[editor's note: I've been away for a few days - sorry about that, I don't make it a habit, but it was a hard week. I've missed you.]
Yes! It's time for my weekly rant - the one day every week or so that I set aside to pontificate on something related to snobbery, fashion, home goods, or all of the above. Last week I went off about the snobby stores. Hopefully you have been able to shake off any snobbery that had been stubbornly clinging to you.
This started as a small seed in my head as I was trying on a pair of Sevens/True Religion/Ernest Sewn/insert brand of high-end, overpriced jeans here. WHY are these jeans so impossible to get on, no matter what "cut" you try on? Every size seems to have the same principle to it - slim hipped and a 34'' inseam. Now, knowing that a majority of the population is NOT slim-hipped and 5'10, and assuming a clothier is in business to make money, why are these being mass produced in a cut that most people will not fit into?
Exclusivity. Ruling out most people. Thin is worthy, thick is not. The main message in building the brand is to have exclusivity and desire. Dangling that carrot in front of the masses saying, "if you worked really, really hard, maybe, just maybe, you could have this too. You could be one of us." And I love that people fall for this. Hard. Our culture responds so well to negative reinforcement, it's (almost) astonishing. Raise your hand if you've ever bought a pair of designer jeans you've had to diet/squat/not breathe/get 6 inches cut off the bottom before you could get into them. WHY? [editor's note: my hand is up in the air right now.]
Why are we doing this? Why are we willingly purchasing product that we can't even wear out of the store? Why do I see women squeezed into frighteningly unflattering jeans because they have "status"? Why am I seeing women paying over $150 on jeans, then adding another $25-30 to the tag for alterations? Why do we accept it when salespeople say matter-of-factly, "well, nearly everyone has to alter them, you have to be really lucky to be able to wear them off the rack." Do we really need to fit in that badly?
I used to. I used to need that acceptance, that perceived power, the idea that a pair of jeans could really do a bret michaels and "rock my world". And it never really worked. The jeans got old, they faded, shrank, became last season's, and there I was feeling the same way. It was never enough. And it was coming from me - my response to the world I saw, my swallowing and digesting of principles and ideas I hadn't thought about enough to decide if I even believed in them in the first place.
Well, darlings, I don't believe in it anymore. I really don't. Manufacturers can cut jeans any old way they want, and if they fit and flatter, I will purchase them. If they don't, back they go. I don't have to be a certain shape to be acceptable. I don't have to spend an exorbitant amount of money to prove that I belong somewhere or so I can feel superior to someone else, rather than just present who I am to them - warts and all. I don't need a suit of armor to hide behind anymore. I dig who I am, and I dig who you are too - and none of us have to prove ourselves to anyone. We really don't.
And to those manufacturers and those pimps of a certain exclusive aesthetic that most of us work like a dog to come close to but will never quite get it right because they set it up that way, I have only one thing to say and to do so, I will quote a strong man that has never been anything but himself - Jay Z: "I got 99 problems, being your bitch ain't one."
Lots of strong, opinionated viking love, kasey
Thought I would chart a different course today and simply write a mini-article. As you may or may not know, this blog was born out of frustration. Time after time, I would enter stores or read blogs in search of fun and attractive clothing or products, and nearly every time I would leave angry. The pretension, exclusivity and downright bad manners that were being conveyed were overwhelming! Whether it was face to face or electronically, feeling the effects of snobbery drained me, and ultimately kept me from making many purchases. I finally decided that if I want to find fun products without the pretension, I would need to do it myself. And that brings us to now.
So today, for your reading pleasure, I bring you Five signs you may be in a snobby store.
1. You have no idea who is working there.
Red Flag #1 is walking into a store and having no clue who is there to help you. I'm certainly not saying that they have to be wearing a blue smock and greet you at the door, but if you have been there for 2-3 minutes and have NO CLUE who the employees are, it's probably because they are too busy talking to each other to help customers, and they blend in too much with the clientèle. They probably feel they are above this position, and are only working there for the clothes. Which means the clothes are great, but the store carries a massive attitude. Not worth it. Find what you need online and spare yourself the frustration of having to beg these people to let you try on something.
2. You have no idea how much anything costs.
Red Flag #2 is being in a store that can't bother with something like labeling its merchandise with prices. Again, you don't have to announce it with a big sign, but a tiny tag that you have to search all over god's green earth for is irritating. Especially when you (finally) find said tag only to read in the tiniest writing imaginable something ludicrous like, "94-" or "129-" on a tank top. Because, of course, the last thing you would be concerned with is the price of the item. How gauche! I am aware that some people don't have to worry about price. Good for them. Most of us do, however, and fighting a garment to find a highly disappointing price is not worth it.
3. The sale prices are more than disappointing.
Red Flag #3 is going through the "sale" rack and finding even the lowest markdown egregious. Merchandise needs to move, and snobby stores don't seem to completely get that, especially in areas where there isn't all that much money or practicality seems to rule (i.e., Vermont). Yes, I get it, your product is so fabulous and your store is so unique and snowflake-like that you have every right to mark it up far beyond the realm of fair margins. You are gifting us plebeians with a "sale" of 10% off overpriced, and we should shut up and like it. This may work in many areas and with many people, but it doesn't hold any water with this Midwestern girl. Your shabby 10% off can rot on the rack for all I care. Not worth it.
4. The inventory is slow to change.
Red(dish) flag #4 is an inventory that is really, really slow to change. I am a little hesitant on this one, because this sometimes depends on location and circumstances, and could happen at the Goodwill as well as the snobby stores. Let's say this rule has to be paired with another behavior listed above before we go labeling the store snobby, just to be fair. That being said, at snobby stores, inventory is slow to move due to some of the reasons listed above, and as they are slower to mark things down to reasonable prices, inventory tends to rot. After all, this is the best of the best, and they're not going to just give it to you. Not for a fair price, anyway. If you see the same stuff and you haven't set foot in the store for a few months, you may be in a snobby store. If you wait another month and it's finally on markdown for 10% off the regular price, you're definitely in a snobby store. Even if you somehow get it at an okay price, keep in mind it's been sitting there for a long time - and been tried on many, many times. Overpriced, old and practically used? Not worth it.
5a. You leave feeling bad about yourself.
If you leave a store feeling fat, poor, unstylish, intimidated, or a mix of all of them, you've probably just left a snobby store. Unhelpful staff, disappointing prices, and the snobby clothing cut (which I'll post about next week) can all come together in a perfect storm to really mess with your head. NOTE - if you have problems unrelated to the store that you carried with you into the store, then it's not the store's fault. I'm not talking about blaming the store for your hangups/ baggage, I'm talking about you feeling right with the world until you walked into that store, and leaving feeling disturbed as a direct result of store contact.
5b. You don't feel like you belong at the store/are afraid to ask for help.
This kind of ties in with #1 but deserves its own rant. It usually begins with being ignored by sales staff, but it doesn't end there. This can come from a lot of things: store music choice, store set up, finding price tags that are astonishing, no direction from staff (i.e., approaching a fitting room and having no idea if it's okay to go in and no one to tell you it's okay), and limited interaction at the point of sale, to name a few. None of these things are okay and pretty much go against the principles of customer service. But don't snobby stores just feel above that anyway? We're not asking for over the top. You don't need to wear a bunch of flair and get in our faces. We're simply asking to be treated like a member of the human race when we walk through the door. Patronizing those who don't seem to employ the milk of human kindness in their business practices? Not worth it by a mile.
Well, there you have it. I could go on a lot longer, but time doesn't permit and I'm sure you're about done with it for now. Tomorrow I'll be back with a wonderful find that not only helps your closet but helps others as well - the perfect marriage, in my opinion. In the meantime, remember the golden rule, mind your manners, and always wash your hands before dinner.
Lots of matronly Love, kasey
