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where I don't shop

always trying

Veteran

recent post re: old lady, I just want to say to be sure to have nothing old lady I do not even look at anything from Blair (they send me catalogues in the mail-I just toss them , Appleseeds, and the Karen Scot department at Macys. I probably do not currently have anything from Chicos, but that is mostly because everything I try on there is either to big or too small, or just isn't me.

Shopping

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Anonymous

Interesting idea for a thread. I do not shop at Sears or Penny's, hardly ever at Macy's, and not at a lot of other places that sell clothing designed for curvier women. I do have one pair of Chico's jeans, but their jeans fit me well. The jeans I have do not have any embellishment.

ETA: Walmart, never, for anything.

Mander

(website)

Veteran

I don't shop anywhere that I know doesn't carry my size, of course, but there are places that do yet I rarely shop there. In the UK that includes Bon Marche -- I'll go in there occasionally and sometimes find things that aren't dowdy, but they definitely veer toward the extremely classic cut and easy-care fabrics market. Frustratingly they often have cute jeans and trousers but they almost always have reeeeally short inseams. Evans is probably the most recognized plus size brand in the UK but their clothes often seem overpriced and cheaply made.

greycat6

Veteran

Abercrombie and Fitch. Just can't bring myself to go into a store with a past reputation like theirs.

Nebraskim

Veteran

I will not shop Walmart. For anything. Ever. I will shop at downmarket places like Sears, Penney's, ShopKo, etc. and have often been rewarded with an interesting find or if I'm looking for something like garden jeans. I don't generally like Chico's but do like their no-iron button front shirts and I found a great long black coat sweater there while waiting for a friend who was shopping and it's become a workhorse for me. I have it in my head that my size 12 body is too big for retailers like Crew, Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, Loft, Black Market White House (is that the name, I've never been in it), Express, etc. I'm too old (60) to find much at places like Forever 21. We don't have H&M or Zara or Macy's.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

The list of stores where I *don't* shop is much longer than the list of ones where I *do.*

Every once in a while I'll pop into places I don't typically patronize, but usually I come out remembering why. I probably pass by 85% of the stores in the mall without looking in them. Even ones I've given a chance have been dismal for me in the last year or two -- BR and J Crew, I'm looking at you. I've rarely had success in the fast fashion stores like H&M and F21, so I mostly ignore them, and I don't remember the last time I set foot in Penney's, Sears, etc. The Macy's around here have become pretty awful. L&T is better but still nothing exciting.

Nordstrom, Madewell, and Anthro have been my most successful shopping venues of late, plus some local boutiques.

Peri

Veteran

I will no longer shop at Neiman Marcus, but that's not about age. I'm currently in a dispute with them over a missing package and I think they have the worst customer service I've ever encountered. I will not reward them with any of my money.

tulle

Veteran

Neiman Marcus (or Neiman Mark-up, as some call it) can be ridiculous. I avoid it. Bloomindales, too. And at the other end, I steer clear of Penneys, Sears, and most other places featuring "easy care, no-iron" fabrics, because they depress me. I also refuse to shop in places playing music that gives me a headache--a perogative of age I feel I've earned--or that have locked dressing rooms with no staff nearby to open them. (These include many of my younger daughter's favorites--Urban Outfitters, American Eagle, Forever 21, H & M--so we have a hit-and-run policy when she's with me: we dash in, she shops until the tension shows in my face, then we leave before I explode.) Stores with the amenities I appreciate--good lighting, quiet or quiet music, comfortable & accessible dressing rooms, available-but-not-oppressive staff, reasonable return policies include: Nordstroms's, Lord & Taylor, BR/Gap, Ann Taylor, Talbots, J. Crew, Free People, Anthropologie. I may not always be able to find what I want at these stores, but at least the shopping experience doesn't make me grind my teeth.

Gaylene

Veteran

Well, if I'm honest, I'll say this old lady avoids her "old lady" by walking past shops that predominately feature cheap, flimsy, disposable clothing and footwear, marketed under the guise of "fast fashion". It just isn't me, but to each her own.

Anonymous

I'm with Gaylene. No "here today, gone tomorrow" cheap stuff.

DonnaF

Veteran

I won't and don't shop or enter Abercrombie for political reasons, and I will never again enter a particular Sephora because they treated me like I had the plague. I'm undecided about other Sephoras.

I've had little luck with fast fashion like F21 and H&M, but I'll go there with DD if she wants to go there simply because I enjoy spending time with her and I don't get to do so often. And I have found a few items. I don't expect most clothing to fit me at any number of stores, but if I'm killing time waiting for her I will at least check out the hosiery and accessories.

I was going to say I never say never, but unless I win the lottery that I never enter, I don't shop at Maiden Lane high end designer type places. Ever.

Karie

(website)

Veteran

The only place I won't shop ever, for anything, is Walmart, but that is because of their lack of support for public education. I won't go in stores with dim lighting and loud music, but if I saw something I liked on-line from that same retailer, I would purchase it. Other than that, to quote Angie, I "Leave no retail store unturned."

rachylou

Veteran

I don't shop Abercrombie, Victoria's Secret, Sephora... Any place that gases its customers with 'perfume'...

Meredith

I swore up and down I'd never shop fast fashion after reading the book Overdressed. (A good read.) And then I discovered that H&M makes the only pants that don't show my five-year-old's butt crack. (That's just the way her body is made. All her pants slide down.;) I still don't buy anything for myself there, but my daughter is so very hard on her clothes that I want something cheap that still covers all her parts, so H&M it is, and honestly every time I buy something there I feel like I'm contributing to the decay of society.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

I don't shop Anthropologie / Urban Outfitters and F21 for political reasons. I avoid American Apparel and Abercrombie and Fitch because of their track record on objectification in their marketing and so much else. I rarely shop at Walmart, partly because they treat their employees so awfully and partly because I rarely enjoy going there.

I haven't been to Victorias Secret in years - I think their bras are cheaply made and their fitters were always incompetent. Sears is too disorganized for me now, and I rarely find tons of things at Macy's. I've tried to get into Uniqlo, but everything runs so small and boxy. H&M, when I'm small enough to fit into their sizes.

Store-wise, my gotos are Nordstrom, Loft, Kohls, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and Target. I really like Penney's women's clothes but there's only one mall nearby with a Penneys so I don't get there that often. Our local Savers and Goodwills are all decent, plus a few indie secondhand stores and consignment places. Online, I buy a lot and sell too to Twice, and sometimes eBay for specific brands that are hard to find otherwise, plus Nordstrom, Loft, and AT online, Eddie Bauer, j Jill and occasionally Talbots and Lucky Brand. Zappos occasionally, and this year I've bought several pieces of clothes and shoes from Amazon, either directly from them or through them directly from a brand like Nine West.

MsMaven

Veteran

In years past I shopped at small boutique stores in downtown areas of small towns. I'm talking about Los Gatos, Los Altos, Saratoga, even Palo Alto, but all those stores seem to have gone away. If I had 2 or 3 stores that carried my kind of clothes that wasn't a copy of the mall stores. I assume the bigger chain stores and the economy drove them out of business.

The number of stores I do shop at is growing smaller. I always found a few things at J Crew, but very little this year. BR is still locked into a limited color palette and declining quality. Department stores are spotty. I have found some decent things at NM Last Call online, but haven't had to return.

shedev

Veteran

With the exception of Abercrombie, I'll do a walk through of any store and find that one thing that appeals do my. With the boho and 70s trends, the pickings are super slim this year. Most of my purchases have been online, and last years stock that I didn't see before or didn't need at the time.

Cococat

Veteran

I won't shop at the store where my mother shops. I love my mum and she is a very stylish 87 year old but I have a 'thing' about shopping at the same store. I will also avoid shops that sell 'health style' shoes. No doubt they are
very comfortable but I just do want to go there...yet anyway.

Otherwise, I'll shop pretty much anywhere. I've even found nice things at F21 (which my sis calls forever 51 because of me...lol...).

donnat

Veteran

I am with Karie, "leave no retail stone unturned"

Daria

I'm with Janet - my list of stores where I do shop is quite small.
JCrew and JCrew Factory, Gap, BR, Uniqlo, Boden, Lord & Taylor. Assorted brands from 6pm and Amazon. Occasional essentials from Lands End. Very occasionally Limited and Express for officewear (that I very rarely need).
That's about it.
In general, I don't shop in Sears, JCPenney and similar department stores simply because their selection in my size is extremely limited. It might be location specific (and they might have better selection online), but I figure they don't really want my business.

milehighstyle (Linda)

Veteran

I get a lot of catalogs in the mail that I just recycle, mostly because the clothing looks - pardon the expression - hoochie. I don't outright refuse to set foot in any store, but I don't look for clothing at Sears, Penney's WalMart, or KMart. I don't go to Payless for shoes. I don't shop at thrift stores. I definitely have my core group of favorites, but if I'm searching for something specific that I can't find at the usual places, I'm game for anything. And even if a particular store doesn't look like "me" at all, I sometimes find a basic layering piece or accessory in the most unlikely place.

Anonymous

I do not shop at any store that is famous for constant sales. You would think it would actually draw me in quicker, but the truth is I never want to buy because I know it will be cheaper next week. So I leave without ever buying anything. In time, I just stopped going to those stores. Some examples include Talbots (the worse!!!!!!!!!!); Ann Taylor (a close second); and Gap. I never even made the conscious decision to not shop at these stores, the decision evolved.