general

Um, you know that is tres naughty?!

Yes I will second the 'buy cheap, buy twice' sentiment. Also they have in my experience been very good if something goes wrong

YANBU I've been out shopping and ended up feeling like that x

I adore JL and miss it now I live abroad

Our wedding list 10 years ago was from there and the two sets of kingsize bedding we got still looks fab, even after constant use.

Two things that were absolutely brilliant are: In our wedding list, we chose some dark blue towels for guests. 18 months later they were still giving off dark blue fluff whenever they were used. JL changed them ALL for brand new white ones.

Saucepans - about three years after we got married we finally went into JL to complain that our saucepans' handles took forever to drain after being in the dishwasher - bad design. Those wonderful people at JL changed the pans for us! We had to pay the difference which I thought was fair enough, but still...six new shiny JL saucepans for a pittance.

It is a truly venerable institution

Luuurve JL. They're expensive but quality is excellent. Having said that recently bought some cheap every day tumblers and hi ball glasses from there and they were very good value. Unfortunately, the delivery guy was a tool and some of the glasses were broken. Phoned up to complain and by lunchtime the next day the entire order had been replaced. Their customer service is just excellent.

Sorry the experience made you feel bad. That's not fun, but hope you do your research on the web and go there again and spend those vouchers!