This past Saturday a couple of friends and I had an 8-hour shopping marathon in Union Square. We shopped ’til we dropped, literally: I passed out on the couch shortly after we got home, and missed a night of dancing. This chronicles my experience at the following stores:
Tiffany
Guess
Anthropologie
Edition
H&M
Being in Tiffany was quite possibly one of the worst shopping experiences of my life. It started out innocently enough: my friend swung open the heavy doors and glittering diamonds and deeply colored gems gave us a dazzling welcome. Never before having been in the presence of real jewels, it was truly breath-taking. But we were there for the silver, so we quickly got past the expensive stuff (or so I thought) and headed to the second floor. My Italian friend that was visiting had been tasked by her sister to pick up some Tiffany jewelry, because it would cheaper in San Francisco than in Rome. While my friend was finding what she wanted, I did a little looking around and found a gorgeous cocktail ring… for $850. I’ve been wowed by expensive jewelry in magazines, and I’ve seen them in 4 or 5 digit prices, but this sticker shock was far more visceral. I realized that I was way out of my league, and I gave up. Some stores are expensive but you can still see yourself affording it someday. I am certain that in the future I will have more money than I do now, and there might come a day when I’m willing to put up $850 for a ring, but being in Tiffany wasn’t inspiring, it was just depressing; the most tortuous shopping experience I’ve had to-date.
**
After Tiffany we made our way to Guess to take advantage of a ridiculous sale. All of the full-priced items were 20% off, and sale items were an additional 50% off (if you signed up for e-mail). My Italian friend had been earlier in the week, and wanted to come back for gifts. I have to admit, I was skeptical. I’ve never had a very high opinion of Guess. Their magazine ads are hyper sexed, and the apparel has never been my taste – but I was in for a surprise.
*
We started on the accessories floor. I saw the young saleswomen dressed like they were ready for the club, 5-inch stiletto shoes that were wholly uninspiring, and boring bags with the Guess “G” commanding all of the viewers attention (but not holding it). Yawn. It was as I expected. On to the second floor. Even though everything was on sale I went straight to the sale section, because I wasn’t actually going to buy Guess at just 20% off. Even though Guess has made a name for itself in denim, I skipped over the jeans because jeans at clubby-apparel stores like this usually don’t fit me. Jeans at any store don’t usually fit. I have long legs, normal waist, hips, and butt, but disproportionately big thighs. Jeans that fit my thighs leave a huge gap at the waist, making the front look funny when the extra fabric is cinched by a belt, and leaving fabric sagging at the butt. Hypothetically, jeans that are too small for my thighs might fit my waist, but I would never know because they don’t make it past my thighs! And on top of that, I have a 34” inseam so I always need jeans that come longer. I figured I would just try to find a fun party top that wouldn’t cost more than $20, but then I saw the white denim. I’ve never understood the appeal of white denim, but now after a summer in San Francisco, I do. I love wearing white linen pants to celebrate summer’s sunshine and heat, but sunshine and heat are not necessarily part of a San Francisco summer. I’ve come to see white denim as a way to celebrate summer, even if you can’t actually dress for it. So even though I didn’t expect much from the jeans I tried them on as part of my ongoing search for white denim.
*
And they FIT. It happened so quickly and seamlessly I almost didn’t notice how easy and natural they felt. WHO KNEW that Guess jeans would fit me so well. I was floored… and then I went back for more! I ended up buying 2 pairs of jeans. Luckily these jeans were skinny/straight fits, so they didn’t need to be long. I don’t know if I’ll ever go back for a bootcut or flared style; I feel like I should quit while I’m ahead.
**
Anthropologie is always a good idea. Or always a bad idea, depending on how you look at it. I cannot go in if I’m unable to spend money, because window-shopping doesn’t happen there. I always fall in love with something(s) and must bring it (them) home. I had already been wanting to go to because it had been a while, and I wanted my Italian friend to have the experience. I had just come from spending nearly $100 on jeans when I hadn’t anticipated spending anything, so given my shopping history I was nervous going into Anthro. It didn’t take long for me to collect an arm-full of items to try on, and while waiting for a fitting room with my friends I discussed strategies to keep myself from overspending. I mean, if I could spend $100 at Guess, who knows how much I could let go at Anthro. They suggested a price limit, but I knew that wouldn’t work at this store so I settled on a three-item limit. Everything I tried on was on sale, except for one beautiful shirt I found on the sale rack that I knew was probably not on sale. I tried on a couple of sweater dresses, a couple of beautiful cocktail dresses (also not on sale), a couple of tunics, and a few tops. I decided on a sweater-tunic, dress (with pockets! I’m a sucker for pockets), and the third item came down to the beautiful but full-price top, and a nice basic black top. I was at the register with my friends, going back and forth. This one is gorgeous – but this other one is so useful. After those words left my lips I told the saleslady: I’ll take the pretty one. I mean, at this point, I have so many clothes “useful” doesn’t carry much weight. Once I said it I realized how meaningless it was, and that made the choice quite easy.
**
As the day wore on it became more and more imperative for my Italian friend to find a gift for her mother. So we tried Edition – the new accessories-only store by Banana Republic… and I loved it. At first she wasn’t convinced that her mom would like anything from there because as she said (I am largely paraphrasing), her mother is a “lady” who wears “real jewels.” Coming on the heels of my Tiffany experience it struck me that there are people who actually wear expensive jewelry – even though I don’t know any of them. (Disclaimer: I actually do own a set of white gold jewelry with diamonds: a pendant necklace, tennis bracelet, ring, and now-lost earrings given to me at my high school graduation by an aunt and cousin, but this is not what I’m talking about.) I’m not sure if it’s a European vs. American thing. Europeans definitely have a reputation for “investment dressing” which I’m sure includes jewelry. I don’t think my mother owns any diamonds other than on her engagement ring, and if she did I certainly never remember her wearing any. Or my aunts or friends’ mothers. In fact, the only memory I have of seeing someone wear a diamond (again, other than an engagement ring) was when I met a friend’s boyfriend, but had already noticed his dazzling diamond earrings from across the room. Call me naïve, but I never imagined that someone might *not* take Banana Republic jewelry seriously. … Yes, call me naïve. My Italian friend did find a beaded necklace that she thought her mother would love, and I found a new favorite store.
**
Once my Italian friend found an appropriate gift for her mother, the third friend that we were with felt free to shop for herself. She had actually tried on a few things at Anthropologie and found a pretty day-to-night top, but she is a self-described “bargain shopper” and couldn’t bring herself to part with $40 for one blouse. So we went to H&M. Once we got there we were all shopping for her and I always have a great time shopping for/with friends who are far less interested in clothing than I am. She wanted a basic black top and tops that she could wear to work or for going out on the weekend; I threw in a couple of dresses for good measure. We wanted to get her in some prints, although we couldn’t find one that worked for her. We also focused on the color blue, to bring out the color in her eyes. She was very diligent about prices, and ended up with the requisite black top, a blue cowl-neck sleeveless sweater, a classy belted blue blouse, a fun purple top, some jewelry, and maybe one more top – coming in at just over $100. I tried my best to get her to buy one of the dresses that looked stunning on her, but she didn’t feel like she had the lifestyle for it (yet). Musing on it as we walked out of the store I was glad she didn’t buy it. I’m often guilty of buying for the “future” me, and it’s a habit I’m trying to break.
What's your opinion?