So, today, like so many days before, a totally weird couple came into my store. Sorta- the dude, actually, was hilarious, like, truly, very quick and very funny. His girlfriend, however, ignored him entirely aside from quietely admonishing him for touching books and warning him to "not annoy the salesgirls."
"He's fine," I said, realizing that I'd said the exact same thing to mothers about their children and to dog owners about their dogs. I half expected her to exclaim "Gentle Hands! Gentle Hands! Let's use our Gentle Hands!" like this one mom said to her kid one time. So that was weird. I of course started thinking about the other weird couples I've seen in my time on the floor... and I tried to think of one time it wasn't weird or awkward in some way. I could not.
Sometimes it's the girls that you think are there shopping with their dads... and then they start making out with the gross bullfrog you thought was their dad at the counter while you're ringing them up. That's awkward. Also, it is enough to forever erase that whole idea you had in the back of your head that you might say someday "Fuck it, I'm getting me a sugar daddy!" because man, man.... so not worth it.
Sometimes it's the body shaming boyfriend who will actually say things like "Oh, that's too short for you, you have bad legs" and criticize everything the girl puts on and in those instances it is difficult to control the slapping impulse, nevermind the look on your face. You imagine for a second having some Julia Sugarbaker type outburst where you call the dude out on being a giant d-bag and the lady dumps him right then and there. But instead you plaintively tell her she looks lovely and try to use your facial muscles to signal to her that this guy is terrible and that she probably deserves better. It does not work. And then you feel even weirder about the whole situation when she apologizes for his behavior afterwards because she could tell how uncomfortable you were. "Don't apologize to me," you think, "just run."
Sometimes it's the girl whose boyfriend or husband isn't there, but who puts something on hold until she can show it to him for his approval, or, even more weirdly, sends him a picture text of the dress. Can you just imagine? Because I picture some dude watching football with his friends or whatever, getting a picture of a dress on his phone and being either embarassed or confused. I mean, that has to be weird, right?
These are fairly extreme situations, granted. But I seriously cannot remember any instance in which a lady has brought her significant other in the store and it has been in any way normal or not awkward. The least weird are the dudes who just sit on the couch and flip through magazines, and even that is awkward because you feel like they're having a bad time. And then there's the whole thing where you want to talk to them and include them, but not too much because you don't want the girl to think that you're coming onto them. It's always weird.
I have never dated anyone who has had the balls to tell me what to wear, or, more accurately, has really been any kind of invested in my sartorial choices. I think mostly they figure I know how to dress myself given that I work in fashion. I have never actually taken a dude with me when I have gone shopping for myself and cannot imagine a future where that might occur. I would highly reccomend that others do the same. If only because it really magnifies whatever weirdness you've got going on in your relationship and you really don't need to be sharing any of that with a shopgirl.
