Younger Daughter needs a fancy dress for an upcoming special event. This will be our third year to participate in this event, and I confess that while I have always enjoyed shopping, the trek for the perfect-yet-affordable dress has become a burden. We have now spent the better part of two weekends and some evening time looking everywhere we can think of within a 110-mile radius of our home to no avail. We sre now left with one weekend to find a dress, and frankly, I can't think of another place we can look. The point of this post however, is not that we can't find a dress, but to share some of the observations I made while out shopping in what turned out to be the North Alabama Territory.
1) There are only so many dresses out there. The few exist, and all others are variations on the same theme.
2) Those same dresses can vary in price by $50 to $400 depending on the particular store.
3) Either good help is hard to find or no one cares anymore. We entered one shop in the Galleria where my daughter spotted a dress very much like what she had in mind. The dresses were hanging on one of those ceiling-level hooks that requires a pole for removal, and there was one on a mannequin right there by the rack. "Certainly, I'll get you one of those dresses, " said the clerk (the lone salesperson on the floor). "What size do you need?". We needed a small. "Oh, I'm sorry" she says, "the only small we have is on that mannequin.". My daughter replied that was fine, she would try on the dress the mannequin was wearing. "Oh, no!, " the clerk said, " we only undress our mannequins on certain days, and today is not the day.". I said, " Do you mean she can't try the small on? "No we don't undress our mannequins unless it's the designated day." REALLY??? Making a sale was less important than observing the correct Mannequin Undressing Day.
4) We're having a mild winter here in the South. I guess that means one can wear hot pants (does anyone still say that?) and heels to the mall though it's the middle of January.
5) Apparently, I cannot pick out a dress of which my daughter will approve. If I want to be sure she won't try something on, I take it off the rack and hold it out for her to see. If I want to be doubly sure she won't like it, I'll say, "This is cute!"
6) Apparently, if I tire of my suggestions being shot down, give up on trying to derive the secret behind dresses that can be considered, and follow along quietly, only offering my opinion when asked, I am not participating or 'helping' in the process.
7)No matter the time of year there are never enough seats and tables in the food court of the Galleria on Saturdays.
8) I love the music they play on the outdoor speakers at The Summit.
