Elitist stores /"Pretty Woman" moments

[Minibit]

Ever had a shopping experience that made you think of this scene? What happened, and, if your story also has a happy ending like that scene, tell us about it!

I like to sew, and I have a fabric land in my town, which is usually the better option for my budget, but 99% of the staff is women over sixty, who look down their noses at me because I'm young and haven't been sewing forever. They're totally unwilling to help me learn, much less help me choose a fabric without quizzing me for a specific brand name and cloth type. I think if they could, they'd sit over my shoulder while I sewed and critique my work.

Result? I went hunting and found a little mom 'n pop shop downtown! Less variety and a bit of a price hike, but the owners are like friendly neighbourhood grandparents, more interested in sharing their hobby than being stitching royalty. They even ask to see my projects when they're done! I still have to go to fabric land when I need something specific, but that's not often.

 

[ᴛᴏᴄᴋᴀ]

The only time I've had to deal with that type of experience was when I needed a wedding dress while I was six months pregnant. It was literally a shot gun wedding. (We wanted to wait till after our daughter was born, but my mother practically shoved us into the courthouse to get our marriage license.)

I was huge, and felt like a beached whale suffering from years of water retention, and the lady that was helping me out made me feel a hundred times worse by constantly suggesting we wait, and telling me that white was unflattering on a pregnant belly. Like there's really anything flattering when you're carrying weight everywhere. But, to be fair, I was six months pregnant and starting to get into my hormonal phase where one second I was happy and the next I was crying hysterically and begging for ice cream and french fries.

Eventually I gave up, and decided that I was just going to grab the first thing I could find from the maternity store. Before I could though, one of my mom's friends heard about my issues and took me to this little bridal boutique place that not only found me a pretty maternity gown that didn't make me look like a walking marshmallow, but they offered to adjust the gown the day of the wedding in case my belly had grown any. Definitely some of the nicest people I ever met, and much better at dealing with hormonal, pregnant messes like me.