Hi All! I know. I know. Lately I’ve been so focused on this pandemic but personally, I think we need to come face-to-face with all aspects. Our lives have changed and will remain changed for quite some time.
Who knew that wearing masks would be the new normal? Who knew that we would be distancing ourselves socially? Who knew that our homes would literally and figuratively become our castles? Huh? How about that?
I tell ya, I’ve amassed an entire wardrobe of masks!
My son, Roman, brought these to me. One of his friends made them!
Her card!
But one thing that has, I’m sure, affected us is shopping.
I’m not talking about shopping for the essentials. Or food that is readily available. We’ve all been very cautious to do our grocery shopping less and purchasing more at one time. We take careful steps. We comply with store regulations.
No. Nonononononononono! I’m talking about those once-pleasurable shopping trips. To the mall perhaps to pick up some makeup, or get a spray tan, or to add an item or three to your wardrobe.
Remember when shopping was actually FUN? Or a trip to the mall was a great way to spend a rainy afternoon or a way to beat the heat with that pumped up air conditioning?
Special occasion? Head to your local department or specialty boutique?
Someone had a baby? Head to the mall to get all giggly and excited about those adorable baby clothes!
Whatever the reason, our public shopping-for-fun has changed.
Our local King-of-Prussia semi-opened last week. I stopped by Nordstrom to see if I could purchase Guerlain’s Meteorites in a darker shade due to the summer darkening of my fair skin. Needless to say, the inventory was remarkably low and I left without the product I went in for (more about the Meteorites later on in this post).
This is what I wanted. This is not what Nordstrom had in their Guerlain inventory.
But I found two things astounding. First, Nordstrom had almost five months of closure. Why didn’t the store’s powers-that-be load up on inventory before re-opening. Better yet, why didn’t the store wait until they could stock up on inventory? Honestly, I felt almost violated.
The other astounding thing was I felt so uncomfortable being both at Nordstrom and at the mall. The thought of touching items that strangers touched grossed me out. The thought of entering a dressing room where someone who could have had COVID made me uneasy. I looked around at the people who were shopping and suddenly—I didn’t want to be there.
The thought of being in a dressing room in such confined quarters during this time is somewhat gross.
And so, I left but returned yesterday. I needed batteries for three watches that somehow lost their tick-tocks at the same time during this time and headed back to the mall.
Three watches–all ready to tell me what time it is now that the batteries have been replaced!
It was eerily empty. And there seems to be no rhyme or reason as to when each individual store will open. Some are still closed. Some are opening soon. It’s just odd. And as soon as the batteries were put into place in the time pieces, we left the hall of shopping immediately!
Saturday morning. 11:30 AM. The mall is empty save for one lone wanderer!
Random openings abound. This is a great little shop with ceramic table ware imported from Poland. I’m glad to see that they have not gone under!
In the meantime, I’ve discovered that online shopping isn’t quite as bad as I thought it to be in the past!
It’s soothing, relaxing, stress-free, and feeds into my laziness!
There’s something soothing about heading to my computer (as shitty as my laptop is) or iPhone, perusing various sites and allowing my fingers to do the walking. In fact, during this pandemic I’ve gained 16 pounds but my fingers have slimmed down due to the amount of online shopping I’ve done!
And so, before I proceed, please allow me to give you a few pointers in connection with online shopping.
Know your favorite brand clothing’s fit. Example-for me, I am adept at J. Crew’s sizing. With J. Crew Factory, it’s another thing because the sizing can be inconsistent. With Lilly Pulitzer, it depends on the fabric and style of the dress, if a dress is all-cotton, then going up a size may be in order—especially if one has gained a few pounds over the past few months.
The Wynne maxi by Lilly Pulitzer. So nice–I have three in different prints. Luckily the Medium fits beautifuly due to the fabric and the stretch..
Here’s another Lilly Pulitzer dress I ordered online. Due to my pandemic 16-pound weight gain, she’s a bit on the tight side but she’ll fit better by the end of the summer. Seriously–know your size!
Check the return policy. Usually, there’s no issue with returns. However, in some instances there are. Recently Lilly Pulitzer had a summer sale on line. The items were final sale. In a case such as this, you really really need to be mindful of the fit of the clothing. I purchased a third Wynne maxi dress. I have two others—the first, I paid full-price because I wanted it for my daughter Oona’s bridal shower. The second, purchased during the Lilly Pulitzer After Party sale, in a different print. The dress was less than half the price of the original and the third as well. But do research to make sure the sale price is on point. You might be able to purchase elsewhere for the same sale price with a more user-friendly return policy for sale items! I will say that Amazon has a very good return policy!
Shop the sales. The online sales can be good. Better than in-store prices, but as stated above, do your research because you could find that treasured sale item for an even lesser price! Case in point–photo below–but also take into consideration the shipping and handling costs. Lilly Pulitzer offers free shipping. I don’t know about the company below!
Belk had the same Wynne maxi for $9.60 less than what I paid from the Pulitzer site. But, there may have been a shipping charge so do your homework!
For convenience sake. This pandemic took alot out of us. Both physically and emotionally. For convenience sake I find that shopping online has been stress-free. You don’t have to get dressed and get into the car and deal with bad drivers on the road. You’re not spending extra money on gas nor are you putting stress your car. No time is wasted waiting for a sales assistant and don’t have to deal with rude or ageist sales assistants. In addition, you don’t have to worry about some a-hole parking within millimeters of your car in a parking lot. No tracking down a cashier. No dealing with people who may have the virus.
As empty as the parking lot is, I make sure to park far away from others. And for some reason, when I return to my car, there always seems to be a car parked less than an inch away from mine!
Ain’t nuthin’ wrong with shopping on Amazon. This is the big one. Over the past few months, I’ve done quite a bit of shopping on the ‘Zon! From a ceramic egg-separator to masks-as-a-headband. From dresses that I absolutely adore to bathing suits. To makeup and tooth care for Bonaparte. Birthday gifts and even French lentils and yeast for baking. Amazon has it all.
Now, that’s not to say there have been shopping fails because there have been.
I still remain wary of purchasing “brand-name, luxury” cosmetics. Case in point—remember the Guerlain Meteorites I wrote about earlier in this post? Well, upon arriving home from Nordstrom, I decided to go online to peruse the net in search of these little cosmetic pearls. I found them on Amazon and for a price that was too good to be true.
It was too good to be true!
When I received the Meteorites there were a few red flags. Guerlain wraps the box that the meteorites come in with clear cellophane. There was no cellophane wrapping. This was a concern.
Buyer beware when purchasing luxury brand cosmetics from Amazon. There are a plethora of fakes and I don’t think there’s a close watch on them. Best leave the luxury makeup to in-store purchases or purchasing from the brand itself.
Secondly, the font of the printing on the Amazon-purchased Meteorites was different. It was smaller. I opened the box and the silver container looked pretty good. I compared it to the original Meteorites that I purchased in Paris. They both looked identical.
Then…I opened the container. Guerlain is very particular and the puff applicator that comes with the Meteorites is fluffy and white and soft and perfect for applying. The Amazon-purchased Meteorites came with a beigeish foam applicator. This was a dead giveaway that what I bought was a fake. The pearls didn’t have that pleasant scent either.
I returned them.
Also returned was a pair of “faux” Jack Rogers/Palm Beach Sandals by Pierre Dumas. I love the style of “Jacks” as well as Palm Beach. These sandals were so cheaply constructed and wide enough that two of my feet could have fit into one sandal. I returned them.
Second fail were these sandals. I should have taken the reviews to heart. They were returned!
Some of my favorite buys? Here you go! And here’s my Pandemic Shopping Idea List on my Amazon Store for your entertainment! It’s the first Idea List on the upper left! Scroll down to see: Atypical60 Amazon Storefront
Masks-as-Headbands. As masks, these sucked! Way too flimsy but as headbands, they are fantastic! I love the thick 60’s vibe. Here I’m pictured back from the beach!
And, oh, how I love the way this mask-as-headband looks over my Estetica Reeves wig! Total ’60’s!
Thin headbands/scarfs as handle wraps for my LV Alma bag! I love the way these look!
This dress! The style is incredibly flattering. The length is wonderful–not too short and it has pockets! So nice…
I bought it twice!
Another great dress! This will suffice well into the fall and the scarf is also an Amazon buy!
Two items I wear every day are this Rosary-inspired chain with a delicate crucifix and a Star of David. They are both important to me as I despise antisemitic behavior.
This bracelet! I cannot begin to tell you how many times I’ve worn this since I ordered it. In fact, I ordered a second one. My sister had this and I was admiring it. She mentioned she purchased it on Amazon and I immediately made the purchase. This was just before the lockdown and I’ve worn this on the average of four times a week. IT was the best $12 ever spent!
Bonaparte’s birthday was last month and I ordered this poster of a movie starring his aunt, Daniele. We had it framed and it’s now hanging in his home office! Amazon is great for finding old movie posters!
Embryolisse is my favorite multi-tasking skin cream. I use it as a primer whether or not I’m wearing makeup. It’s a face cream, primer and makeup remover. And I ran out! My goal was to repurchase in France but as you know…..
We didn’t make it to France. I found it on Amazon. It damn near killed me to pay full-price but this is a holy grail item for me!
When you aren’t looking for luxury makeup, you can find some pretty decent options –I ordered these stick highlighters and blush and must say I’m extremely pleased! All glide on beautifully, are well-pigmented and stay in place!
A kitchen helper with a sense of humor! I ordered this egg-separator, Mr. Bogeyman. It’s gross but funny as all get out! And it works!!!!
And let’s not disregard Poshmark. As a lover of the Palm Beach Sandals I purchased a great unused pair of gray/gunmetal sandals for $30! I was thrilled! Seriously, Poshmark can be a goldmine for unworn items—it just takes a few moments of entering keywords of what you are looking for.
Never used! Brand new in the box! I love these so much!!! Poshmark find for sure!
I’m also rather fond of this elephant-print Lilly Pulitzer frock I acquired from Poshmark!
Honestly, none of us have the answers as to what the future of shopping brings. What will Holiday shopping be like? With a number of stores filing for bankruptcy and closing, what’ll happen to retail?
For now, I prefer the online shopping. It’s just more convenient as long as the return policy is a fair one.
And quite honestly, I’m surprised at how much I’m loving online shopping!
So that’s it. Have you been mall shopping lately? Are you doing more shopping online? It would be interesting to see what your thoughts are!