Minor panic, then a big laugh

[Keri L]

I went to TJ Maxx today, after buying a couple of things at Kohl's, so my courage was up.

I found the cutest skirt, along with a few blouses and took them to the dressing room to try them on. I was shopping in drab mode, by the way.

When I went to the dressing room, I had to check in so they could count the number of items for loss prevention reasons. I know, feels like the receipt check at a Walmart. I would complain, but did I mention how cute the skirt was, and cheap?!

Anyway, the lady checking me in obviously saw the skirt and blouses and noticed I was in drab. But, again, my confidence level was high, so I proceeded to the dressing room to try everything on. As I stood there admiring the skirt with a particularly pretty blouse, I thought "I would love to just wear this out of the store for the drive home." But, the pink fog lifted, and I grabbed the zipper to undo the skirt. It wouldn't budge!!! I tried, and I tried, but I could not get it to move. Then, I tried to shimmy out of the skirt, but it was too tight. I didn't want to tear the zipper, so I thought I was going to have to walk out and find someone to either help me out of it, or witness it being torn, as I extrcated myself. Panic almost set in, but then, I took a deep breath, relaxed and somehow unzipped the skirt, a millimeter at a time. An eternity later, I had the skirt back on the hanger. Talk about relief!

So, to celebrate my near miss with a pretty embarassing moment, I got dressed, left the skirt and found another in the same size, tried the zipper (it worked), and I came home with some super cute new clothes and my dignity!

All in all, a fun day!

Best,
Cate

[Jaylyn]

If it had been me I guarantee the whole skirt would been ripped off before I came out... Lol I would have paid for it though.

[Beverley Sims]

I have bought a couple of cute skirts only to find that the zipper malfunctions after you have thrown the receipt away.

[Keri L]

If it had been me I guarantee the whole skirt would been ripped off before I came out... Lol I would have paid for it though.

Lol! Ripping it off did cross my mind, but I thought it was an expensive skirt. It wasn't until I got it off that I realized what a bargain it was. So, that's why I grabbed another in the same size. The next time it sticks, if ever, I will be in the safety of my home while undressing!


I have bought a couple of cute skirts only to find that the zipper malfunctions after you have thrown the receipt away.

With my limited wardrobe, I am more bummed out by the loss of the clothes, than the money. My dry cleaner has ruined two blouses, and I had had each of them tailored to fit, as I have to buy extra large tops, but then they drape around my midsection. Talk about frustration. . .

[4mymichelle]

Hey caitlyn,
Maybe that is why it was such a good bargain. They knew about the zipper problem and marked them down to get rid of them. Lol. All kidding aside, you got a deal on a cute skirt. :) Always have to love that!
Michelle

[Keri L]

Hey caitlyn,
Maybe that is why it was such a good bargain. They knew about the zipper problem and marked them down to get rid of them. Lol. All kidding aside, you got a deal on a cute skirt. :) Always have to love that!
Michelle

I just wonder if there was security behind the two way mirror, doubled over laughing at my predicament!

[Sometimes Steffi]

I was in a thrift store in New Orleans where I found this really beautiful, heavily-beaded gown. I took it to the dressing room, but I couldn't reach around to zip the zipper all the way up. So I couldn't tell if it fit. I really agonized about going out of the dressing room to ask someone to zip it up for me so I could see if it fit. But, alas, I chickened out. I still think I should have sucked it up and asked for help.

[ambigendrous]

I was shopping in a Burlington Coat store many years ago and found a delicious navy blue suede (real suede!), lined, miniskirt - for $7! There were about a dozen of them on the clearance rack, and the zippers appeared to be damaged on all of them, except the 1 that was my size - I figured that was an omen so I bought it. Turned out the zipper was a cheap plastic affair and when I sat down it would separate. I put up with it for a while and then took it to a dry cleaner and had them replace the zipper - it cost me $20 for the repair - I still have it! So I ended up spending $27 for a nice suede, lined, skirt that is one of my favorites still, all these years later!

Ever since then, when I'm shopping I will zip up any zippers and then try to pull them apart. If I really like the article, but it has a cheap zipper, I'll just buy it anyway and have the zipper replaced.

[suzanne]

Did you consider asking the SA for help? I have found that when I'm in a women's store, behaving like a normal female customer, everyone reacts to me like I'm one of the girls, even when shopping in drab. The last few times I went dress shopping, I have asked the SA for her opinion on how the garment fits. I have always gotten sincere, fair answers. Once, my SA came into my change room with me to check the fit and remove the last remaining pins. She complimented my taste and ended up selling me a second dress because she made me feel so wonderful. My point is, it's totally verboten for a man and woman (who are not man and wife) to get into that situation, but for that brief few minutes, I behaved like one of the girls and was treated as one.

[mikiSJ]

Caitlyn - great story! I think most of us have had something similar but mostly not with the funny outcome you had.


Did you consider asking the SA for help? I have found that when I'm in a women's store, behaving like a normal female customer, everyone reacts to me like I'm one of the girls, even when shopping in drab.

I haven't gone out shopping dressed - yet! But I have no issue telling a SA I am buying form Miki. Have had only one raised eyebrow and I blew that off as the SA appeared to be brain dead anyway.

I was in a bareMinerals store this afternoon and I told the SA right upfront I was buying for Miki and we spent about 1/2 hour getting my bag full. I believe the SA had as much fun as I did.

[Keri L]

Caitlyn - great story! I think most of us have had something similar but mostly not with the funny outcome you had.



I haven't gone out shopping dressed - yet! But I have no issue telling a SA I am buying form Miki. Have had only one raised eyebrow and I blew that off as the SA appeared to be brain dead anyway.

I was in a bareMinerals store this afternoon and I told the SA right upfront I was buying for Miki and we spent about 1/2 hour getting my bag full. I believe the SA had as much fun as I did.

Funny you should say that. When I was checking out, the cashier said "it looks like you picked out some cute outfits for a lucky lady?" And I said, "or not!" with a smile. She was taken a little aback but then we chatted about summer versus winter clithes and sales for same.

[Keri L]

Did you consider asking the SA for help? I have found that when I'm in a women's store, behaving like a normal female customer, everyone reacts to me like I'm one of the girls, even when shopping in drab. The last few times I went dress shopping, I have asked the SA for her opinion on how the garment fits. I have always gotten sincere, fair answers. Once, my SA came into my change room with me to check the fit and remove the last remaining pins. She complimented my taste and ended up selling me a second dress because she made me feel so wonderful. My point is, it's totally verboten for a man and woman (who are not man and wife) to get into that situation, but for that brief few minutes, I behaved like one of the girls and was treated as one.

Actually, while I joked about tearing it off, I woukd have asked for help first. It would have been the same lady who checked me into the dressing room anyway, and she knew I had blouses and skirts to try on.


But, as for opinions, I am less comfortable soliciting those when in drab. Now, had the SA been the one assisting me with the selections, or had I been dressed fully en femme and done up, sure, I would have modeled the clothes fishing for compliments! ;)

[Tina B.]

That's what I hate about a good bargain, it always seems to come with a cheap zipper. Women's clothing could take a lesson from men's wear when it comes to zippers.

[susan54]

One time I was shopping as a man and went to try on some clothes in Debenhams. They put me in the personal shopper suite which was unoccupied. One of the dresses was side zip (where I often have to go up a size) and I pulled it on. It was too small ... and stuck. No matter what I tried, it was still stuck. Fortunately the SA was waiting for me to emerge, and she helped me pull it back over my head. We both thought it was funny, but if this had happened when I was younger and less confident, I would have been horrified,

[JenniferR771]

Oh yeah! I had a few very tense moments. I was trying on a dress in drab, at a favorite thrift store, and I knew Peggy, one of the main clerks. But when I got it on, the zipper behind my neck stuck, caught in the thin fabric probably. I poked my head out of the fitting room...she was no where around. However...there was a customer waiting to use the fitting room and she eyed the door. I pictured in my mind what I would do if I came out for help, and she hurried into my fitting room and locked the door. My pants and shirt would be locked in the room with her and I would be out in the store in a dress, barefoot.
No choice. I asked her for help. She was nice. After a brief struggle she got it loose and I hurriedly dressed, letting her into the fitting room. I do not recall if I bought the dress or not. It took an hour or two for me to calm down.

[Monique53]

I guess we all have our moments. I was in a consignment shop, in drab but underdressed, trying on a long gown and zipped it up as far as I could and then asked the owner if she could help so I could see how it fit. Well, when she tried to zip it up the rest of the way, the zipper broke and I was stuck. She suggested that I try to wiggle out of it, but, to no avail. It took both of us to get the darn thing off, leaving me standing there in my bra,panties, and pantyhose right in front of her. She didn't seem to take any exception to it and told me to come back the next to try again after she repaired it. I couldn't bring myself to go back again.

Monique

[Dianne S]

Women's clothing could take a lesson from men's wear when it comes to zippers.

Yes. I have a dress I love (black lace bodice and vinyl skirt) but it's rather tight and the zipper always gets stuck. It took me a few tries to work out a reliable way to wriggle out of it... the bodice is fairly delicate and I'd hate to rip it.

Another thing women's clothing could learn about is useful pockets, but that's a subject for another thread (I think there even was a thread about that.)

[Christinedreamer]

On my first shopping trip in my early 20s', (early 1970s) I had decided to buy an evening gown and I was determined to keep my cool and ask to try it on. The store was Jobyna's in La Crescenta, California for those who may know the area. The salesladies were all in their fifties but were very accommodating. I used the usual beginner's story about a costume party. They found a gorgeous bright yellow full skirted chiffon gown for me. I think they really wanted to see if I had the guts to try it on.
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I went into the dressing room and stripped down to my panties and slipped on a bra I had carried in my pocket. I had never thought about the difficulty of untrained male hands dealing with a back zipper. Then I hear "Do you need any help sweety?" I answered that I did and in comes the owner. She was totally professional and zipped me up. She asked me to step out so I could use the surround mirror and get a good look at it. I decided I had come this far so why not.

I stepped out into full view of the 3 other salesladies and the seamstress. They all said it looked great but the seamstress said I should try sitting down to see if it was roomy enough. She was right. The bodice was a bit tight. I slipped back in to the dressing room and that is where I had MY zipper issue. When she had zipped me up, a little of the chiffon has slipped into the zipper. The seamstress was called and she said she could easily fix it and after extricating me, she took the dress to her shop, altered the darts a bit ,and the overall bust size after having me stuff some fabric in the bra cups as I had no forms and my own manboobs were not as big as they are now. It took her about an hour. While I waited, I had a great conversation with the salesladies who had all kinds of polite questions. They offered suggestions and I ended up buying a floor length petticoat, a full slip, and a necklace.

The gown was gorgeous, so incredibly feminine and flowing, fit perfectly and the whole afternoon was one of the best I ever had shopping. I made several return trips until they changed ownership. The new owners wanted nothing to do with CDers.

[docrobbysherry]

I don't try on things in stores. I shop in drab only. I measure with my portable tape to see if they fit. Then, I try them on at home. Usually with varius hip and butt pads. If I don't like it/them, I return them in drab.

However, if I DID try on a skirt and it got stuck? I would simply slide it up to my waist, (which is subtancially smaller than my hips), get dressed, and have an SA deal with it!