Deb Shop Eludes Me Again!

I did go to the outlet shops about twelve miles from here, although my GPS (aka "the woman who is trying to kill me") sent me off in the wrong direction and it was more like fifteen miles.
Oddly enough, the shops are not in a closed mall. There is a kind of roof over much of it, but it's definitely outdoors. When it's 103 degrees, you notice little details like that.

There are basically eight buildings, each is very long and not too wide. There are three rows of two, and one on each side perpendicular to the others. Since there are no shops on the "outside" of the buildings, that's basically two long rows of shops with more shops on each end. It's hard to describe and I'm not doing a great job.

It's like this:

The boxes are buildings. The red lines are where the storefronts are.

I went into a LOT of stores. Remember I was in drab today.

I stuck to stores that might have something I wanted to buy and skipped stores like Hot Topic which have nice clothes but not really for me. I usually listen to the music in the store for a moment and decide to stay or go based on what I hear.

The mall was not crowded. Many stores just had a couple of shoppers, or one shopper, or maybe just me in there. I was always the only male shopper.

One of my first stops was Liz Claiborne. I found some nice tops and passable black pants. If I remember, I'll do an entry on what makes women's clothes suitable for drab wear. The pants had everything right ~ length, not too hippy, decent pockets, belt loops... it was all good.

So I asked if I could try them on. The woman at the desk said "sure".

Keep in mind, I'm in drab. Liz only sells women's clothing.

This goes back to the comfort zone thing. I don't know why I felt OK doing that today. In the past, I've taken women's clothing into the men's dressing room. Here I was, telling this stranger that I'm looking for women's pants to wear.

She was fine with that. They fit quite well. I asked her to put them aside for me, and I'd come back when I was ready to leave the shopping area. Frankly, they were a bit pricey so I wasn't sure I'd get them.

I went directly across from Liz and there was Ann Taylor. I looked around, I spoke to the sales assistants. I did that in every store, I think. I said I was just looking, in general.

Further down, there was a Soma Intimates next door to a Maidenform store. I went into both. In one, when she asked if she could help I said "I don't know. I can never find anything that fits right in this store." In the other, I said "yes, I see something I like but I'd need a bra fitting first." In both cases, I got a laugh.

I stopped at a Gold Toe store (socks) and admitted that I was looking for socks. I think that the ones I have for the flight home (white with blue flowers) have a hole, so I wanted an extra pair. I got two. I was looking for white and these are a light beige. Each has a flower/plant theme. If I have to take off my shoes at the airport, I want to have nice socks underneath (my to-El-Paso socks had large gold snowflakes on them).

I also saw a Hanes/Bali/Playtex store, so I stopped in to look at panties. They weren't a great bargain, but I picked up two ($7 each, normally $24 for 3). I should have waited. Although the directory listed it as "VF Outlet", it was a Vanity Fair outlet. I really like Vanity Fair panties. They fit well and are very comfortable. I looked. They had panties for $3.50 or so. I was tempted to return the others but walking was becoming more painful so I soldiered on.

I looked around in a Rack Room Shoes store. They had some really nice shoes ~ heels are getting higher ~ but not in my size. The one or two I saw in 11, I didn't like much.

I also went into a store called "Brown Shoe Closet" which sold handbags and, not surprisingly, shoes. The sales assistant, in response to my "I'm just going to look around" said "there are additional sizes available in the back". Clearly, I'm not the first guy who came in looking for shoes. And they came up with a way to say "I know you want shoes for yourself" without saying "I know you wear women's shoes."

I don't know who runs this store, but they should clone her. I did see a couple of pair I loved, but my luggage and budget are bursting, so I didn't ask if she had them in my size. I felt if I asked and she did, I'd be obligated to buy. Much later, it occurred to me I could simply say "no, they just don't fit right but Thank You!"

So now I have to figure out how to fit all this into my bursting suitcase. Meg takes up a lot of room.

And no Meg on Monday. I just wanted to take a shower and go to bed (OK, wearing a nightie). And I realise I HAVE to shower before changing here. It's impossible to be outside and not be a mess!

Anyway, I spent way too much time at the outlet stores and never did get to Las Cruses where the Deb store is.

But I did go back and buy those pants.