I shall call her CHICO and she shall be my friend -- or not

So, I have a confession. I like to shop… way too much. I didn’t use to be a shopper, but something about having a little girl after a tribe of boys really brought out the inner shopper.

Of course, planning a Hawaii trip and all, I needed to get island appropriate clothing. Short on time and heavy on waistline, I was limited to what and where I could buy.

Being a few minutes early to an appointment close to Chico’s at Dana Park, and having never been there, I decided to stop in. Once I realized that their sizing of 0,1,2 &3 was just to make us larger girls feel good about themselves, I started sifting through their clothes. They had some very cute tropical clothing. And the 60% off, Storewide clearance sign led me to believe that would reduce the prices to somewhat normal.

Well, I gathered a couple items and headed for the dressing room. That is when she pounced.

The “super-nice-grandma-type-that-you-can’t-say-no-to” sales lady.

Evidently they are trained in how to make a sale.

I stepped through a field of strategically placed accessories into mirrorless dressing rooms.

Clever. You have to step out into the main room to look at yourself in the mirror. You are surrounded by accessories and there is the little saleslady with more clothes.

She just kept coming. Like the energizer bunny.

“I found you a little jacket.”

“Here’s a cute pair of shorts”

“This top would look so adorable with those pants”

Seriously, I was being smothered. I have NEVER shopped like this.

Well, OK, maybe – when I was 7 – and my mom was with me. But never since I was an adult.
There were so many clothes in this little dressing room, I could barely turn around.

And of course, I had to try each item in front of the mirror where my new found friend would comment on the color, fit or style. I felt like I was on “What Not to Wear” only the opposite… she would say everything looked good.

That's odd, I thought I resembled a fat pig with a flower on her belly.

I narrowed it down to a few items, gathered them together and proceeded to the checkout.
GULP! Nothing I picked was on sale in their “Storewide Clearance.”

I said, “Oh, I am going to have to take some things off this transaction.” Suddenly, my “shopping pal” pulled out the big guns and she and the manager tried to convince me to just buy it all and then I could return it if I don’t wear it. After all, I had 30 days. I knocked a couple hundred dollars off the purchase, much to the disappointment of my saleslady and walked out of there with 5 – count them – 5 items. (Well, I guess you could say 6 because one top consisted of 2 pieces)

Still. 5 items and it cost almost $350.

Gulp. Gulp.

I didn’t even unpack the clothes from the ultra fancy bag they were placed in. By the time I reached home, I had made my decision. I was going to return it.

ALL of it!

I am a Wal-mart and Target girl… I have never spent so much on clothes and couldn’t bear to do it now. The most expensive pair of pants I own is $25. This was ridiculous!

So, the next night I returned it. Of course, I had to drive to a different Chico’s 20 minutes away because I was too chicken to go back to the same person.

I know, I know.

L!A!M!E!

But I did it. Got all my money back and went to Kohls.

Now there is a store for you!

I hit their clearance racks, got clothes for my trip (5 outfits) 2 t-shirts for hubby and jeans R plus two pairs of shoes and still didn’t come NEAR what I had originally spent at Chicos.

Let me just say – Adorable capris for $3.80. That’s not a typo folks. I got TWO different pairs at that price. The whole shopping trip was like that.

Yup. Totally worth the exchange! And yet, I feel like I betrayed my Chico pal.

Maybe she can find a new friend.


(FILLER POST)