This post may have lost its direction, just a tad

I cannot think of an expense that pains me more than dry cleaning.

I love spending money. The amount of pleasure I get from a new pair of shoes, or a new book, even something practical for the house (new closet organizer anyone?) is, maybe, not quite normal. But dry cleaning as a regular expense is just something I cannot get on board with. Finding myself consistently out about 50 quid for something I should be able to take care of for a fraction of the price at home (but can’t, because our 2 in 1 machine treats clothes in a manner not unlike the dhobis do back in the homeland) really ruins my day when I check my bank balance online.

Here’s the worst part:

Cost of dry cleaning one (1) man’s “shirt” = £1.50 at the local shop.
Cost of dry cleaning one (1) woman’s “blouse” = £5.00 at the local shop.

WTF?

Both of these are your standard 100% cotton collared shirts that you wear to the office. And, in 9 cases out of 10, the woman’s blouse will be smaller than the man’s shirt. Not that I think it’s practical to charge per square centimeter of fabric, but I think you get my point. To rub it in a bit more, all the dry cleaning shops boast their low prices for men’s shirts in the window display. Is this the case in the States, as well? If so, I think this issue needs to be at the forefront of the feminist platform. I don’t think I need to go into how much more expensive it is to be girl in the first place. Again, that's 9 cases out of 10; I can think of a few exceptional males. All of them are Indian. But that’s a story for another day…