My Surprise Shopping Spree

I did something crazy today. I went shopping at a fairly high-end ladies boutique wearing cruddy clothes. I had been to a plant nursery and purchased outdoor flowers, the reason for my old jeans and God Bless America shirt with missing sparkles. But I’d read that this ladies shop had a sale so I stopped by. Okay, not my only reason. A memory came to me from years ago and I wanted to see if things had changed. 

I was a young wife and mom, living in Tulsa and shopping with my cousin, Debbie. On impulse we decided to peruse an upscale ladies dress shop. The clothes were definitely too expensive but we were both seamstresses and liked to check out the latest styles. 

Now in that day, women often dressed up for shopping and we were in “mom” clothes, carrying young toddlers. But it still surprised me that not one clerk offered to help us, even though the shop wasn’t busy. 

When we left, I mentioned to Debbie, “I’ll bet they would have offered help if we had been dressed up,” meaning a dress and high heels. That’s what most women wore to church and to their jobs. In fact, that’s exactly what I wore to work everyday as a high school teacher. No slacks allowed. 

Wondering if my assumption was correct, I stopped by the same shop one day on my way home from work, wearing my dress and heels. You wouldn’t believe how quickly someone offered to help me. No, I didn’t buy anything. I simply proved my point. 

Hopefully, we are all a little less judgmental today. In many professions, ladies now dress less formally. The same for church. Now I have nothing against lovely dresses or high heels. I actually enjoyed wearing them and still do on occasion, but I’m also glad we can dress more casually if we choose. 

And about my little experiment today? Yes, I was asked if I needed help and I gladly replied, “I’m just looking,” which indeed I was. Looking at clothes and looking at how they treated their customers. This retired teacher definitely gave them a passing grade.