Mundane Musings

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 270, 4 February 1928, Page 20

Mundane Musings

Talking Shop!

(By a Mere Man.) There is one thing about women that makes one realise how very superior they are to men—in some ways. That is the way in which a woman can walk into a shop as though she owned it, resist the blandishments or bullying of dozens of people trying to sell her something, and stay there, amusing herself, for anything up to a couple of hours and not buy anything at all. The average man could no more do a thing like that than he could ring the bell for one of the superb beings who are seen at intervals bearing trays of nutriment about the teashops. Just compare our methods, for instance. Suppose, for example, that I "want a collar. I know beforehand exactly what kind of a collar I need, then I seek out the nearest collar shop, walk in, and am promptly pounced on by the fellow behind the counter. I tell him what I want, pay over my cash and clear out as fast as I can, before he starts trying to sell me half a dozen shirts or a patent combined trouser- ■ press and billiard table. Superior Savoir-Faire But from what I have seen of women’s ways of going about it, they seem to have made Shop Visiting (1 can’t call it “Shopping”) into a fine art. When Mrs. Smith, wants a pleasant afternon, she sails out in the general direction of town. She has previously made up her mind that she could do with a packet of pins, so she makes a start in one of those palatial salons, packed to the doors with luxurious contents. In an off-hand way she asks the price of a couple of yards of gauze and crepe de chine, priced at a modest forty guineas, and spends an enjoyable half hour toying with the idea of what she would do if she could afford to buy it. When she has thoroughly examined it she decides that it is not just what she wants and moves on to the millinery department, where the same game is gone through with a few dozen hats. And so on, until at the end of the afternoon she buys her pins and catches a homeward-bound bus, with the comfortable feeling that something accomplished, someone done, has earned a night’s repose. A Challenging Contest Now, why not go one better and adopt a little suggestion of mine? What about a Shop Visiting Championship? The rules would be quite simple. The place of the contest would be any big store which sells anything from motors to muslin and mouse traps. Competitors would be required to take the departments in alphabetical order and spend a minmum of a quarter of an hour in each, in communication with the attendants, but without buying anything. For every five minutes over the quarter of an hour spent in the department, competitors would score one point. If in any department the competitor should feel uncomfortably pricked by conscience, or if the saleswoman or salesman should have taken a course in Will Power, or Compelling With the Eye, with the result that a purchase, however small, be made, one point would be deducted. If purchases were made in any three departments during the course of one round of a sftiop the competitor would be disqualified. The Reward Also, time should be counted from the moment that conversation with an attendant started. Just think of the reward that would await the Champion. Imagine our old friend, Mrs. Smith, who had won the Championship for* 1927. Round Mrs. Smith’s drawing room runs a dado on which are inscribed in letters of gold the names of the shops she played through to gain her honour. What modest pride shines in her face as she says: “I did their Household Provisions in a trifle over forty-five minutes.” Bridge and Golf will have to look to their laurels STEERING THROUGH THE SALES By G. M. HUDSON. Only Superior People despise the summer sales, and these days few of us can afford to be superior. To many, indeed, the sales offer sartorial meat and drink of an excellence that can be obtained by them in no other way. But good sale-ing is a fine art. One must learn the ropes. To “look in” on the chance is to court almost certain disappointment. Also, let it be remembered, the real plums of any sale are plucked within the first few hours of the first day. As an old campaigner, I would say to the novice: Decide beforehand what you want most, and looking neither to the right or the left, steer straight for the stores or the department where you are likely to get it. Only experience will teach you exactly where to go for the best bargains in everything, but keep your eyes open, and you will soon get to know the “specialities” of each particular store. Even so, it is wise to have a look at the windows first, if only to make a note of the entrance that will really lead you into the department you seek on the morning of the sale. Shop window-dressing is deceitful above all things, and desperately misleading. What woman has not known the agony of being sent with a rush into the “haby” department when footwear was desired, or being thrown into the arms of “Costumes, Modora?" when expecting to see “trimmings!” Know what you want and where you can get it beforehand. Secure in the knowledge that you are in the right department, you simply sail up to the nearest goddess-in-waiting, and, placing the exact money in her hand, murmur sweetly, “The grey crepe-de-chine in the window, please. Thank you so much!” The next instant a dozen voices will also be clamouring for the grey crepe-de-chine. You alone can afford to remain calm. You have paid for it. It is yours already. One cannot, of course, have exact money for every purchase, but a purse full of small change makes a wonderful saving of time. And now, having acquired the bargain you most desired, be satisfied with second prizes at other counters. You can’t expect to be “the winner” in five different departments at once. Don’t grab, don’t clutch. If an avaricious hand seizes the other end of a scarf you have set your heart on, don’t "worry or glare angrily round. Just quietly drop your end and take dp another scarf; the hand is sure to follow. Then is your opportunity. Appropriate the original scarf in its entirety, and wave it aloft (until you catch the eyes of the nearest assistant) with a quiet air of possession. The owner of the hand will not dare to interfere. Finally, risk appearances for once, and take a lined string or similar expanding bag to hold your smaller purchases. It is, though hideous, the greatest comfort. It never loses anything and enables you to return home triumphant, bringing not the least of your bargains with you!

It is of the utmost Importance to have Permanent Waving well done, and for this reason it is advisable to go to a Specialist. W e are constantly receiving appreciations from ladies who have. proved this by experience.— STAMFORD SALON S, 132 Queen St.: Phone 42-189. _