Why do most men hate shopping with women?: originally appeared on Quora: The best answer to any question. Ask a question, get a great answer. Learn from experts and access insider knowledge. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.
The Fear. The sheer terror. The knowledge that we're going to have to formulate an opinion on clothes that we're totally indifferent to.
Do you like this top?
It's okay.
Just okay?
It's nice.
Better than this one?
Um... yeah.
What about this one?
Well that's nice too.
You don't think the sleeves are an inch too long?
Well... now that you mention it.
So you don't like it?
Well it's okay.
Is it more okay or less okay than the green one we looked at five shops ago?
Um... more.
I think we should go back and try that one on again. Don't you?
...
We are bored out of our minds.
We lack the physical endurance for shopping that all women seem to possess.
WE ARE BORED OUT OF OUR MINDS. Oh, sorry, I already said that.
I think men's and women's minds are just wired differently when it comes to shopping.
Men generally don't spend hours deciding color, comparison shopping or finding the sale prices. We know what we want, we get in, buy our shit, and get out. 10-15 minutes and we're done. Mission accomplished.
This mentality is inconsistent with how a woman shops, in my experience. My girlfriend is a bona fide Macy's addict and that company has perfected the way to feed her addiction. They send her coupons. Without checking, I can almost guarantee she has three or four of them in her purse right now. Women love getting deals. That is what takes so long. Going from store to store, trying to find the best ones. Even after she has purchased something, she has this irresistible urge to check out the price to see if it was lower, when we see the same thing elsewhere.
The trying on of garments also takes a long time. Not sure why. I know if my girlfriend goes into the dressing room, I won't see her again for the next 20-30 minutes. I sit there waiting patiently, contemplating the meaning of life or if I should just end mine right now. Then, she'll say nothing fits just right. Or the color wasn't right. Or, "It makes me look fat."
"You mean you're not going to buy anything?"
"No, let's go."
Rinse and repeat. Sigh.
[Some] great pictures. I'm not making this stuff up, I promise.
Instagram Account Captures "Miserable Men". - Imgur
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Most people are inherently selfish and when the item (or criteria used to choose that item) does not interest them, they do not care.
Women's clothing sizes are not standardized, which means I may be any one of about three different sizes for a basic black pair of slacks. This means I am required -- despite my own disinterest in doing so -- to bring a half-dozen pants into the changing room and "try them on for size" (a phrase which sends me into paroxysms of rage.)
Women's clothing styles change quarterly. Color palettes change every season, so if I need a new suit and even if I want a grey one, I am required to look at dozens of suits with varying cuts, fits, shades, fixtures, trim. To get a fucking grey suit. Shopping for women's clothes takes a long time - even when the woman knows exactly what she wants.
Men and women are told by every media and advertiser that "women love to shop" to the point that some women internalize it as the only thing they love to do, and, as I commented elsewhere, it is the only stereotype that appears to be uncritically accepted by both men and women as a kind of universal truth. It is not.
I hate shopping. My wife and my female friends all hate shopping. But try to tell anyone that. "Oh," they say with a dismissive wave, "every woman loves to shop." No. We don't. I have a personal limit of trying on three items and I'm done. If nothing fits/is what I want, I leave and wait for next season and hopefully a return to a reasonable palette/cut/style.
It seems very obvious that a person not buying the item would be bored waiting. Duh. People are selfish and only pretty much care about stuff that affects them.