shopping

It's that time of year... the time of year when I am swamped with work and will be travelling for our "Winter Session" events like I have every January or early February for almost 6 years now.  And every time I go, I need to go shopping because I need something that I can wear in front of hundreds/thousands of people and feel comfortable in.  Plus this time it's in Miami, and if I wear my current wardrobe there I'll probably melt faster than a snowman in July.

Fortunately, I don't find shopping to be a huge pain in the bum, but it also doesn't particularly excite me either.  It's a necessity.  So, I've shared with you the type of road rager I am and what type of angry airport girl I can be, so I thought I'd share with you what type of shopper I am.

I'm pretty no nonsense.  I'm in. I find or don't find stuff. I'm out.  I'm not one to linger or visit every store in the mall.  I go with a plan - today was: go to Maurice's and go to Target.  I go in, I breeze through the sections I'm looking for (I didn't even bother with the casual area at Maurice's because it's not what I need), grab things that look interesting and then proceed to the fitting room.  At this point, some people have the great debate.  The does this make my butt look big?  Is this too tight?  Is this worth it to me?  Will I wear this often enough?  How much is it?  blah blah blah.  Fortunately I don't often have the great debate.  I try something on, look in the mirror, and it typically gets a quick "yes" or "no" - very seldom do I have a "maybe."  In my opinion, if it's a maybe, then it's a no.  I either like it or I don't.  If I'm not sure I like it, then it's not worth it.

That's when I shop alone.  A few of my friends like going shopping with me - although they tell me they spend too much when they do.  And then they laugh.  And then they go shopping with me, again.  The reason they like shopping with me is because of the straight forward attitude, I think.  I also think it's because I used to work in retail so I can pick out clothes for other people (better than I can for myself, most times) and a lot of times it's stuff they wouldn't have normally tried but like in the end.  The other part of this process, which is key, is honesty.  The friends I choose to shop with are on board with that, too.  It's OK if they try something on and I say is "No." or "Too snug."  In turn, I'm OK when they tell me the same because part of the fun of shopping with friends is showing off what you're trying on. It's funny, though, because usually when I shop with friends it's because they need to go and asked me - a lot of times I won't even buy anything.  I think I'm sort of there as their personal shopper/honest opinion person. 

When I think about it, I really think that the time I spent working in retail made me this way - and I'm glad for it.  Even then, our customers always appreciated honesty, like friends do now.  I was in Maurice's today for about 20 minutes and considered it a successful trip.  I'm in, I'm out. :) 

Maybe I'll post a pictures of me wearing it after I get back from Miami next week, if there are any.

I'm interested - what type of shopper are you?  Do you love it? Do you ate it?