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When a woman shops
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Time comes to a standstill, or so men would like the world to believe. Or does it move double quick?
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LIFTING THE VEIL Off myths PHOTO: H. VIBHU
A hapless member of their sex turning grey waiting for his wife to return from a shopping spree is part of male lore.
So steeped is this fallacy in everyone's psyche that some salesmen give women quizzical looks if they leave their store in ten minutes. Like they did to Sanjana. As she walked into a reputed store, her eyes met that one saree she felt was woven just for her. After a quick check to see if she had enough money, she bought it and walked out. But not before a flabbergasted attendant asked her how she had made up her mind so quickly.
"These pre-conceived notions irk me. Why do they think we take longer to choose? If you know what you want, where's the need for any delay?" she asks.
It has not helped that movies and mega-serials have perpetuated the image of the indecisive woman with growing mounds of sarees in front of her looking more confused than ever.
The store attendant is treated with great sympathy too. He looks faint, having had to model saree after saree for a customer who shows no sign of being impressed. And, heaves a sigh of relief only when the customer finally leaves after buying a teeny weenie kerchief.
Not just women
Such stereotyping is annoying. "Okay. Women delay when it comes to choosing clothes. But, who says men are any different? My husband takes as much if not more time to decide on a shirt; that is after driving salespersons crazy in at least half the stores across the city," says Sangeeta Sharma, a homemaker in Bangalore. "I still remember the time when we walked in and out of not less than 11 stores in search of an elusive shoe," she recalls. Shopping with such a partner would be fun, right? "Wrong. He takes time, but hates it when I do the same," she complains.
Some women have found the easy way out of such potentially embarrassing situations; they shop alone.
Who you are
As someone who shops for a living, Radhika of Tharakaram Silk House, says lazy shopping is more a personality trait than anything else.
"Some women will find what they want in two minutes; others will take two hours. It has to do with getting what you want. That is not a given every time you venture out," she says.
Quick shoppers who breeze in and out of stores in record time say their greatest advantage is knowing what they want. Something Kausalya and Usha of The Golden Window, a boutique, agree. "Some people keep looking, feeling they have not yet got a good deal. The problem occurs when they are unsure about what they want and are not confident in their choice," they say. And, such people also want much more for much less.
It is not as if the choosy ones get the best deals. "People who are easygoing are the lucky ones. They don't make the salespersons jittery and so, the final output is great," adds Kausalya.
Shopping, Radhika says, is also therapeutic. "So, why rush people. If they love spending time on choosing something for themselves, what's wrong with that?"
As a `sometimes hapless' man who waits out while his wife, Namagiri, shops, physician G. Lakshmipathi feels women must be allowed this one indulgence. His occasional salvation: when he encourages her to shop with a like-minded friend.
SUBHA J RAO
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