Doesn’t work on this dude either.
With birthdays and festivities coming up I had to go shopping.
Poor me. You wouldn’t think that if you knew how I shop for presents. One for them and one for me and one for them and two for me…..I love it!
I live equal distance between two malls but one is easier from a traffic standpoint so I usually go there. I needed to go to the other mall for a specific store. This was a road trip!
Part of this mall has an outdoor upscale section with foo-foo stores like William-Sonoma, Chico’s, Ann Taylor — that sort of thing. The older part is an indoor mall from the 1970s with mall stores like Gap, The Limited, Boscov’s, Forever 21 and my favorite Macy’s.
Sephora could yield a gift or two so I stopped in. I haven’t been in one of those in decades. Oh my God! I thought I was in a candy store. I tried nail polish, body soaps and lotions, and checked out makeup. It was incredible. At the end of an hour of playing I was empty-handed, smelling of something, sticky from potions and thoroughly confused.
After a few more stops in the upscale part, I went into the older section. There were amazing sights. They should charge admission.
Here are the highlights for people-watchers.
Outside, in one of the handicapped spots, there was a super huge pick-up truck with big tires. It was the kind of truck that you need a ladder to climb into the cab – a big ladder. It had a legitimate handicapped sticker so I was curious what the handicap was. No judgments, just curious.
There were two couples in the pizza shop. Both guys had those pants that reside are under the cheeks on top of the thighs. I am always fascinated by them. How do they stay up? Do they hook on to the package in the front? Do they occasionally fall down? (I always miss the good stuff!)
Although they were all casual and street-smart with the gesturing and head twitching, I did notice that one of them was color coordinated. Both his underwear and his cap were a bright red with his grey sweats hanging down. His sweater had a red and grey pattern to pull the outfit together. He also had the 10 o’clock shadow that is popular now. It’s like a 5 o’clock shadow only worse. He was attractive enough to be a model for saggy clothing.
There were several groups of Asian women. They were short, thin, attractive and teetering on massive heels. From the language I would guess that they were from southeast Asia. They were fashionably dressed and had the best shoes!
I was in back of a woman at a cashier station who had several pieces of high end active wear (as they call it now, exercise clothes to us oldtimers) — several hundred dollars worth. The cashier suggested she open an account to save $45. She turned her down. I would have done it even if I didn’t intend to use the account again. That money would buy me a lot of Starbucks drinks! Maybe there was another part to the story that I don’t know.
The Christmas decorations were up and holiday music was blaring. It’s going to be hard to get me back there before Christmas.
I have a few gifts to buy. I wonder if they would like Starbucks gift cards…
Views and Mews by Coffee Kat 
Oh you get a lot more out of your shopping trips than I do. I am afraid I’m not much of a shopper, but I do like to people watch! I do most of my shopping on-line anymore…so just look what I’m missing! I may have to rethink my habit!
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I do more and more of my shopping on line but I occasionally like to go and touch the merchandise. There used to be a lot more older folks in the mall walking and sitting but I didn’t see them when I was there.
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Your shopping observations are hilarious! The malls around here are all at least an hour away so when I finally get to go I am so blinded by all the shopping choices I fail to see anyone around me. I must start more people watching. My Mom and I used to go to the airport for just that purpose even if we were not traveling anywhere. 🙂
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People watching is good for the blog.
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OMG! That photo! Justin Bieber, right?
I like to shop, but I’m not good at Christmas shopping. I always feel so uncertain about what other people might like. Last Sunday, my sister and I went shopping in Bellevue Square, a large, upscale mall. The idea was to get some ideas for Christmas gifts. We shopped for hours, and I came home empty handed.
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I can relate to that. I hate wasting money on gifts someone doesn’t like or use. That’s why I end up with more gifts for me than anyone else (and you thought I was just greedy!).
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Love your shopping trip. I am one into foo-foo shopping…Chico’s is my favorite place. Thank God none of my grandsons have ever ventured into the low…low pants craze. That is the tackiest thing ever. No way could it be comfortable. Two of my daughter-in-laws and I are going out soon for a ‘girls day’ of shopping and lunch. I’ll keep my eyes peeled (as usual) for interesting and unusual sights…always plentiful
Starbucks gift cards are sure to be super welcome.
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Just noticed…that’s a Chico’s jacket I’m wearing in my picture…Gibby likes it too!
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I like Chico’s. I bought more clothes there when I worked but I still pick something up now and then. I used to love shopping with my Mom. We wore totally different sizes and had different tastes but we acted as a critique for everything either of us tried on. AND we always ended with a meal. Can’t beat that.
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My eldest son used to wear his pants down by his knees but stopped quite abruptly about two years ago. It used to drive me and the Mr insane. Anyway maybe he had an accident? 😀 or it may have something to do with the fact that he is not a Bieber fan…who knows? Anyway I love Starbucks and Sephora (heavenly!).
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OMG! Didn’t you want to pants him (pull them down)? I always get that urge and I’m not a predator. It just looks like it’s asking for trouble. Glad it was only a stage.
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😀 definitely a ‘phase’ he was going through. He even used to wear his hair long – not my favourite look. He has ‘cleaned up’ very nicely since then.
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Now I do love a nice ponytail on a guy. Goes back to my hippie days.
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The thing I liked best about your visit ~> PIZZA!
Good eats make shopping more fun.
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Oh yes, shopping without any treats would be torture. Sometimes it’s a Starbucks foo-foo drink. Sometimes it’s a Cinnabon but mostly it’s pizza or a wurst sandwich.
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I thoroughly enjoyed this vicarious trip to the mall, seen through your eyes. I forgot how much fun it can be to do that people-watching thing, although there is no way I could have kept from rolling my eyes at those “pants down to there” dudes … I just DON’T GET IT … how is that supposed to be cool and sexy, when they look like such silly little boys? I’ve been known to snort out loud with laughter at the sight. Thank goodness (hallelujah) that fashion phenomenon wasn’t around when my boys were younger. I would have been stapling their drawers to their shirts.
Can’t say that I’ve made a trip to the mall in YEARS. My guess is that it’s probably been at least ten years, if not more. Perhaps I should go, just to enjoy the Christmas decorations and people-watching. Based on your descriptions, it sounds like it was rather entertaining. 🙂
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It was entertaining. I picked up a gift, had pizza and just people watched. Amazingly I didn’t buy anything for myself.
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I don’t enjoy going to the mall. Any mall. So I just ignore the people and try to stay focused on getting whatever I need there. Obviously I’m missing a lot of good free entertainment. Next time, following your lead, I’ll try to tune-in more to the people and grumble less about being in the mall.
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I don’t enjoy the mall like I did when I was young. I don’t need clothes and they don’t fit like they used to. My feet can’t wear the shoes I prefer. I really don’t need anything so a nice food treat and people watching for an hour or two works for me. I don’t like the mall at all when it’s crowded — like at Christmas time.
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What a wonderful post! Your descriptions are so on target that I could actually see everything as you went from one place to the next. Glad you had such a nice time.
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I love the occasional day by myself especially at the mall. I can finger and try on things and I no longer need to buy things. I always treat myself to something and sit and watch. They really should charge me admission.
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I might just try writing a shopping tour post.
I could plop myself down on a bench right inside Walmart.
I may not see the same merchandise as you, but I think I can guarantee just as interesting (and maybe more) shoppers as you saw. 🙂
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Our Walmart is…umm….interesting. Despite the fact it’s in a large busy strip mall, weird things happen there like robberies and fights. Sitting there would be an eye opener.
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Fortunately we do have a very clean and helpful Walmart.
I will put a couple of bricks in my purse just in case I need to swing it around. 🙂
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We have a nice one on the other side of town but the sights would be more interesting in the first one. Bricks would work just fine. So far no shootings.
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Everyone likes Starbucks gift cards…at least everyone I know. Working downtown, near the courthouse and jail, I often see guys with their pants hanging below the underwear. I just don’t get it. I would love to hear someone’s explanation. Happy Shopping!
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I love Starbucks cards because it’s something I actually use. I haven’t gotten one in a long time. I was close to asking the guy at the pizza shop about the pants but he was from a different culture and I didn’t want to offend him.
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