Don’t Hate Me Because I’m a Shopper
My senior year in college, there was this guy I kinda knew — he briefly dated one of my roommates (okay, hooked up with, which meant that we were two ships that occasionally passed in the bathroom in the night). He was from Texas, too, but was more of an oil-money good ol’ boy, the kind who surely cut his teeth as a cotillion escort back in high school. For some reason, on one of those occasional passes in the night, he got a glimpse of my closet… and promptly concluded that I must have been just like those debutantes he knew back home. Mind you, those were the days before gainful employment and high credit card limits, so while my collection may have boasted quantity — that’s just a given — it didn’t necessarily boast quality. The crown jewel was a pair of navy blue Escada peeptoes with white stitching, and as I recall fondly, gold lining. Ah, those humble days…
Long story short, one day in the spring semester, my roommate mentioned in front of him that I was up for Phi Beta Kappa. And his jaw literally dropped. When I feigned indignation he tried to backtrack, cover up, get his foot out of his mouth. “I just meant… I had no idea… I mean, of course you must be smart… but all I knew was that you liked to shop, a lot…”
And that was my first experience with prejudice.
And the beginning of my personal mantra, “smart and shallow… smart and shallow… smart and shallow…” Om.
Truth be told, having been pegged for most of my life as Miss Smarty Pants, I was secretly flattered to be judged so superficially. (Yes, that is messed up.) And yet it is one of my great disappointments in life that I never did make Phi Beta Kappa. But I do have an honorary doctorate in power shopping! (Really, I do. You can get anything on the internet… Okay, really, I don’t. But I do know someone who has a bachelor’s degree in fashion merchandising. Now that’s what I can a liberal art!)
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August 17th, 2005 18:40
YAY!!!! I’m not alone. Three Majors, magna cum laude, and still unable to escape an obsession with Louis Verdad’s stuff out in LA. Someday soon, I plan to make up my college lack of debt (scholarship) by buying clothes and shoes…lots and lots of shoes…
August 18th, 2005 00:48
Lucky you, no college debt (more on that in a later blog entry…)! My definition of gainful employment: I’m employed, so my closet gains.
You know how there was a recent study that found that chewing gum makes you smart? Well someday they will find that shopping makes you smart! (The ability to calculate sales tax and monthly payments and all.)
August 18th, 2005 13:07
Truly I am no longer alone! University of Chicago student (classics and political science) and dedicated fashion addict (without the budget). Plato and Prada in harmony as it were!
Julie
August 18th, 2005 13:50
LOL. Smart and shallow. Love your mantra. I get that prejudice all the time. But I love the element of suprise when people finally realize that you are actually smart. And indeed, shopping sharpens our ability to mentally calculate and develop physical stamina too.
August 18th, 2005 15:07
Yeah, I have a degree in rocket science (well, aerospace engineering) and either
-people don’t believe I have such a degree because of my obsession with fashion and celebrities
-or they believe I can’t possibly know anything about fashion and celebrities since I’m an engineer
Oh well.
August 19th, 2005 11:25
Ahh the pain and joy of being a woman and the eternal balance between smart and/or beautiful
Let us unite and smash stereotypes!