A mixed shopping day

[denton]

Buying women's fashion as a guy is always an interesting experience. Usually a negative one. Today, it was 50/50. I guess that means I had a good day. lol.

I've figured out in another thread that Longchamp Pilage is a really popular bag in NYC. And observing them, I understand why. At the same time, after seeing them in Bloomingdales, I also realize that a lot of what I see is 'inspired by'.

Meanwhile, one of my nieces has just graduated college. We bought a card for her, and I've been on the fence as to getting her a present. The reason being, is that her parents are really well off, so if I get her something that means something to me, moneywise, if she doesn't like it we're out the money. I was really thinking of a yellow Coach New Willis, but I'd hate to waste three hundred bucks. At the same time, I think just sending a check is a bit tacky, I always think a thoughtful gift is a bit more classy, especially as in this case no amount of money that I can afford will make a difference in this girl's life.

My wife is traveling on business these next few days, so I thought I should have a little gift for her when she returns, and I thought a large Pliage would be just the ticket. Then it hit me, that if I have to get a present for my niece that she may or may not like, a Pliage may be just in the price range. I don't know why I feel that $150 is much different from $300, but I do.

So, I've done my research, I'm gonna buy two large Pliages in basic black, and it looks like Bloomies is the place in NYC to go. So, I'm not gonna waste a SA's time, I'm gonna march up and say, gimme two of those please, thank you, here's my Amex, have a nice day.

I find the teeny Longchamp booth, and the SA is making business with another woman, who seems to be scanning bags. They seem to be discussing whether there is a price for resale. So I wait my turn, and when I notice the other woman leaving, I see she has a badge that shows that she works there!

OK, now it's my turn, and in a familiar pattern, the SA, in this teeny tiny booth, seems to figure that I am there on some other business, maybe waiting for my wife, or maybe lost while looking for the mens' room. lol.

So, I have to go up to her counter, and position my large frame directly in front of her, in order to elicit a 'may I help you'. Yes, I'd like two black Large Pliage's. BTW are those the LARGEST? Yes they are. Great. Thank you!

Then she says, 'where are you from?'. I say, I'm from here. Then I say, 'if I'm from here do I get a discount'? She says, 'no, if you're you're from somewhere else, you do'.

Of course, at this point, I'm no longer mildly annoyed at the SA, I'm very annoyed at Bloomies. So, Bloomies is giving discounts to one class of customers, but not another? Great. I think that I can cross them off my list of places I will shop in the future.

But what I'm REALLY trying to score is some Prada flame shoes. I am SO in love with those shoes and the whole concept. This only happens to me rarely I want you all to know. But the shoes I like from the line are the most ostentatious and outrageous. Some of them are fairly subtle, so not for me. I had ordered a pair of Prada rose toe flame sandals from Bergdorf's, and after two months, the order was cancelled. I was pissed!

Then I decided to look around in the Prada stores, and scored these, as I mentioned here:
http://forum.purseblog.com/the-glass-slipper/prada-flame-reveal-755448.html

Today, after leaving Bloomies, I decided to swing by the Prada store on Madison Avenue, to see if they had anything floating around. I have to say there was not one customer in the store. On the sale rack, they had a pair of tail light shoes at half price. Unfortunately, only a 36 and I need a 38. But here, I was VERY pleased at the enthusiastic service I received from a young female SA. She offered to check all the inventory at all the Prada stores for this and the other flame shoes, she also brought out a book with all the styles to make sure she understood what I was looking for. While she said there was none of what I was looking for, she at least tried hard to make me happy.

She gave me hints on telling me what dept stores might have them or find them, and she was happy to talk about Prada's marketing strategy for these and other items. Always with a smile, and eager to please. Considering I walked out with nothing, I was pretty happy.

 

[Love Of My Life]

well it wasn't a total loss...

 

[denton]

well it wasn't a total loss...

Yeah, I'd call it 50/50

 

[LVoeShopping]

It always amazes me the different levels if service offered by different SA's sorry you had such a crummy experience with the Longchamp!

 

[jellyv]

Buying women's fashion as a guy is always an interesting experience. Usually a negative one.

My wife is traveling on business these next few days, so...

She just isn't a shopper, is that it? Just wondering how you got the job.

To topic, I see men get better service in many women's purchasing environments, so it's not thoroughly predictable. Bad service just bites.

 

[denton]

She just isn't a shopper, is that it? Just wondering how you got the job.

To topic, I see men get better service in many women's purchasing environments, so it's not thoroughly predictable. Bad service just bites.

Hmm, that hasn't been my experience, but maybe I don't have enough data points. I recall some bad experiences in Dooney and Coach stores in the 1980s and 1990s. To the point where my opinion was that stores that serve the truly rich (and there's only one that I patronize, because I am not) offer equally good service to all, but stores that have a lot of 'aspirational' shoppers, some of whom may be quite well off, while others are not, tend to make snap judgements about people that are sometimes wrong.

My wife came from a large immigrant family whose parents used guilt as a means of control over limited resources. It took me a while to figure it out but she has a deep-seated aversion to spending money on herself. And of course there were many years going to school, raising a child, saving for her college, real estate, and so on, where we lived pretty comfortably but not luxuriously but had expenses. Now we're doing a bit better, the kid's on her own, and we have some disposable income, so I enjoy pushing some of it into her closet. I spend almost nothing on my clothing, so it evens out. She's not unhappy about it. (We both earn about the same money).

She used to do the funniest thing. While I have my own faults same as the next guy, one thing that I am good at, is that I will notice if my wife has something new on. I'll notice what she's wearing, and if I haven't seen it before, I'll say something. I know a lot of women hate that their SO doesn't notice what they wear, or if they have something new. I do.

So while most women like that in a man, I think my wife had other ideas, given her guilt over spending money. She would buy something (and she never bought anything expensive) and then she would put it in the closet for months, untouched. She would finally break it out, and I'd say, 'hey, that's new'! And she'd say, 'that's not new, I've had it for months!' lol.

So see, she deserves something nice for all this drama.

 

[jellyv]

You sound incredibly sweet and considerate. She is a lucky woman.

Re my comment about men receiving good service, I was thinking in fact of high-end contexts. You should read the stories in the Hermes forum about women sending their husbands in to score scarce merchandise and getting better treatment than they themselves would (crazy, huh). But you're out there in the field, so your experiences are as valid as anyone's, and all I can say is, salespeople should be doing the happy dance if anyone's ready to buy.

 

[denton]

You sound incredibly sweet and considerate. She is a lucky woman.

Re my comment about men receiving good service, I was thinking in fact of high-end contexts. You should read the stories in the Hermes forum about women sending their husbands in to score scarce merchandise and getting better treatment than they themselves would (crazy, huh). But you're out there in the field, so your experiences are as valid as anyone's, and all I can say is, salespeople should be doing the happy dance if anyone's ready to buy.

Ah, haven't yet been to Hermes, and may never get to that level. lol. That is dumb. The only store I've been to that caters to the very well off is a place called James Robinson. I go there for for silver. That's the place I had in mind when I wrote the above. Have been there several times and always gotten impeccable treatment, even tho I've joked with the owner and told him I'm probably his poorest customer.

 

[mdmd]

Hmm, that hasn't been my experience, but maybe I don't have enough data points. I recall some bad experiences in Dooney and Coach stores in the 1980s and 1990s. To the point where my opinion was that stores that serve the truly rich (and there's only one that I patronize, because I am not) offer equally good service to all, but stores that have a lot of 'aspirational' shoppers, some of whom may be quite well off, while others are not, tend to make snap judgements about people that are sometimes wrong.

My wife came from a large immigrant family whose parents used guilt as a means of control over limited resources. It took me a while to figure it out but she has a deep-seated aversion to spending money on herself. And of course there were many years going to school, raising a child, saving for her college, real estate, and so on, where we lived pretty comfortably but not luxuriously but had expenses. Now we're doing a bit better, the kid's on her own, and we have some disposable income, so I enjoy pushing some of it into her closet. I spend almost nothing on my clothing, so it evens out. She's not unhappy about it. (We both earn about the same money).

She used to do the funniest thing. While I have my own faults same as the next guy, one thing that I am good at, is that I will notice if my wife has something new on. I'll notice what she's wearing, and if I haven't seen it before, I'll say something. I know a lot of women hate that their SO doesn't notice what they wear, or if they have something new. I do.

So while most women like that in a man, I think my wife had other ideas, given her guilt over spending money. She would buy something (and she never bought anything expensive) and then she would put it in the closet for months, untouched. She would finally break it out, and I'd say, 'hey, that's new'! And she'd say, 'that's not new, I've had it for months!' lol.

So see, she deserves something nice for all this drama.

I know exactly where your wife is coming from. I cringe at spending large amounts of money even if I love something and can now afford it. She's lucky to have you to help her acquire beautiful things without the guilt!