Mar 17, 2009
Shopping and Spring
I went to the mall for a few minutes this morning to begin the quest to find a bridesmaid dress. (I’m in a wedding in June for a dear, dear friend.) My assignment is to locate a brown bridesmaid dress. All of us are allowed to pick our own in whatever style we like, so the search is on!
I have to admit, I didn’t look as hard as I could, mostly because I found myself sucked into spring clothes and colors (oh, and the 75% off boots at Macy’s). What is it about spring clothes? Every year I find myself wanting a whole new wardrobe when March comes on.
I’m happy to report that I made it out of the mall without buying anything (mostly because I’m cheap). But I found myself thinking, “I wish I could win a huge shopping spree.”
Why do I feel like that in the spring? Is it just the change in weather that makes me want to go drop tons of money on stuff I don’t need? And as I’ve thought about it this afternoon, I realized that I haven’t worn my spring clothes in 2 years because I’ve been pregnant, so maybe they’ll feel fresh and fun—here’s hoping. More likely, they’ll just feel dreadfully out of style and ridiculously ill-fitting on my new (not improved) body shape. Ah well.
Then Abraham and I got to talking, and here’s the question: If someone gave you a $10,000 shopping spree to one store (no expiration), what store would it be?
The only rule is that you can’t say the grocery store. My painfully practical side would definitely give that answer, but I’m making myself not answer that. So you can’t either—HA!
And if you have trouble giving just one answer, tell me what you’d debate between. I love the struggle of such a difficult, and unfortunately imaginary, choice.
Update (for those of you who must have more rules):
1. Men are permitted to participate (Abraham’s first choice was the Apple Store)
2. Online stores are an option.
I just had this conversation with a friend the other day; however shallow it might be. :) I’m torn between Pottery Barn and Ann Taylor Loft. But I’d probably wind up being practical and going to Target because I could get more for my buck there. :)
Thanks for your candor about the post-baby body/hope to fit into stored clothes. I’m grinning over, “new (not improved).” And can relate…
REI! Fun, outdoor-sy, cool stuff for the whole family (even though 99 % of my life is spent indoors!).
But then there’s Gap…I like their jeans. But I only need 1 decent pair, maybe 2….BUT, again, you’ve got the option of being able to shop for the whole family.
Both are places I do not frequent or own much from…but it’s fun to pretend for 5 minutes!
Wait, do furniture stores count? Then, IKEA. I was going to say Pottery Barn, but then my shopping spree would be over too soon…I better stop dreaming, my kids just grabbed all of my spices!
Can we go with Amazon? hehehe….cheating I know.
I would go with Boden…..fun and fresh—unique clothes.
Fun diverson for March, Molly!
Banana Republic!!! I have to dress professional 5 days a week, and that store is perfect for that. But is also has denim, tanks and cute casual wear also.
I would either pick Old Navy if it were just clothes…we have THREE daughters (12, 7, 2mo). Or if it went for more than just clothes I’d pick Target or Ikea. We need new furniture with three children running around…well only two run.
Gosh…Target, Old Navy, TJ Maxx, Ross (do they have those here?)
If I wanted to spend my $10,000 quickly, maybe somewhere like J Crew, but I haven’t even been in there in so long.
I would probably need advice about where to shop…I feel out of the loop as to what is hip and what is not. Or maybe I’m just too “plain Jane.”
i’d go to anthropologie!!! hands down.
Winners!!! Good value, but still nice brands, and many styles – it goes from teeny-bopper to grandma!
Okay, so I comment on the easy ones…
1. TOTALLY… I would go with REI. No question. We live in Colorado, after all. But if there was a second choice…
2. Amazon (or if that is off-limits/cheating, then I suppose I’d have to pick Boden as well). :)
Oooo…Amazon!!!!! If online stores don’t count, then Target. Anything I would want to spend up to $10,000 on I would be able to get at one of those stores. :)
REI, REI, REI! I’m a Seattle girl at heart and I can only window shop there now. :)
paypal…
is that cheating?
Target or Anthropologie.
At Target, my money would go much further. At Anthropologie, I’d get the things I dream about.
I’m with Kelly…Anthropologie. I’ve never bought one thing there because of their prices…but that doesn’t mean I don’t hang out on their website for inspiration!
At first I thought Target to be practical and I could probably use it for Starbucks too, would that be cheating? I am so out of touch w/ clothing places!
Lowe’s.
Appliances. A new kitchen floor. Who knows?
Oh, wouldn’t that be so fun!! I’d choose Ikea and Old Navy. We have 5 active children to clothe, and I really enjoy Ikea furniture, linens, kitchen ware, and candles.
Ooooo Fun question! I love to dream!
For me I would have to say that I am torn between
The Gap
TJ Maxx
and Hobby Lobby.
Hmmm… I’d likely go with Walmart, but if they had a Target here, I’d likely chose that.
Because I can buy anything for the family there.
$10,000 makes this much harder than say, $1,000.
I think I’d pick Target because I know I could actually spend that much money there, especially if they have a Starbucks inside.
My husband says the local Harley Davidson dealership.
Otherwise, I can’t think of any store that I would have the endurance to spend that kind of money in!
The practical side of me wants to go with target, but the fun side of me wants to go with Etsy. Target probably would win.
Target, hands down. You got shoes, clothes, music, books, kids clothes, toys, jewelry, handbags….you name it! Plus, you can buy gifts there for other people for b-days, showers, holidays, whatever!
Yep, I’d probably have to join the ranks of the Target shoppers among us. I actually don’t shop there much, but it would be the better value for that large of a gift.
If I had to choose clothing only? Ann Taylor Loft
Target all the way.
I’m quite sure I could find everything I ever needed there.
Is this going to turn into a contest where we actually win the spree? I hope so.
Gander Mountain -
And for the record – I think I’m the first guy to answer.
But Debbie says Target.
Apple Store, too.
i’m actually really bad about clothes shopping, and dread it. (because it’s hard for me haha)
i’m computer-illiterate and not that into tech stuff, but i need my laptop for everything and i usually feel the need for an update every 2 years or so. =)
but, i’ve never worked on a mac. never owned anything from apple, either. hm.
I’m going with Gap. I’d like to say I’d pick something more sophisticated and lavish, but that just wouldn’t fit my lifestyle. This way, I could get a ton of clothes for my whole family. And, we’d actually wear the clothes on a daily basis.
Target.
They’ve got my number.
I’d go to Ann Taylor Loft as a back-up, but it would take a long time to spend $10,000 in a small store with limited (and specific) inventory.
But Target, on the other hand, has EVERYTHING.
Which is why it’s both wonderful and deadly.
i am so stressed out. i have no idea. i would try and wait until i knew exactly what i wanted. but, what would really end up happening is that in the meantime i would squander all my money on chipotle and other delicious fast food joints.
but, maybe i’d do restoration hardware. i dunno. i’m going to eat something and think about it some more.
Oh that’s real easy for me! Sam’s Club!
This has been fun because I previously knew nothing of Boden or REI so I’m finding new stores to love!
I’d go with Nordstrom. I love that I can get incredibly stylish clothes there and choose between the $40 jeans or the $140 jeans (not that there’s usually much of a choice)… so that would be fun if I had that 10K! Best of both worlds.
Home Depot. A new kitchen would take about that much, maybe, although I’d hope for enough left over to do the fence and landscaping in the yards. Yeah, there’s easily $10,000 we could spend there, and not even have to worry about an expiration date.
Amazon.com . This way I’m not limited to just books…. but i can clothes, music, computers.. all sorts of stuff! Yep… I’d spend the whole wad at Amazon.com!
I’m with Carolyn. Home Depot!!!
Amazon – absolutely, positively. I can get almost anything I need from there, techy stuff, books, photography equipment, computer equipment, software, jewelry, fitness equipment, etc. and many many stores distribute through there. amazon is my friend!
Book Depository, undoubtedly. :)
Great question! I’m deciding between:
Target- b/c it has EVERYTHING!
Ikea- I love decorating and re-decorating
Ann Taylor Loft- ’cause I’m vain like that and I love their clothes
I love how we all got so serious and excited about imaginary money. Hilarious!
Honestly, I think I’d be too overwhelmed to spend $10,000. I think it’s more fun to think about it than to actually do it. Of course, I could be wrong…
at first i was going to say Amazon, but then.. i think I’d want to win a shopping spree for somewhere crazy, that I would otherwise never go to… so that i’d be forced to spend it there.. i mean if it’s $10,000….
I thought about it more last night and I don’t really need $10k of anything right now… it might be fun, but it wouldn’t really make an impact on anyone other than me because then I’d have more clothes to wash and more thing-a-ma-jigs to clean. I think I might spend my money on items in the World Vision catalog instead.
I would spend it at Barnes and Noble – I have enough clothes, but books…. you can never have too many books!
Ooh…$10,000.00 shopping spree…my mind is spinning….
Ethan Allen came to mind first, so I guess I just stick with that.
But Anthropologie or Restoration Hardware came in close, too!
Fun little “quiz”! May I share this on my blog?
Love your blog, by the way… so glad I found it!
Ruth
I think Ikea. A year ago I would have said Home Depot, but now that we are on to the “make it usefully pretty” part of home repairs, I could definitely use $10,000 for things like kitchen cabinets, appliances, and storage options for our unfinished mudroom.
IKEA, hands down.
Um, I really don’t know. Probably a store where I could buy a dinning room table & chairs, new living room furniture, a new tv (I have to sit close to our small tv to view a movie), new bedroom furniture & the new linens for the new bed. If there was any left over, I would want to install hardwood floors in my house.
It’s fun to dream, but I’m truly happy with our second hand furniture in our house that God’s blessed us with.
J. Jill, trendy clothes that I could never afford otherwise. If the $10,000 was “free” I would want to spend it on stuff I really wanted.
Target would be my second and more practical choice.
I like this question! For a second it feels real :)
hmm… I would have to say Nordstrom, Anthropologie, J crew. I guess my 10K wouldn’t go very far. Ha.
the container store or garnet hill…it’s a toss up.
Target!!
REI, hands down.
Chipotle did cross my mind though.
I would have to choose either New York & Company or World Market, two of my favorite stores!
Logos software
The first thing that came to my mind was Kohl’s. Do they have that in Minneapolis? It’s just one of my favorite department stores.
But, then I’d really probably have to go with Target. Hands down.
The following also came to mind… :)
eBay
Pottery Barn (10K wouldn’t go too far)
Amazon
Sam’s (cheating?)
i TOTALLY have spring-clothes-shopping-fever (and since i’m still unmarried and unkidded i’m more selfish and tend to give in).
if i had a shopping spree, i’d either go to one of Chicago’s awesome consignment shops (i could easily spend all that money in a year and i like buying recycled clothes), or to a furniture store for my future newlywed apartment.
oh, and Trader Joe’s. But that’s a grocery store of sorts…
Babies R Us, then Target, then Best Buy. my story, stickin to it.
I’d probably say Amazon…they sell practically everything, including the all-important books. Or maybe Target, but that’s where I buy my groceries primarily, so that could be cheating.
Lowes – i want to fence my yard, new kitchen lighting, tile backsplash.
I love buying spring/summer clothes too. A pretty, flowing skirt is so much more fun than a sweater – bleh.
I guess I’d have to say Super Target because they have such a variety of things.
Since they carry Apple computers now…. Best Buy!
The practical side of me says Target or Wal-Mart (you can get a lot of different stuff – including groceries and diapers – those two places). The clothes horse-turned practical shopper in me says Belk because they have the brands of clothes and shoes there that always fit me, and they have great sales. The indulgent side of me says somewhere like Talbots – I’d love to have a new spring wardrobe from Talbots.
Oh, but then I just saw “no no nanette’s” comments about Lowes and that reminded me of the bazillion things I’d like to do with our house. I think that would really be my final answer – yes, Lowes Home Improvement.
I’m going to have to agree with the masses and say Target. The Archer Farms brand alone is enough of an incentive.
TOTALLY Anthropologie….hands down! I could just live in their store forever…. :-)
Home Depot or Lowe’s. Clothes are easy to come by second-hand. Home improvements materials are not. Plus, you get your money back if/when you sell your house (afer the recession:-), that won’t happen with clothes or even household decor from Target or somewhere like that.
I’d have to say Pottery Barn or Bottery Barn Kids. I love everything they have and never shop there (unless it’s super clearanced). When would I ever get the opportunity to spend money like that?! I would take full advantage! Just so I don’t sound totally indulgent… Target is a close second!
Either Old Navy or Target – even though it’s someone else’s money, I still like the bargains, and the clothes are cute too… I think Target would win though, because each time I went to pick something up, I could grab a Starbucks for the needed energy to spend so much money.
I’d be going with Home Depot…so many projects to do around the house and not enough $ to do them!!
The Steinway Store!
Anthropologie, because otherwise I can barely afford anything there!
I’m going with Lowe’s because we really, really need the $$ to finish remodeling our house.
I’m going with Lowe’s because we really, really need the $$ to finish remodeling our house.
PS: Forgot to add good post!
Kohl’s or Target.
Anthropologie. Although I never buy clothes there now because they are too expensive. I could totally re-invent my style with $10,000.
What I probably should say, is Home Depot so we can do some simple fixes on our house.
But I love clothes so much more the flooring.
Pottery Barn or the Apple Store.
Struggle: Target…everything under the sun!! Reasonable prices.
Express…Jeans that fit me, even though I’m short and not a size 2.
I might even go into Banana Republic. Never been in, because of the prices.
This was fun! :)
My hubby would also choose the apple store.
This is a lot harder then I thought it would be…Amazon would be great but then you would waste some of the money on all the shipping…so I guess Target or Macy’s would be my second and third choices.
I would say Target! Or J. Crew…I love the clothes there, but they are so crazily expensive!
Just think how far $10,000 would go at Unique or Savers.
Definitely REI!
Definitely Amazon.com – I am recently interested heavily in DSLR camera accessories, which are not cheap…and also I live for books. That would take care of both of those!
Target. Practical and fun!
Ooh. fun question. Since we’re in the middle of a bathroom redo Home Depot sure would be nice! But I definitely think Amazon would be a practical choice too (diapers sold there in addition to all those great books and pretty much anything but groceries!) Overstock.com and Sierra Trading Post.com both are fun online places for me. I love a bargain, to the point that it pains me to pay “full price” for anything. In fact, if I were going with a clothing store…. SAVERS or Unique. Yep the thrift stores. Or the basement of our downtown Salvation Army with all their scratch-n-dent-sample-new Target Stuff!!!
Home Depot or Lowes
Hmmm…that’s fun to think about. My bookish side wants to say Amazon, but where on earth would I store $10,000 worth of books? If I were to pick a clothing store, I’d probably say Ann Taylor Loft. I only shop there occasionally–it’s a little price for me–but the quality and style is so excellent it’s usually worth it. So yes, I think I could blow through $10,000 quite nicely there. ;)
I agree with Abraham: Apple – definitely Apple. And a little at Target. Ok – and some for Borders.
Gap – they are one of the only places that have jeans that fit me nicely and modestly. Then I could also get clothes for my sisters so they won’t always be taking mine!
World Market! That would be a lovely trip. ;-)
Amazon…I’d buy a Kindle and fill it with books, books and more books!
Does my broker count as a store?
If not, I would give the money to my better half and have her drop me off at Barnes and Noble (seriously).
(Of course, I would hope that I would give the 10% tithe and a thanks offering first…and then there’s the 33% in taxes…whoop! where’d all the money go?)
Sears
APPLE STORE, hands down.
I get butterflies in my stomach when I go into that store.
if amazon is an option i would totally choose that… everything you could ever possibly want!
if not, i could probably do some serious damage at REI.
Hmmm… I also have that spring-fever feeling, but with snow still on the ground it is hard to think flip flops and shorts.
I would pick Sportsman Skihaus – a local outdoorsy store (much like REI) here in NW Montana. Then we could buy the outdoor gear we need, throw in a new gun for the hubby :), and splurge on great shoes and clothes that are fashionable and functional for the unpredictable climate.
I imagine if I lived near a bigger city, my decision would be much less practical. :)
If I had to cheat, I’d pick Amazon.
For a physical store though, it would be Barnes and Nobles. :-D I’d love to be able to buy as many books as I wanted!
Ooh, this is fun.
I think I’d have to go with Target, just because it’s more practical. But Banana Republic, Express, and GAP are all tempting.
And the person who mentioned Chipotle…that cracked me up.
well the first thing that came to mind was also amazon, but then of course there is super walmart, which is completely practical, but then there is lowe’s/homedepot which is also practical, but a bit more of a splurge.
if i was REQUIRED to splurge, J Jill or Macy’s? I agree, $10,000 is harder than $1,000 b/c it’s so much in one place! Nice to dream for a few seconds…
I would spend it at Sallie Mae and pay off 1/20th of my wife’s med school loans
TARGET! The options there are unlimited. :)
Pottery Barn Kids, Pottery Barn or GAP. Although Target, Chipotle, Restoration Hardware & REI would be fun as well. Or actually Menards would be best so we could purchase the materials we need to finish our basement!
I don’t think I could ever spend $10,000 anywhere besides the grocery store or target considering I’ve had the same pants and shirts since ninth grade (10+ years). If I had a spree somewhere all my family and friends would get really great gifts. So, since Target is a grocery store in my mind, I have to say Gap (with $10,000 I would have to spend some on myself). Though I’m very tempted to say chasing-fireflies.com since they have the cutest kids stuff.
I’ve been trying to decide for some time now. I’ll have to list all of the possibilities.
Christopher and Banks if I’m only thinking of clothing for myself.
Yet I can’t imagine how I’d fit $10,000 of clothes in my closet. Oh, that’s right–no expiration date–so I don’t have to get everything at once.
LB Smith Ford if I’m thinking of a car to replace my old, old one–or for Malachi to take to college.
Sears has so much of what we can use–so many departments!
Reifsnyder’s or Wray Music House because I need a 2nd piano for my studio.
Boscov’s (local department store, kind of like Kohl’s) is one of my favorites–again, like Sears, so much for everyone in the family.
Ashley Furniture–living room furniture is very old and I’ve never had a dining room set so that would be nice.
(Katie, I have a couple of items left from high school, too–30 years! I haven’t worn them much if at all in the last 10 years because they are starting to get sentimental and I don’t want them to wear out.)
Lowe’s–it would be a nice 20th anniversary gift for my sweet husband.
Highland Gardens because we have some trees to get and landscaping projects we’d love to do.
So many choices.
Hey, are you just getting us ready for your next give away?
Ann Taylor outlet. No question. It’s the best place to get cute professional clothes that don’t make me look like I’m 65.
hmm….the salvation army. or ragstock. or urban outfitters. this is an impossible question.
i’m a bibliophile, so definitely powell’s. or borders. or barnes & noble. i become delirious just thinking about it. :)
At the “$1.00 Wish Store”, which translates to ohhh I don’t know…TEN THOUSAND WISHES!