Simplify the process
The keys to shopping effectively are simple: define a need, specify a budget, sally forth and buy. Repeat only when necessary.
I may be showing a certain amount of gender bias here, but I know that wandering around in a mall shouldn’t happen unless you suffered a mild concussion. This afternoon, after feeling a sudden burst of cold air on my nether region, I verified the state of affairs. Like an earworm, the ditty I learned from my sisters came back to trouble my state of calm: “I see London, I see France, I see…”. To paraphrase the Apollo guy, “Houston, we’ve got a problem”.
Back home, I changed to something more impervious to cool breezes, waved goodbye to those around me and headed off to do retail.
Here’s a secret for the cautious shopper; go at suppertime. Especially once the sales season has passed, you can head into the largest of box stores at 5 p.m. and expect to have all the elbow room you need. Changing cabinets are empty. Clerks are bored. No need to wrestle for that particular pair of designer jeans.
There’s another mystery. If I can get in, test and buy three pairs of jeans (all different) in under fifteen minutes, and still spend less than a tank of gas, then why do younger people need tons of money and hours of time? How much difference can there be, when it comes to generic jeans? I admit, there’s not embroidered logo across the seating area (like the girl I passed in the aisle), but they’re jeans. Does anything else really matter?
