So I'm in a bookstore with my SO the other day. She's there to look at books that don't interest me, so I go to one of the "book lookup" terminals, and punch in "makeup" on a whim. A bunch of results pop up, all in the "Lifestyle" section. I ask an employee of the store where this section is. She says "There are two areas with that name - which book are you looking for?" I kind of freeze up for a second, and then say "I'd rather not say. It's top secret." She gives me an odd look, but shows me both areas, and then carries on with her work.
So there I am, looking at how-to makeup books, when who do I notice standing about 6' away? Yep, the clerk who helped me - putting more stock on the shelves. She didn't say a word - bless her. I think that by trying to conceal my goal, I just made myself 100X more obvious. No idea why I did that - I've spent countless hours in drab mode, wandering around makeup and women's clothing areas in department stores, and barely flinched.