After being in the house for several days with a sick kid (who chatters chatters chatters even though he is sick AND climbs on me) I needed to escape briefly or suffer insanity and so I made my way to Old Navy. I didn't need clothes per se but sweet freedom beckoned in the form of two or more at only $7.50 each! and every time I buy a standard white t-shirt it, WTH, gets destroyed (holes, shrinkage, stain right on the nipple) so I found myself in front of the vast array of t-shirts ripe with symbolic independence.
Now you know Old Navy… they always have four or five styles of tees and a bunch of different colors (but never the color in the style that you want) and I can't say consistency is their sweatshop's middle name so I always need to try on each style in a couple of different sizes before I'll find the ones that fit right. So I'm pulling like 10 t-shirts off the shelves when a young lady and her friend walk up.
They stop. One in particular stares up at the offering of tees. I assume she's, like me, weighing her sizing options.
She tentatively reaches for a baby blue standard t-shirt. Hesitates before picking it up. Stares again. Finally, slowly picks up the tee and holds it towards her friend.
"What do you think?"
Friend mumbles affirmatively.
"Really?" The young lady goes back to staring at the blue tee. Puts it back down again. Looks at the jeans. Comes back a few minutes later and picks it back up.
"How about with these? Will it go?" She holds the tee against her brown Ugg boots clearly waiting for further validation.
Her friend again mumbles affirmatively. But it doesn't seem strong enough for t-shirt gal because she goes back to staring, unsure, at the plain blue regular tee.
At that point I had to walk away with my gajillion t-shirts, that I would try on in the changing room and decide upon all by myself. Because they're t-shirts, not a massive life-threatening decision. It wasn't as if these were two teenagers. These were two young ladies in their 20s, maybe early 30s. I don't mean to sound mean. Perhaps this individual was just a very indecisive person (and that's OK!), but I've been seeing this type of scenario more and more in stores lately. It's not just indecision (trust me, I'll stare when I'm picking colors, too), it's like there is an inability to make a personal decision without a group consensus. And frankly, I just don't get it.
Anyone else been seeing this lately?
I’ve seen those girls in the malls… I actually saw one use her phone to send a pic to a friend at home before she bought it!
M
This is a side effect of technology allowing friends to be in on each other’s bizznass. Many younger people need the affirmations of outsiders these days.
Wow, that is indecisive!
A clinical explanation would be that it’s because women tend to be more indecisive than men–and that they tend to be more concerned about what other members of their own sex think of them.
But a simpler (and probably more accurate) explanation would be that, as consumers, we Americans (male and female) are overwhelmed with choices, in what we buy–and will be more overwhelmed as more choices in products flood the market. Choosing among even the most basic products is becoming more and more difficult.
Personally, I’m impressed that you escaped with your life. I’d advise you to not blog about it any further, as it would just call attention to the fact that you saw the aliens in an unguarded moment and survived. Yes, they were actually cybernetic vehicles for the diminutive blobs nested inside their heads, trying to figure out how to best blend in until the next step of the invasion begins. “Does this match my nasal receptor?” “Shh! Zggnortz, the question is rather ‘does it match my foot coverings?'” “I am abashed. But the question remains: will this garment be suitable to pass as a normal, self-reliant hooman, arousing no suspicion?”