# Women who love clothes-shopping - why? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 20, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-who-love-clothes-shopping-why/547372 "2010-07-20T18:07:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-who-love-clothes-shopping-why/547372/21 "2010-07-21T03:07:56Z")
> [@lindsaybluth](#): > > My mom loves it because she’s crazy full of energy, is semi-retired so she’s got plenty of time, and has lots of money. And because she’s like a heat seeking missile when it comes to deals. … Maybe your mom could make a few extra bucks by renting herself out as a Shopping Bwana… I agree with the “Women are gatherers, men are hunters”: I’d be happy if I could even skip the hunting (or save it for a tasty Mastodon). I know, I’ll just just send your mom to get me “some 32/32 Levi’s 550’s; one faded blue, one off-black. And some briefs. NO, I don’t care what color they are!” And that there is my shopping for the year. Seriously. Though I augment it with some T-shirts and a couple of dress shirts from Goodwill. ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-who-love-clothes-shopping-why/547372/22 "2010-07-21T03:14:27Z")
Aside from the ideas listed here it’s a Capitalist society. We have all been socially conditioned to shop, shop, shop. It just doesn’t take with everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-who-love-clothes-shopping-why/547372/23 "2010-07-21T04:01:24Z")
I love pretty stuff. I love the colors, the fabrics, the cut. I like experimenting to see what looks best on me. I like finding well made stuff that I know will last a long time. I have clothes that I still wear that I had in high school. Of course I sometimes buy trendy stuff that goes out of style pretty quickly, but most of my clothes can be worn for years. IMHO if you’re going to buy trendy, that’s the stuff you buy on the cheap. Luckily most of my friends love shopping too, so we can get together and make a day of it. ---
**Author:** ![Tanaqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Tanaqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanaqui)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-who-love-clothes-shopping-why/547372/24 "2010-07-21T08:21:26Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > As comparison - men are known to shop by deciding what they are going to buy, going to the store to find it, then buying it. End. > > I’ve heard it said - > > Women are gatherers, men are hunters. Spoken like a man who has never been to Best Buy with my dad. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-who-love-clothes-shopping-why/547372/25 "2010-07-21T09:02:12Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > Ma’am, I’ll have to ask you not to lie in the fetal position under the clothing racks, you’re upsetting the other customers. Don’t make me laugh while I’m at work, woman! My mother and sister in law are both shoppers; they’re also both “deal-seeking missiles” (SiL didn’t use to be until she realized that, since she’s unlikely to wear any outfit more than a dozen times, it makes better sense to go to a good-but-not-expensive chain than top-of-the-line), both liable to wear four or five different outfits in a single day, both outfit-builders (this blouse goes with these pants, this cardigan, this neck scarf, these shoes). If I wear two outfits in a day it’s “going outside clothes” and “being at home clothes”; most of my clothes are in very basic colors and in styles that mean I can mix and match almost anything. For them, clothing and hair and makeup and all that is interesting; for me, clothing is something that keeps me at an acceptable temperature and hair is something that should bother me as little as possible. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-who-love-clothes-shopping-why/547372/26 "2010-07-21T11:36:39Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > I hate clothes shopping too. Of course I will spend three hours in a used CD shop “just browsing” > > See it’s a matter of what interests you. > > My mum and a neighbor lady spent all day every Thursday going to garage sales (in the 70s before eBay :)) > > You have to look at it as an activity rather than a means to get something to wear. The only store I can stand to wander around in for hours aimlessly is Fry’s Electronics. Every other store it’s a test of my willpower not to start getting all stabby. Otherwise it’s like when I went to buy socks. I went to Fred Meyer, found the cheapest socks/price ratio, bought those, GTFO. A dollar a pair. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-who-love-clothes-shopping-why/547372/27 "2010-07-21T11:38:11Z")
I’ve never been able to understand why people enjoy shopping of any sort at all. I just can’t get the “retail therapy” thing. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-who-love-clothes-shopping-why/547372/28 "2010-07-21T12:14:20Z")
Despite some minor connection to fashion, I’m not seeing this as a Cafe Society topic, so I’m going to move it over to IMHO. **twickster** , Cafe Society moderator and customer service rep ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-who-love-clothes-shopping-why/547372/29 "2010-07-21T12:36:39Z")
I actually am much more able to deal with shopping at thrift stores than anywhere else. At least then, when I don’t find anything, it’s not because I’m freakishly deformed, or the clothing manufacturers are out to get me, or the store chose to stock 20 extra-larges and no smalls. And if I do find something, I’m willing to pay the price! ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-who-love-clothes-shopping-why/547372/30 "2010-07-21T12:47:06Z")
I HATE shopping, mainly because I can’t ever find anything I want to wear. I’m a bit tomboyish so spurn frilly, girly and floaty, but then I don’t actually want to look like a frumpy Lesbian (I am a lesbian, but not a frump), so I don’t want a man shirt and a pair of doc martins either. There’s just hardly anything I like. Totally depressing, particularly combined with my odd shaped body (thin legs, small bum, big boobs). I’ve got to go shopping this afternoon, in fact, as I’m attending a civil partnership where the women who are going are all model-glamorous, six foot, stick thin and fashionable as Kate Moss. God help me. I’m hitting Oxford Street (London) which is the seventh tier of hell, but has the most shops per square foot ratio, so I can see every item in Europe in the space of about 100 yards. I’ll still come home empty handed. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-who-love-clothes-shopping-why/547372/31 "2010-07-21T13:03:31Z")
I can’t buy a $155 skirt. Much as I would want it. That’s like, my whole clothing budget for a couple of months! As for checking when it’s on sale, that would mean I’d have to go back. I’ve gotten better about this and actually manage to shop a little each month or so, buying a couple of new things so I have new clothes to wear, but to religiously go back and check? As it is I do go towards the sales racks but this one was hanging right by the door. But I have the same problem with the three same sizes all fitting differently, and the things I finally like disappearing from the racks. SpoilerVirgin reminds me of my aunt. She once shopped - dragging me along with her - for two hours to find a pair of kid’s shoes for a nephew who was having a birthday. And we didn’t buy anything. I love her but I wanted to beat her to death with the shoes. And possibly myself, too. 🙂 But she would have known all about the “thrill of the hunt”. The thing is, when I want something bad enough, I will look for it and wait. I wanted a really nice pair of designer winter gloves - I wanted them to match my jacket perfectly, and be warm, and flexible, and soft, and last a really long time. I had my heart set on this pair of gloves that were a price I don’t remember but was probably a bit over $100. (For gloves!) I waited and waited and collected coupons and eventually got these gloves for $18. I do understand retail therapy and I generally fulfill mine with shoes. I like shoes. Jewelry is taken care of by me making it now, so instead I just buy beads. (Im starting to need a Bead-A-holics group.) Well, today I am going over to Kohl’s. I have a out-of-office meeting all next week so I want to be sure I have some nice things to wear while I am visiting, and I have a $10 gift card from them. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-who-love-clothes-shopping-why/547372/32 "2010-07-21T14:33:49Z")
I’ve lost a ton of weight in the past year and had to completely turn over my wardrobe several times. For someone who shopped exclusively out of catalogs for over a decade, this has been an experience. It’s much more tolerable now, of course, both because things don’t all look terrible and because I am in better physical shape and so don’t get tired, but one thing still remains: I can’t _stand_ window shopping. If I can’t afford to buy something, just looking at it or even trying it on is going to make me feel frustrated and lousy. And I can’t afford much! Once the sizes started really dropping, I went to shopping exclusively at thrift stores, where I can afford to buy anything I see. The downside, though, is that it takes more time: you have to go regularly and try on a ton of stuff to find the few things that really work. So while losing weight into “normal” sizes has made shopping tolerable, it still hasn’t made it fun. It’s a chore, not a hobby, and I still think in terms of “what do I need to fulfill social obligations?” not “What would I like?” ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-who-love-clothes-shopping-why/547372/33 "2010-07-21T14:58:31Z")
I absolutely despise shopping, and would get everything from catalogs if I could. I even order groceries over the internet. A friend of mine would spend all her time at the mall if she could. She compares it to my love of Art museums. She says she loves seeing what the designers have come up with, and sifting through the various colors, textures, and shapes that are out there. So I said, yeah, but that’s why I used to subscribe to Vogue Paris. She then went on to describe the feeling of the cloth and the dynamic nature of the art form, as it transforms from something on the hangar, to something reshaped by her body when she tries it on. Sometimes she hates it, but she’s not one of those who concludes that there must be something wrong with her body if the clothing doesn’t look good; she knows that some things work well with her and some things don’t, and she’s cool with that. But she feels like a part, however passive, of an on-going creative process. Which, although I do not feel it myself, (and never did even when I was Barbie-doll perfect,) I can certainly respect. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-who-love-clothes-shopping-why/547372/34 "2010-07-21T16:18:50Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > As for checking when it’s on sale, that would mean I’d have to go back. I’ve gotten better about this and actually manage to shop a little each month or so, buying a couple of new things so I have new clothes to wear, but to religiously go back and check? Just go back in a month- or call. Ask an associate, “Hey, you know that skirt that was XYZ that you guys had a month ago by the front door, got any more of them?” If they do, it’ll be on sale. If they say no, walk out. Blam. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-who-love-clothes-shopping-why/547372/35 "2010-07-21T16:21:43Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > Just go back in a month- or call. Ask an associate, “Hey, you know that skirt that was XYZ that you guys had a month ago by the front door, got any more of them?” If they do, it’ll be on sale. > > If they say no, walk out. Blam. It sure was gorgeous. It was like, a sort of dull ish blue, orange, and yellow, dual-layered. The top layer was kind of gauzy thin and the bottom was a dark blue. It was silky soft and heavy, and probably ankle or calf-length. Can you tell I liked it? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-who-love-clothes-shopping-why/547372/36 "2010-07-21T19:50:04Z")
> [@digs](#): > > I know, I’ll just just send your mom to get me “some 32/32 Levi’s 550’s; one faded blue, one off-black. And some briefs. NO, I don’t care what color they are!” But then you’d be upset, because say you gave her a budget of $60 to get everything, tax included. She’d come back, having spent $55 to get you what you wanted, but you’d have two MORE pair of jeans from Nautica or Tommy Hilfiger that you actually like BETTER and you’d have briefs AND boxers and a free ipod shuffle because she spent enough to qualify for one at the outlets.\* She’s lucky enough that she can shop once a year like this and always look sharp. \*Yes, this is a true story. ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-who-love-clothes-shopping-why/547372/37 "2010-07-21T20:26:12Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I have never understood many women’s love for clothes shopping. While I admit there is a certain joy in finding a good bargain, to me there is almost no way to quicker make me feel a) poor b)fat and c) oddly shaped, since none of the common sizes fit anyone well. > > I do it because I have to. I was just over at Boscov’s. On the one hand, I bought two $40 shirts for the grand total of $20. On the other hand, I saw this skirt that I adored - it had the perfect weight and look to it. I fell in love with it right away. Price? \* One hundred and fifty-five dollars\*. I cannot justify spending so much money on one piece of apparel! > > But lots of my acquaintances love shopping and can spend hours in the store! How do they do this? > > Maybe you guys can tell me what appeals to you so much, and maybe I can listen and stop dreading the experience so much. 🙂 I once thought the same way. Try it. Once or twice…just try it. Blow the $150. You might be surprised. Pricier clothes generally look better on you, feel better and last longer. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-who-love-clothes-shopping-why/547372/38 "2010-07-21T20:34:51Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > Just go back in a month- or call. Ask an associate, “Hey, you know that skirt that was XYZ that you guys had a month ago by the front door, got any more of them?” If they do, it’ll be on sale. > > If they say no, walk out. Blam. Or if the store has a website, check it every once in a while. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-who-love-clothes-shopping-why/547372/39 "2010-07-21T20:37:27Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > I think there really is a distinction to be made between “shopping” and “buying clothes”. Shopping can be tremendously frustrating, but it’s also absolutely necessary until you learn what works for you. Once you know what works for you, if you’re lucky, you need never set foot in a mall again. I do \*not \*enjoy the mall. But I \*love \* having new clothes, and I do the vast majority of my clothes shopping online, with astoundingly little failure, because after years of trial and error in the dressing room, I know what works for me, and can spot it even when it’s pictured on a woman who is six feet tall and weighs 114 pounds. Yes’m. I like having new clothes, but shopping can be a righteous pain in my ass at times. I think the reason a lot of women like shopping is that people like looking at pretty things, and like to wear said pretty things. Shopping is how you get pretty things. I wish there were some way to make nice clothes materialize in my closet, but as things are now, online shopping is the next best thing. Sometimes, though, even if you’ve mastered the internet eye for cuts that don’t work for you, and cheesy fabric, you just have to go outside to find what you want, especially if you want it now. Also, for some reason, scoring a sweet deal feels so much better in the store than it does online. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-who-love-clothes-shopping-why/547372/40 "2010-07-21T20:53:30Z")
One thing I am truly, truly pleased at is the plethora of pictures of plus sized models in the stores. When I am there shopping for my clothes, it does me NO good whatsoever to see my clothes modeled on a skinny girl. Sure, it looks good on her. Does it look good on larger women? I’d prefer to know before I go through the annoyance of the dressing room! I hate changing my clothes in the middle of the day. Plus, my hair gets all static-y. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-who-love-clothes-shopping-why/547372.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-who-love-clothes-shopping-why/547372.md?page=3)