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Dress distress
Jun. 8th, 2006 08:55 pmI just got back from my first time buying clothes in a long time. It was profoundly unpleasant, and not just in the "oh, guys don't like to clothes shop" way (though I do admit I like a whole lotta things better than shopping for clothes).
First off, the only place at the Sycamore Mall that sells men's clothes, now that Austin Burke has closed (and dammit, I was hoping they'd still be open because their going-out-of-business sale was actually pretty good!), is a ritzy department store called Von Haur. Think a more upscale Dillard's or Jones Store - they had a live piano player playing while I was there, to give you an idea of the ritziness of it. And then of course I stroll in, all sweaty from the half-hour walk to the mall and dressed in typical ratty student wear.
I, of course, had just thought it was a mildly upscale department store, like the aforementioned Jones. Nice, but not ridiculously pricey - and I was figuring I could pick up a nice pair of khakis for $30, maybe $40 max. Then I discovered that the cheapest pair of khakis they had were $50, and the second cheapest were $70 (it just went up from there). Ouch.
Anyway, I'd left it till the last minute (I needed them by tomorrow morning) and didn't really have time to check somewhere else, so I picked up a pair in my size and a pair the size up (because men's clothes have gotten less standardized in recent years, and occasionally I find myself wearing a size smaller or a size larger in certain brands, though more usually the latter) and went to try them on.
Neither of them fit.
Okay, I thought. That's weird, but I guess I'll try the next size up.
Those fit as long as I didn't try to move.
What the hell, I thought. I know I haven't gained THAT much weight since the last time I bought pants (which was only in September).
So I try on the next size up - three sizes larger than any of my other pants, and the largest size the store carries in these khakis, which was making me start to worry - and finally found a pair that fit and allowed me to, y'know, walk.
So I left with my expensive pair of pants that are three sizes larger than I usually wear (which did wonders for my self-esteem), feeling frustrated and depressed. And then I realized that from what I've heard, this is pretty much what women go through whenever they shop for clothes.
So, my female brethren (sistren?), I feel your pain, even if only to a very small degree.
First off, the only place at the Sycamore Mall that sells men's clothes, now that Austin Burke has closed (and dammit, I was hoping they'd still be open because their going-out-of-business sale was actually pretty good!), is a ritzy department store called Von Haur. Think a more upscale Dillard's or Jones Store - they had a live piano player playing while I was there, to give you an idea of the ritziness of it. And then of course I stroll in, all sweaty from the half-hour walk to the mall and dressed in typical ratty student wear.
I, of course, had just thought it was a mildly upscale department store, like the aforementioned Jones. Nice, but not ridiculously pricey - and I was figuring I could pick up a nice pair of khakis for $30, maybe $40 max. Then I discovered that the cheapest pair of khakis they had were $50, and the second cheapest were $70 (it just went up from there). Ouch.
Anyway, I'd left it till the last minute (I needed them by tomorrow morning) and didn't really have time to check somewhere else, so I picked up a pair in my size and a pair the size up (because men's clothes have gotten less standardized in recent years, and occasionally I find myself wearing a size smaller or a size larger in certain brands, though more usually the latter) and went to try them on.
Neither of them fit.
Okay, I thought. That's weird, but I guess I'll try the next size up.
Those fit as long as I didn't try to move.
What the hell, I thought. I know I haven't gained THAT much weight since the last time I bought pants (which was only in September).
So I try on the next size up - three sizes larger than any of my other pants, and the largest size the store carries in these khakis, which was making me start to worry - and finally found a pair that fit and allowed me to, y'know, walk.
So I left with my expensive pair of pants that are three sizes larger than I usually wear (which did wonders for my self-esteem), feeling frustrated and depressed. And then I realized that from what I've heard, this is pretty much what women go through whenever they shop for clothes.
So, my female brethren (sistren?), I feel your pain, even if only to a very small degree.
