FashBlog.com

There are some things I will never understand about stores.

First is the whole 2-3 month ahead-of-the-season thing. I shopped on the last day of August and actually saw employees putting out Christmas fashions. I don’t like to be subjected to Noel décor before Halloween, and this is ridiculous. Aren’t we inundated, overwhelmed and besieged enough for about 6 straight weeks every November and December? How can we possibly feel like shopping for a Christmas party dress twelve weeks ahead of time?

The next oddity is, regardless of the size, type, cost or locale, any clothing store enables even the most practical of us to drift into a mindset of the future. It doesn’t matter how the pants or shirt or dress looks at that moment; it’s how it will look at some future time, when our hair lays better or we’re wearing different shoes or more flattering makeup or we’ve worked off those inches of fat. Stores don’t sell clothes; they sell the prospect of a happier future when we wear them.

Another mystery of stores’ intent concerns the intimidating pictures of gorgeous models that are plastered everywhere. On top of that, perfectly proportioned, size 0 mannequins remind us that anything looks cuter when it’s small. If stores really want to sell to women, they should realize that most of us don’t like going into stores where we feel inferior. If the stores were smart, they’d have no model pictures and no mannequins. Let the customer be the star for a change-after all, we’re the ones spending money, not the models who are costing money.

Then there’s the shopping mystery of why every size is available except yours. Or, the mannequins-now anatomically correct-sporting sheer tops with no underwear. (Yep, I know many women who will copy that look…) Most stores group items by size, but now some stores group items by manufacturer. Why? It forces the shopper to stop at more than a half dozen areas instead of just one. Women want to go straight to their size, perhaps one up or down from it; they don’t want to waste time or get their hopes up about items don’t fit. Plus, I always thought stores would sell more if they would do a better job at putting accessories with outfits. I’m more apt to buy shoes or jewelry if it’s all right there, instead of having to roam around, looking for them. It’s clear that it’s an issue of space and display room, but I bet some clever employee could figure out a way to do it.

Another questionable aspect is the dressing room assistance and maintenance. I vaguely remember sales ladies in these areas, whose jobs were to immediately return unwanted clothes back to the showroom, and to obtain different sizes. Now, it seems half a store’s inventory is dispersed throughout the dressing rooms and probably sits there all day. Think of the extra sales that may be made if those items were available as soon as possible, and imagine the success of a store that actually “fetches” clothes for women. (I know that I may leave the dressing room once for other sizes, but not twice.)

And, has anyone ever wondered, why, with more fashion stores than ever, we aren’t looking better? Glance around-when do consumers wear all the great stuff they’re toting around in their bags? It seems that we dress down for work, school, nights out, family functions, religious services…and especially when shopping. So where are the lovely outfits we see in storefronts?

Finally, how can stores have a sale every two weeks? There are coupons, bonus days, Buy One-Get One free days, discount with new charge days…There’s a reason that discounters do well; they avoid insulting the consumer’s intelligence with “sales.”

But the mega-malls are here to stay, as are the chain stores and discounters and privately owned businesses. Now we have online shopping as well, which will probably uncover a slew of problems we haven’t even begun to think about beyond sizing, shipping costs and return inconvenience. Yet, we all enjoy shopping from time to time, aside from the fact that we often complain about it. As I said, it’s a shopping mystery!