shopping

I need a formal dress/evening gown because I’m going to be handing out the awards at a black tie ceremony with around 2,000 people in attendance. And like those stunning, tall models at the Oscars/Tonys who distribute statuettes, I’ll step back for the acceptance speeches and gracefully guide the winners and presenters offstage. But not like them, because I’m only 5’1″ tall.

I feel like my quest has taken me to almost every store in Chicagoland and every fashion Web site. I have devoted far more hours to this cause than anticipated, with less than satisfactory results. In my closet hangs a boring navy gown, the only one that fit. Even extensive alterations couldn’t have saved some that I tried on, according to an Evening Wear Specialist at Neiman Marcus. The saleswoman at Saks almost laughed out loud when she saw me in an size 4 ensemble that made me look like a little girl trying on her mom’s clothes.

Thanks to Bloomingdales and Nordstrom for carrying petite formalwear. Bloomies wins on largest instore selection of small sizes. Conversely, Bloomies online has fewer petite offerings than Nordstrom’s. But who wants to/is able to rack up credit card charges by ordering multiple dresses to see if one of them looks good, even with free shipping TO you (some sites have charges for returns)?

Thanks to Neiman Marcus for having by far the best selection, and surprisingly good sale prices. Thanks to barriepace.com (and, believe it or not, amazon.com!!) for carrying some petite formalwear, if not as many offerings on sale. Kudos to smartbargains.com and www.designersapparels.com for their wide selection of dresses, if not in petites.

But no thanks to evening wear designers and stores who have decided that petite women:
–only need a couple of styles to choose from while those of normal size get dozens
–are all in their 20’s, and only want baby doll/really short cocktail dresses, or are ancient or have no fashion sense, so conservative or Mother of the Bride-y gowns are de rigeur
–would prefer boring Navy over the lovely Lipstick the dress came in for nomral sizes (though I did find one hot pink gown online)
–are flat chested, so strapless, halter, and spaghetti strap gowns don’t have enough fabric on top to contain a real petite woman’s feminine bounty
–do not like wearing sparkles/sequins/beading as much as their tall friends
–appreciate that dress sizes seem to have been downsized, so a 0 is what used to be a 2, and a 2 what was a 4.

I wish I had enough entrepreneurial spirit/wherewithal to create my own line of stylish petite clothing. Any takers?

Our economy is tanking, and consumers are paying the price in time, frustration, and money. Aside from the mortgage crisis and the high price of oil, here’s why:

Poor customer service!!!!!

On the phone: How frustrating are customer service phone lines…where, if you have enough graduate degrees to figure out how to get to a live person, you still have to press or say a zillion commands the overly soothing voice won’t understand?

And if you get an actual human, unfortunately chances are you won’t be able to understand him or her very well.

The newest wrinkle: fake friendliness, which they think makes them seem like they care but actually wastes more time. In recent dealings with a credit card company, cheeryisms like, “How are you doing today?” made the call twice as long.

In store: how rare is it to want help, and actually find someone who knows the products? Even at Nordstrom, which prides itself on customer service…one item I wanted had to be shipped from another store. I received a different item, with another shopper’s receipt. Couldn’t get the box picked up for weeks. The actual item I ordered never surfaced, despite numerous calls to and “I’m sorrys” from an assistant manager.

For many Chicagoans, one word exemplifies the problem: Macy’s.
There are still people protesting the changeover from Marshall Field’s…a recent news story told of a man who bought one Macy’s share so he could attend the shareholder meeting. Learn more: here.

One bright note: at a recent trip to Ulta, an employee was helpful and knowledgeable about the benefits of various flatirons. She seems to be the exception to the rule.

In home: A Certain Cable Company. Need I say more? Last summer, a neighbor and I each spent hours on the phone to resolve very frustrating, persistent service outages (particularly so because I work at home and couldn’t send files when I wanted to) and scheduling repair visits. And because they don’t have dedicated service reps, often I had to re-explain the whole situation. I couldn’t get them to show up when they said they would or at all. I think he got them to show up once, but then the required follow up visit to our building never happened.
I complained and got them to let me pay 1/2 for 6 months…then fortunately my building changed to a different provider.

In general:

–Almost every time I shop, no matter when I go: long checkout lines at most stores.

–What’s on the shelf: How many times do you go to a drug or grocery store and the product you want isn’t there…because it’s out of stock Do you have the patience/time to track down an employee and see if they have what you want? I don’t. More and more, it seems groceries are carrying fewer national brands and filling aisles with their own products.

The frustration of shopping these days often outweighs the enjoyment of acquiring and using new products. You’d think retailers would want us to shop more…what can be done?

Formal Wear Frustration

Why our economy is failing