Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Coat of arms

Oh my gosh. I almost got into a fight. At Zara. Over a coat. (In fairness, cute talaga siya). I was shopping for Christmas presents when I chanced upon the Zara store in Soho. I've been reminding myself every couple of months to drop by, but I rarely ever go shopping for clothes anywhere but my regular haunts.

Anyway, in the back, past where they display the fancier items is a treasure trove of reasonably-priced but fancy-looking items. Two Asian girls were trying on coats in front of the lone mirror. One of the coats they were trying on caught my attention. (This was a different one from the one I almost got killed for). The fit was great, and the fabric was versatile, so I started looking through the racks for a similar coat. The only coat in my size (S) was of a different fabric and was pricier. But after 20 minutes of looking around and calculating numbers in my head, I finally decided that I could afford one last coat this winter.

Alas! My coat was gone from the racks. I asked the salesgirl for one in my size, but she said somebody else took the last one. Actually I knew this, but I just wanted to make sure. Finally, after much tugging and smoothing and setting of bags and previous purchases on the floor, I decided I would take the (M). But not before checking with the salesgirl, just in case the other girl decided not to take the (S). Which was quick thinking on my part because she came back from the dressing room with the precious coat!

On my way to getting in line, I passed a rack of basic turtlenecks and remembered how I constantly wished I had a plain black turtleneck while leafing through this season's magazines. Of course, I started looking through the rack. It was okay, I had time since the line was long; the two Asian girls from earlier were at the head of the line, with the same coat as the one I had (I wondered briefly if it was a small). Suddenly, a girl on her cellphone walks by, "Waitaminute. Somebody took my fucking coat!" Oops. I slowly inched my way in line, while wishing that it wasn't the coat I had draped over my arms she was talking about. No such luck, though. Just as it was my turn at the register, a salesgirl inquired about my coat's size. Apparently, the girl had tried the coat on in the dressing room and left it with an attendant, and the other salesgirl innocently thought that she didn't want it.

I looked at her with "You have got to be kidding me," written all over my face. I mean, come on. Who tries coats on in the dressing room, anyway? You just fling your stuff on the floor and try it on right there. Plus, this girl was at least three inches taller than me, and she was actually going to make shorty me get the (M)? But fine, I was gracious, gave her the small, took the medium, and gave the salesgirl my name and number and asked for a list of Zara stores in New York. While all this was going on, the two Asian girls from before (bless their hearts) came dashing back in. On their way out, they found a (S) near the front of the store. "Thank you," I said. "Apparently, everyone wants this coat." "Well, we all have one now!,"she said.

So, to my fellow Zara coat shoppers, congratulations for snagging a very in demand item, and much good karma to those two girls. To the helpful Zara salesgirl, it was an innocent mistake and just one of the snags in the retail world. And to Zara waiting room attendants, please designate a rack for reserved items to facilitate a hassle-free shopping experience.

2 comments:

  1. my goodness, mel! you just sound like the main character from "confessions of a shopaholic". that was really funny.

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  2. Hi Sars! I just saw this. I haven't read that book, actually. And I'm a changed person now!

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