Thursday, December 4, 2008

Evolved to a Higher Level of Shopping

A couple of days ago, an Exciting Thing happened to me.  I came home from school to find a large stamp-encrusted parcel with my name on it sitting on a chair in the foyer of my apartment building.  It was from my best friend Marge who lives in California. 
When I visit her which is surprisingly often, we go shopping. We never go to Barneys or Saks or any of those snotty joints along Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. No, there's Nothing Upscale about Our Shopping Habits. 
I absolutely loathe paying full price for clothes & I loathe shopping at Expensive department stores & boutiques, although I must admit that I once had a  a weakness for 'Barneys', but I'm not sure why. 'Barneys' certainly didn't deserve it.
 A few years ago while in LA with my daughter, I bought her an Olive green Mark Jacobs dress from 'Barneys'. At the exact moment when the salesperson handed me  the black 'Barneys' bag with the dress inside, I honestly felt like I'd died & Become a Celebrity.  Hopefully, I'm over all that now & have evolved to a Higher Level of Shopping.
But back to The Parcel.
It was full of little jewels bought presumably on sale at one of 'Our Stores' - 'Forever 21'. I'm not being in the least disparaging by saying that they must be sale items, because that's Our Thing. We only hang out at The Sale Racks, not just 'cos we're desperate to be frugal, but because of the wonderfully Smug feeling that not paying full price creates.  
But we absolutely don't buy clothes at 'Forever 21'. They are not for us. But the jewels are. 
I was so thrilled that Marge included the little 'Forever21' plastic bags. It almost, but not quite, made me feel that I'd had a Real 'F 21' shopping experience.  
But as I was lining the bag up to be photographed with the wonderful card featuring a Matisse painting that was also in the parcel, I noticed that inside a fold on the bag  was discreetly printed  the words, "John 3:16".  Quick as a flash I realised that this was a Biblical Reference & so I looked it up. I thought it might have something to do with the New Testament version of shopping, but no. It was about how God thought so much of  Us Earth Dwellers that He sent his Only Son to save us. It's comforting to know that we can have  a Big Shopping Experience & have our souls saved at the same time. 
Now that's Effective Time Management!

2 comments:

Darla said...

I've never been in a Forever 21 store. The whole idea in their name kind of creeps me out. Now that I know they are proselytizing I may even have to cross the street to avoid walking by the store.

Darla

janavi said...

I've never been able to find anything in F21. But when I pay full price, which is virtually never, I feel like I'm getting ripped off. Thrifting is not great in NY so I do sales & discount stores mostly, which is pretty easy, especially now. Waiting for after Xmas, should be some incredible bargains.