I was out looking for a birthday (16) gift for my sister yesterday. I was looking to get her a nice outfit and not somthing from those younger stores. I ended up going to Lord and taylor and I found out that they have a pretty good men’s department. Did anyone know that? I thought lord and taylor was more of a women’s store. I ended up shopping more for myself than for her. Now I’m still looking for a present! :smack:
I assumed they had a men’s dept, like Macy’s does…
What I didn’t know was that there are men who shop for something they didn’t go to buy in the first place. When **Drachillix ** is shopping, it’s like a quest. He needs Reeboks. We go to the shoe dept and pick up Reeboks in his size. I wander to the lingerie, dresses, jewlery, but he has fulfilled his quest. He’s Done.
He has triumped. He can now leave.
For me it’s like this - I hate to wander aimlessly, and I’m not going to go in unless there’s something at least fairly specific that I want/need, but if, while I am ON THE WAY to my quest something happens to catch my eye by fate that looks really interesting but I was not intending to buy, I might buy it anyway. Then I convince myself that it was meant to be, and feel content.
All men need to realize: It is ok to look. I think it is great that you have discovered the joy of shopping for yourself. If all men were like you, women would not be snickering at men’s clothing.
A million women can snicker, but we’ll happily put up with that as long as there isn’t the remotest chance that even one man is going to purse his lips, wolf-whistle and say “hello sailor!”
Went to a shoe store with my wife. He says what do you want. Told him the ones in the window. He checked size came back and said he didn’t have them my size. I said what do you have close. He brought out a pair they fit and I bought them. My wife was disgusted by what I did. I still do not know why.
See, if I need something, I go to the store and buy it. That’s it. I’ve never in my entire life bought anything on a whim while looking for something else. I figure out ahead of time where to buy, and I go there. In the odd occasion where my size or preference isn’t immediately available I go to my alternate store.
Come to think of it, I get haircuts the same way; you’re busy? Ok I’ll go to the other hair cut place. Bye.
My husband is a Mighty Hunter Shopper. His primal instincts are activated when he’s on a Quest for the Lowest Price. He has a thousand antenna out at all times, a thousand “lowest price he’s seen onlines” in his head.
The Mighty Hunter Shopper will not be defeated! He will provide high quality goods at bargain prices for his family! Grrnnunpf!
I spent a few hours Sunday shopping with my 16 year old daughter. She had purchased a dress for a Prom-like dance and needed to accessorize. We had a blast.
I used to be a blinder shopper, too. Knew what I needed, went to the store, walked to the department, got my stuff, paid and left.
But then they built a Nordstrom Rack nearby. It’s about 80% womens stuff, but in the farthest corner away from the entrance is the mens department. The men’s end of the shoe section is on that end of the store, too.
Now I wait until I have a couple hundred dollars to spare and I’ll go spend an hour or so in the store. Me and about six other guys. I’d say I buy about 75% of my clothes at Nordstrom Rack. Maybe more. Prices are similar to Kohl’s or other mid-level clothing stores, definately less on most things than your more upscale department stores.
I never thought I’d say this, but I really like shopping there.
Add another guy who hates to shop - and doesn’t really care what he looks like. My wife has to look at me, so she is nice and generally buys most of my clothes. her doing the shopping may well be the aspect I appreciate most about receiving gifts from her on my birthday and such.
I posted another lame thread below, about having trouble finding pants in my size and the style I wanted. I wrote down all the info about a pair of pants I own that fit fine. Walked into the large department store expecting it to be a 5-minute chore. Left 1/2 hour later mildly exasperated, and with 3 pair that were pleated and cuffed instead of the flatfront, no cuffs I preferred. Like I said, I don’t really care what I look like.
Since they didn’t have the brand I wanted in my size and style, I had to try on maybe 10 different brands spread all over the store, and try to figure out if I cared about the little things that were different about them.
I remember about a year ago I was shopping for a pair of navy blue casual pants. Went to 2 stores and was told that navy “was not in” that year. WTF?! Sorry, folks, but there are few things more basic to a guy’s wardrobe than navy blue pants.
The last time I was shopping for clothes for me, my gf was footing the bill as a thank you for veterinary services given to a relative. We picked out clothes, and she walked with me toward a dressing room. And followed me right in. We didn’t do anything that would require a HazMat cleanup, but we had fun. It was a slow time for the store (weeknight) and there were a coupla giggling employees to greet us when we emerged.
Clothes shopping can be fun.
Oh, my boyfriend loves to shop. Only at thrift shops, though. He’s kind of a fop, likes his vests and bow ties. I can’t ever find anything at all I like in Goodwill - he can spend fifteen minutes and ten bucks there and have three bags of stuff to haul off to the car.
I don’t like shopping for myself, especially clothes. I usually only go when I need a specific item or items, find them and I’m done. About the only shopping I enjoy just browsing is when I’m looking at things for the home. Throw pillows, nice glassware and the like.
On the other hand, I do like shopping for other people. One of my girlfriends HATES to shop. She will try on no more than 3 things during a shopping trip and if it takes more than about 15 minutes to find something acceptable, she will leave. I have a blast shopping for her because it’s kind of like having a doll to dress. (she is absolutely beautiful, 5’10" with dancers legs and looks good in everything) I have a great eye for what looks good on people and she totally trusts my judgement.
I’m actually a shopper shopper. I went to Target yesterday… just cuz. I looked at clothes. I tried on a polo shirt that I kind of liked. I decided that I didn’t look too much like a prep in it so I bought it. I also tried on a pair of jeans (woohooo, I went down a size and finally will have pants that fit.) and I never try on pants at the store.
Men don’t go shopping. They go buying. In, purchase, out, done. End of story.
reminds me of a time that…well…may have required a HazMat with a girlfriend in a fitting room.
Annnnyways. A lot of the guys I hang out with have no problem with going to shop for unspecified items. Hell, I need to go randomly shopping right now. Sure, I need some sort of shorts, and a couple shirts, and I have a couple hundred dollars to spend, but other than that, no guidance at all. Of course, I may have a skewed sample set since I live with frat boys who tend to pay more attention to that sort of stuff, but trust me you’re not alone in just going to shop as a male and seeing what you end up with.
I like to shop, and look at things. But only for the things that really matter like Sound Cards, dvd players, or vibrating recliners with built in fridge, speakers and deep fryer. The options and the varibles on those purchases directly effects my happiness. But for clothes or shoes? hell no. If it’s physically possible to put it on the correct anatomical part, ie. it has the right number of arm and leg holes, then it’s perfect, and time to go.
'im indoors appears to know exactly what he wants and almost exclusively buys stuff from the same store. I’ve tried to get him to consider other places but he just won’t have it. As long as that store sells stuff in his size and of the right colour/quality, he won’t go anywhere else.
At least it makes shopping with him a blissfully short experience!
Middlebro is dressed by SiL. This wouldn’t be a problem if it wasn’t because clothes used to be a prefectly acceptable gift for him and now they aren’t. She discovered he did like fantasy/scifi/rpg/action stuff/movies when they’d already been married for two years (plus seven of courtship), when Lilbro bought him a LoTR tee for Christmas. Her reaction to any mention of That Stuff had been violent rejection, so he’d labeled it quite early in their relationship as Do Not Mention.
Lilbro knows what he likes, but every time he decides to Go Shopping, he also tries to Widen His Horizons and returns to the Lilcave with at least one item definitely different from his previous wardrobe (not unmatchably different, though). He thinks it may Help With Girls, given that sometimes he’s obtained Compliments from said prey.