Shop Girl
There was an article in Bazaar recently about how great personal shoppers are. Well, that was one of my career aspirations when I was a kid! But seriously, the article was extolling the full-service nature of personal shoppers these days, and I just can’t buy into that. It’s one thing to have favorite salespeople at Neimans and Saks who call you for private sales and keep an eye out for your sizes and help you circumvent the waiting list; it’s altogether another to have someone who actually does the shopping for you.
That just takes all the fun out of it: I actually want to obsess over each season’s offerings in magazines and online before they’re in the store. I actually want to look at each and every piece in the store. I don’t need, or want, someone else to edit the season for me. I want to keep out the middleman. I want to see and feel and breathe it all in for myself! I want to make my own decisions from all those endless choices, and if need be, I want to stalk that limited-edition item — do the detective work, track it to the most out-of-the-way boutiques — until I can get my grubby little hands on it. I really don’t have a problem going to every Prada boutique and Prada-carrying store in the tri-state area, if that’s what I have to do. (And especially when it comes to Prada, every store has slightly different styles, so if you rely on just one personal shopper at one store who knows if you’re getting the full range of choices…)
Of course, I am notoriously indecisive — you should see me in front of a diner menu, the horror, the horror! That’s the only real danger: Without any pre-editing I just might feel compelled to buy one of everything!
Technorati Tags: personal shopper, shopping, Prada
Related Posts:
April 14th, 2006 12:41
I read that article too, and agree that personal shoppers aren’t really for people who are obsessed with fashion, because that’s the kind of thing they want to do themselves.
April 14th, 2006 18:54
I think personal shoppers are for people with lots of money and no time.
Like you, I enjoy the thrill of the hunt, and the pfaffing around that is indecision. It’s more fun. I wouldn’t want anyone making my edits for me, and I certainly wonder at their “that looks CUTE!” comments; they’re salespeople after all, trying to move merchandise.