off we went , therefore , to immerse ourselves in silks and muslins , gloves and fans and buckles and ribbons ; straw hats adorned with highly-colored fruits and flowers ; self-important dress-makers with decisive but respectful opinions and exhausted minions staggering under the weight of pattern-books ; a shoe-maker who was strangely astonished , and not a little disappointed , to find that my mother desired him to make for us several pairs of shoes , rather than to pay him to instruct us in how to do so ourselves : a most peculiar bit of whimsy , which has apparently begun to gain popularity in certain quarters .