Tricks and Traits, volume 2

Piggybacking on some tricks I blogged about, one of the greatest things that you can ever do when you shop for deals is to learn to build relationships and build them consistently.  The many times I hung out at Banana Republic, Kenneth Cole, and Pacific Place in downtown Seattle; and all the stores I frequented in Bellevue Square, Redmond Town Center, and Auburn Super Mall led me to meet many people behind the cash wraps who have helped me build networks upon networks that I possibly would never have imagined.  These networks provided me with a wealth of information and connections that opened my eyes to the retail world and how that world functions in the consumer industry.  To give you an example, if I didn’t check on the frequency of sales and updates on clothing in Banana or Kenneth Cole, I wouldn’t have met the store managers and district managers who helped me understand the business and clothing, specifically:

1. The types and quality of clothing that typically goes on sale
2. The types and quality of clothing that are being marketed heavily
3. The types and quality of clothing that are not being marketed heavily
4. Upcoming fashion trends, cuts, styles, and price guidelines
5. What types, cuts, and quality of clothing that either stays in store or are shipped to Racks and Outlet Malls
6. Featured events, sales, and markdowns, and where to find them
7. Other general information, which includes basic information about their particular brand of clothing versus other products and brands, tailoring, etc.

Building upon these listed items, you have essentially a great handle on where to shop, when to shop, how much to pay for it (given the actual value of the clothing based on tailoring, cut, cloth, etc), and most of all, someone to give you a personal helping hand along the way.

More importantly, the relationships being established becomes more than knowledge of where to go shopping.  They serve as one of the foundations to which you can build upon as a source of knowledge, and is available to be an external resource on keeping up with trends, price values, and other factors that you think are valuable to you.

And what is more valuable than people giving you a plethora of informative advice?

Crocs: What a load of…

Okay folks, I’m going to get down to the dirty dirty here.  One of the most recent fashion faux pas that I have continually seen is the amount of people wearing (and selling) Crocs.  One look at that thing and one would think that Crocs are, well, a load of crock.  Seriously.  I was at a local upscale mall this past week and stopped by RESTORATION HARDWARE and POTTERY BARN to check out the sales.  I noticed that a couple of sales associates who had cool outfits wore Crocs that “matched” their outfit.  I didn’t want to be rude, but in my mind I was crying in tears out of laughter as I walked by them.  I can understand that if you’re late for work, you’ll just take whatever shoe you find that is remotely in the same color of your outfit.  Fine.  We’ve all been there before, so it’s not a big deal.  But honestly, are Crocs THAT good enough to wear with anything?  Is it a shoe-for-all-outfit type?  Is it THAT comfortable than say, Hush Puppies?  Is it THAT sophisticated enough to wear for a “classier” retail establishment?  Hmmm….

So I did my own research a couple of months ago and, sad to say, tried out a few Crocs in a Hallmark store (yes they sell them at Hallmark!!) at an outlet mall in town to see what the fuss was all about.  Of course, they came out with any and every color and shade of the rainbow, including the almighty camo.  While I could see how one would think it was OK to get, it wasn’t at all attractive in any outfit (especially mine) nor comfortable after walking for a “long period” of time.  (My long period of time was walking in and out of the card aisles for a few minutes).  After my trial period ended, I found myself people watching in the mall, and to my surprise (OK, I wasn’t THAT surprised), I saw more guys wearing them, and guess what is the predominant color for them?  You got it.  Camo.

Now granted, budgets can also be a part of the reason why people buy this crap.  I would refute that argument and say that there are better choices for every budget that would actually make you LOOK better in the long term, and make you feel a bit more sophisticated than wearing Crocs.  For example, I bought a pair of black leather sandals from BANANA REPUBLIC Outlet for $15, and I love it.  It’s casual enough in look to wear with jeans and tee, button down shirt, or any combination, and “casual-formal” enough to wear a nice pair of herringbone slacks with a freshly pressed button down shirt.

And in the end, I don’t look like a load of crock wearing it.