The Battle of the Century (21)
When I shop with my girlfriends, I don’t do it in the traditional, let’s-both-try-on-stuff-and-lie-about-how-good-it-looks-and-silently-compete-over-who-looks-better sense of the activity. Shopping is my JOB, people; I’m obvs better at it than my girlfriends. So when I shop with a pal, I’m not so much her friend as I am her personal shopper. Finding stuff for myself is, at this point, cake. Finding stuff for a friend, shopping according to her tastes, her budget, her style and her size is an opportunity for me to really put my skills to the test. And tested they were, yesterday at Century 21.
CLIENT: My childhood bestie, Krip.
MISSION: To find work-to-party clothes for all those celeb-heavy events she plans.
BUDGET: $300 - $500.
TIME FRAME: 2 hours.
On the 3rd Floor - Women’s Apparel - I ignored Krip’s attempts at casual conversation; I already had my game face on as it enabled me to pretend I knew what I was doing. In truth, I had no plan. Overwhelmed by the abundance of merchandise and Eurotrash, I suddenly wondered why I’d chosen to subject my friend to a store in which I’ve had little personal success. How the eff was I going to sift through this material shitstorm and find things for her if I’d never really done it for myself?
I kept my doubts to myself, and got down to biznass. An hour later, we’d amassed 40 or so items - well over the dressing room’s 12 item limit - and were uber-psyched about our picks. That is, until Krip started trying on the first batch. Nothing was fitting. Nothing was working. She knew it, I knew it, and I didn’t bullshit her by telling her something looked good when it didn’t. No one buys for the sake of buying on my watch!
Still, I wasn’t going to let my friend fall victim to this bitch of a store. I went back to the battlefield, resolved to find whatever it was that would make shopping what it’s supposed to be: FUN.
To be continued…
Tagged: Century 21 • Mitzvahs • Shopping
Kvelling and Kvetching
Ahhh, blessed C21. Equal parts treasure hunt and dumpster dive. I assume that all the damaged merch I inevitably unearth there has been wrecked by insane shoppers clawing through the racks … but I have found some unbelievable gems, too. Next time I’m in NYC, I’m making you meet me there, CJ. We’ll have a shop-off.
Hope you and Krip scored … I’m on pins and needles over here!
@ 4:03 pm on November 17th, 2008The one on Long Island is actually much better (one of the very few things that’s better on Long Island…). The NYC one is scary, you’re more likely to end up with a broken ankle from being knocked over by a fellow shopper than a great designer find.
@ 2:30 am on November 18th, 2008I hope you show my Badass dresses which ended up being utterly fantastic!
I will - without a doubt - NEVER step foot in Century 21 without YOU bestie!!!
You are NO Effin JOKE!
(PS. Im wearing the $800.00 RL dress which was reduced to $1 something - Gorgeous - so many compliments!)
@ 2:02 pm on November 18th, 2008Leave a Reply