Three weeks doesn't make me an expert. However, in three weeks of working a retail job in a top women's clothing store, I have made many observations about women who shop. Women from ages 40 and beyond are the targets for these clothes, and it is becoming easier each day to tell from the moment they walk in the door who will experience shopping success and who will not.
Successful shoppers most often share these traits:
1.They enter the store confidently with a smile and head up. So often, posture and stance will establish who is in control ... the shopper or the clothes.
2.They came into the store already dressed well. From that moment we see who understands the power of how clothing shows respect for the woman wearing it.
3.They do not say the "F" word in the dressing room. The word is FAT. Successful shoppers understand garments are sized differently and fit is not always the same. They are shopping to look their best with the bodies they own right now and do not make excuses otherwise. I have sadly seen too many women who feel so embarrassed by their current size, they either purchase garments too small or too large. Garments which are destined not to be worn, returned or donated quickly. These women often stay hidden inside the main dressing room, and feel too bad to even look in the three-way mirror ... a mirror which can really be a woman's best friend. They use self-defeating talk, and struggle to see the positives. I hear so many women say, "I am too fat to wear anything new. I should not be shopping." They allow clothes to make them feel depressed and ugly.
4.Successful, confident shoppers are able to know what cuts work for them and which do not. They understand their own style and the exact messages they want to send with their clothing. They have taken time to learn about themselves without putting themselves down.
5.Successful shoppers use the sales associates as their friends and confidently and kindly tell an associate the type of garment they are looking for or the event they need to attend making a fabulous statement. They do not look down at the floor, but into the eyes of others.
The irony is if a woman will dress the body she currently has with fits and styling tricks meant to slim the look, she is more likely to begin a new healthy plan for losing weight. Once she sees how great she can look and feel, it is easier to face the new eating plan with excitement.
A confident, successful shopper understands we are all beautiful and all have individual unique features no one else possesses. Beauty is not determined by weight or age. Look into your own eyes and see the positives ... speak them out loud ... then smile ... hold up your head ... and go shopping. The summer sales are awesome!
True confession time ... do you use the "F" word while shopping?
Earlier on Huff/Post50: