Sunday 1 September 2013

Guildford Mall Dressed To Impress

I WAS ON THE HUNT for a new dress in the early morning at the Guildford Mall in North Surrey. The doors were not yet open so I took some pictures of the trees in the parking lot. The leaves were already turning red, probably due to the driest BC summer I can recall.

Greenery clung to the outer portion of the upper walkway that stretched across a busy street like shaggy carpeting from one part of the mall to the other. It reminded me of the library wall in South Surrey that I wrote about HERE. Buildings cloaked in perennials are making the perfect fashion statement for a city wanting to be seen as environmentally friendly.

Inside the top floor of the mall I looked down to see a cluster of people wearing mostly black with touches of red. One woman greeted another with a hug. Perhaps they were a choir dressed uniformly?

Waiting for them get into position and burst into song I discovered, instead, that they were CEO's gathered to inspect the mall's vast multi-million dollar renovations that you can learn about HERE. The grand opening was scheduled for the next day.

Across the foyer a small boy wearing a green sweater was entranced by what I thought was a gigantic picture of plants. The people at his side did not seem to share his enthusiasm or engage him in conversation. It was not unusual to see children being ignored by adults who cannot stop staring into their tiny electronic screens.

The flourishing foliage was completely real on closer inspection. Some of the leaves swirled like ocean waves against the beached wall.

One grownup boy had not outgrown his curiosity and gave the indoor vertical garden a glance as he walked by.

Nature painted leaves within leaves creating symmetrical patterns.

Oops ... not in this store. I almost forgot my purpose was to find a dress.

As I went to the main floor in search of a clothing store I saw the elevator walls were infused with liquid pouring in between two pieces of glass. The manmade waterfall was in keeping with the naturalist theme of the mall.

I was shocked to find this wintry theme get ahead of autumn on another wall.

I was also surprised to discover no renovations yet in the changing rooms where I squeezed, twisted and tousled myself into various garments.

There were a few wrinkles beneath the shopping center's pleasant exterior but I did not blame management for wanting to impress. I suppose that is what I, too, hoped to achieve by choosing the dress I bought at the mall.

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Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

See more BC scenes at Penelope Puddlisms: BC Life Is A Whale Of A Ride.