Remember after the September 11th attacks when everyone wanted to drop everything and go off and do something, and President Bush told us all to go shopping?
President Trump is now telling us to boycott Nordstrom in a Tweet, because they shouldn't drop the clothing line of his daughter, who is a great person, and as you know, bad things never happen to good people in business. Business always rewards people who are nice people, right? (Coffee is for closers.)
So, if you want to be part of the feminist resistance to Trump, go shopping at Nordstrom. Okay... but I'm a little ambivalent that my action of protest against a sexist man who tries to perpetuate outdated gender stereotypes is to do the most. stereotypical. activity. ever.
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Showing posts with label Shopping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shopping. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Sexualized Legos
I had the wonderful opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with a dear friend and her five children. The five children is the reason that I had not seen her in the Midwest lately (they don't tend to travel much), and the previous distances between her home on the East Coast and the Heartland were too great for me to travel to see her. Now, since a weekend to travel home to Chicago was too much, I gladly accepted an invitation to meet the newborn and gorge myself on food.
Her 9, 8, and 6 year old children appear to be obsessed with Legos. The oldest boys walked us through all the characters of the Lego Star Wars universe. Meanwhile, the oldest girl introduced us to Lego Friends, Legos for girls. Legos for girls? Legos are gender-specific? When did this happen?
I have issues with targeted girl and boy products, especially where there does not appear to be any type of need. Legos can have male figures and female figures, but really... building blocks being targeted to boys and girls differently? I'm still skeptical, but what I could not discount was how a 6-year-old girl had responded to a purple and pink playset. I remember having wanted a Barbie at that age, and the political debate that this caused between my parents about gender stereotypes and which message should be given to me. I didn't care. I wanted the glamour Barbie with the Dream House and the car that my friends all had. Instead, I had Day-to-Night Barbie who had an office and a studio apartment - corporate drone Barbie. None of my friends wanted to play with my Barbie, and I somehow felt left out. It's hard to be six.
With my own personal biases on the back burner, I thought I might get a couple of the Lego Friends figures as part of a holiday care package for the kids. I quick look at what's available at Target left me with a more startling view of the toys. Knowing that this is going to a household where both the boys and girls are taught to dress modestly, I realized that purchasing these toys could be offensive to the household's sensibilities. Every one of the girl figures is wearing a short skirt, low cut tank top, or both. Meanwhile the "Boy" oriented products have fully clothed characters, with the main difference between girls and boys being hair length.
I can understand that having pink and purple colored bricks might be appealing, mainly because you can never have too many different types of bricks. However, to create a specific "girl" line of Legos, dress them provocatively, and then market them to 6-year-olds? That's just not right.
Her 9, 8, and 6 year old children appear to be obsessed with Legos. The oldest boys walked us through all the characters of the Lego Star Wars universe. Meanwhile, the oldest girl introduced us to Lego Friends, Legos for girls. Legos for girls? Legos are gender-specific? When did this happen?
I have issues with targeted girl and boy products, especially where there does not appear to be any type of need. Legos can have male figures and female figures, but really... building blocks being targeted to boys and girls differently? I'm still skeptical, but what I could not discount was how a 6-year-old girl had responded to a purple and pink playset. I remember having wanted a Barbie at that age, and the political debate that this caused between my parents about gender stereotypes and which message should be given to me. I didn't care. I wanted the glamour Barbie with the Dream House and the car that my friends all had. Instead, I had Day-to-Night Barbie who had an office and a studio apartment - corporate drone Barbie. None of my friends wanted to play with my Barbie, and I somehow felt left out. It's hard to be six.
With my own personal biases on the back burner, I thought I might get a couple of the Lego Friends figures as part of a holiday care package for the kids. I quick look at what's available at Target left me with a more startling view of the toys. Knowing that this is going to a household where both the boys and girls are taught to dress modestly, I realized that purchasing these toys could be offensive to the household's sensibilities. Every one of the girl figures is wearing a short skirt, low cut tank top, or both. Meanwhile the "Boy" oriented products have fully clothed characters, with the main difference between girls and boys being hair length.
I can understand that having pink and purple colored bricks might be appealing, mainly because you can never have too many different types of bricks. However, to create a specific "girl" line of Legos, dress them provocatively, and then market them to 6-year-olds? That's just not right.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
What I really need is a 2003 IKEA Catalog
Planning a long distance move out of state is somewhat stressful. Between calling landlords, hoping they'll return my calls, hiring people through Craigslist to check out apartments for me, and still trying to work and finish my certificate program, I really have little time. I also have little money, which is why there will be no new furniture for the time being.
When I moved into my first apartment in Chicago after graduation, I went with the bare essentials: Bed, clothes. However, the next apartment, my dream pad down the street from Wrigley, was fully furnished with matching furniture. My bedroom set was lovely pine and grey wool upholstered items from IKEA. While the various particle board stuff I've picked up here and there since then has broken and fallen apart, the solid wood stuff from IKEA remains, and is headed to Upstate New York with me.
Not being able to buy new stuff, I'd really like to get another bedside table to make the next apartment slightly more functional. When I purchased the line of bedroom furniture, there was only myself to consider. Now, there's a boy in my bed. I'd rather like to try to get another table, but I can't remember the name of the series. I'm pretty sure there was a circle on one of the vowels? What I need is a 2002 or 2003 IKEA catalog so I can find the name of the thing, then maybe have a chance of tracking one down online. What I can't find is an actual copy of the darn catalog. I guess IKEA wants me to just go to their store and buy something new, but not even a fan page of the discontinued items? What is a poor IKEAn to do?
When I moved into my first apartment in Chicago after graduation, I went with the bare essentials: Bed, clothes. However, the next apartment, my dream pad down the street from Wrigley, was fully furnished with matching furniture. My bedroom set was lovely pine and grey wool upholstered items from IKEA. While the various particle board stuff I've picked up here and there since then has broken and fallen apart, the solid wood stuff from IKEA remains, and is headed to Upstate New York with me.
Not being able to buy new stuff, I'd really like to get another bedside table to make the next apartment slightly more functional. When I purchased the line of bedroom furniture, there was only myself to consider. Now, there's a boy in my bed. I'd rather like to try to get another table, but I can't remember the name of the series. I'm pretty sure there was a circle on one of the vowels? What I need is a 2002 or 2003 IKEA catalog so I can find the name of the thing, then maybe have a chance of tracking one down online. What I can't find is an actual copy of the darn catalog. I guess IKEA wants me to just go to their store and buy something new, but not even a fan page of the discontinued items? What is a poor IKEAn to do?
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
How to Win Black Friday
Yes, the day after Thanksgiving will have some great sales. How do you find them? And, is it really a good deal? I'm awesome at shopping this day, and if you are looking at scoring some good deals that day, I hate to say it, but you are starting too late.
There are two main ideas that guide my shopping:
1. It's not a deal if you are buying something you don't need.
2. Your time and money are finite resources, so you may need to sacrifice one for the other in limited quantities.
The first step is to figure out what you need to buy. Make a list of everyone for whom you will need to buy something in December. The list should be exhaustive. Include people at work, hostess gifts for parties, and neighbors in addition to the usual suspects. I would start making this list in September for two reasons - first, if you have kids, syncing your holiday plans to the school year is natural, and second, setting aside money from each paycheck for 3 months will give you the cash you will need without having to resort to credit cards or layaway. Otherwise, finish this list on November 1. The date you should not start is Thanksgiving. You will probably forget someone, or worse, you will start planning purchases for someone you have already bought a present for.
Already bought a present for? This is step 2. If you raided the Day After Christmas sales last year, drag out the box. Did you really buy that candle set for your aunt, or did you want it for yourself? Could that lotion basket really be given to your boss, or would it be a better hostess present for your old college roommate's ugly sweater party? Did you buy knick-knacks on a business trip to Cincinnati for your brother? Where did those go? Or, were you going to treat someone to an experience - take them out to dinner, get sports tickets? Help them move? Step 2 is to pare down the list to just those people for whom you still need to purchase a gift. Remember Rule 1: It's not a deal if you are buying something you don't need.
Step 3 - Figure out where you will be shopping. Are you going to be at your aunt's house on Thanksgiving and will be swinging by the KMart on your way home? Will you be staying within a 10 mile radius of your house, or will you be making a special trip to a regional shopping area? The importance to deciding on where you will be shopping is to figure out which stores are in that area. Perhaps you will change your plans based on the deals that you find, but 90% of the time, altering your plans within a few days of Thanksgiving will violate Rule 2 - sacrificing one deal for another, or adding more time to your day to save $5.
Step 4 - Research. Find the ads as soon as they are leaked, and go through them with a fine-toothed comb. Sure, look at the big ticket items, but also keep track of the smaller things, like memory cards for cameras, warm winter accessories, wrapping paper, and ribbons. Write down anything and everything that's going to tempt you, along with the times by which you will need to buy them. Hint: Anything on the first page will sell out in 5 minutes, and you may need to be there 6 hours before the store opens. Then... are these really deals? Can the items be found in the first week of November for the same or similar price (she says... writing on her netbook that she bought for $197 on Nov. 6 that has more memory and a larger screen than the one that will be at Target for $157 on the day after Thanksgiving).
Step 5 - Plan A and Plan B (and Plan C and Plan D). After figuring out what the best deals are, start assigning deals to people. This is where you need to keep Rule 2 in mind. You cannot be at all stores at the same time. Prioritize the big deals for the big recipients. Come up with back up plans. So, if you want to get a digital camera for your brother at one place at 4am, have another idea just in case you show up too late to cash in. If you can get that camera elsewhere for $10 more, but also get a deal for your sister, then you need to sacrifice that $10 to get both deals... or...
Step 6 - Divide and conquer. Get a buddy, divide the list, reconvene for coffee at 7am post-shopping. I like to go shopping with Mom. I'm at Sears, she's at JC Penney. Make sure you have your exhaustive lists ready with extra gloves and wrapping paper and cheap socks. It's less crazed if you check out once at each store, not once for the doorbusters and another time for the good deals, etc.
Step 7 - Sleep in. Not finding deals? Then stay home! If you are planning on making gifts, you don't have to go out! If there's nothing you can think of for your gift list, stay at home! If the total savings on the list is $40, then stay home! I personally enjoy finishing my list on the Day After Thanksgiving, mainly because there is a festive energy without the hurried sense of despiration that comes with weekends in December. But, if you can't find what you are looking for, then you still have a month to make something happen.
Happy Shopping!
There are two main ideas that guide my shopping:
1. It's not a deal if you are buying something you don't need.
2. Your time and money are finite resources, so you may need to sacrifice one for the other in limited quantities.
The first step is to figure out what you need to buy. Make a list of everyone for whom you will need to buy something in December. The list should be exhaustive. Include people at work, hostess gifts for parties, and neighbors in addition to the usual suspects. I would start making this list in September for two reasons - first, if you have kids, syncing your holiday plans to the school year is natural, and second, setting aside money from each paycheck for 3 months will give you the cash you will need without having to resort to credit cards or layaway. Otherwise, finish this list on November 1. The date you should not start is Thanksgiving. You will probably forget someone, or worse, you will start planning purchases for someone you have already bought a present for.
Already bought a present for? This is step 2. If you raided the Day After Christmas sales last year, drag out the box. Did you really buy that candle set for your aunt, or did you want it for yourself? Could that lotion basket really be given to your boss, or would it be a better hostess present for your old college roommate's ugly sweater party? Did you buy knick-knacks on a business trip to Cincinnati for your brother? Where did those go? Or, were you going to treat someone to an experience - take them out to dinner, get sports tickets? Help them move? Step 2 is to pare down the list to just those people for whom you still need to purchase a gift. Remember Rule 1: It's not a deal if you are buying something you don't need.
Step 3 - Figure out where you will be shopping. Are you going to be at your aunt's house on Thanksgiving and will be swinging by the KMart on your way home? Will you be staying within a 10 mile radius of your house, or will you be making a special trip to a regional shopping area? The importance to deciding on where you will be shopping is to figure out which stores are in that area. Perhaps you will change your plans based on the deals that you find, but 90% of the time, altering your plans within a few days of Thanksgiving will violate Rule 2 - sacrificing one deal for another, or adding more time to your day to save $5.
Step 4 - Research. Find the ads as soon as they are leaked, and go through them with a fine-toothed comb. Sure, look at the big ticket items, but also keep track of the smaller things, like memory cards for cameras, warm winter accessories, wrapping paper, and ribbons. Write down anything and everything that's going to tempt you, along with the times by which you will need to buy them. Hint: Anything on the first page will sell out in 5 minutes, and you may need to be there 6 hours before the store opens. Then... are these really deals? Can the items be found in the first week of November for the same or similar price (she says... writing on her netbook that she bought for $197 on Nov. 6 that has more memory and a larger screen than the one that will be at Target for $157 on the day after Thanksgiving).
Step 5 - Plan A and Plan B (and Plan C and Plan D). After figuring out what the best deals are, start assigning deals to people. This is where you need to keep Rule 2 in mind. You cannot be at all stores at the same time. Prioritize the big deals for the big recipients. Come up with back up plans. So, if you want to get a digital camera for your brother at one place at 4am, have another idea just in case you show up too late to cash in. If you can get that camera elsewhere for $10 more, but also get a deal for your sister, then you need to sacrifice that $10 to get both deals... or...
Step 6 - Divide and conquer. Get a buddy, divide the list, reconvene for coffee at 7am post-shopping. I like to go shopping with Mom. I'm at Sears, she's at JC Penney. Make sure you have your exhaustive lists ready with extra gloves and wrapping paper and cheap socks. It's less crazed if you check out once at each store, not once for the doorbusters and another time for the good deals, etc.
Step 7 - Sleep in. Not finding deals? Then stay home! If you are planning on making gifts, you don't have to go out! If there's nothing you can think of for your gift list, stay at home! If the total savings on the list is $40, then stay home! I personally enjoy finishing my list on the Day After Thanksgiving, mainly because there is a festive energy without the hurried sense of despiration that comes with weekends in December. But, if you can't find what you are looking for, then you still have a month to make something happen.
Happy Shopping!
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