"Honey, does this match my dress?"
Credit: Geoff Sayer/oxfam | ©Geoff Sayer/oxfam
If there is anything I am an expert in, it is shopping with my wife. I love spending time with her, but there were times where I hated shopping with her. I could not stand it. I would be standing in the same place for 20 minutes looking at the same two pairs of shoes, knowing which one she would go home with and which one she SHOULD go home with. I would give the frustrating "whatever you think, honey" answer and go about my business. This in turn led to more frustration for her because she kinda knew what to buy but just needed that extra push. If not, we'd end up buying something in a hurry and then turning around and spending half a gallon of gas taking it back next week. And that always involves an even longer wait at the customer return department.
Does this sound familiar to you? It was my frustration until the last few years. I learned a few things that cut our shoe shopping time and return time down considerably while still having fun hanging out with my wife. We hardly spend more than 30 minutes picking out two outfits and a pair of shoes in a store now.
How do I do it? I paid attention at home and got selfish, that's how. Guys, I'm going to give you a few observations, tips, and tricks to help you shoe shop with your wife and get home at a decent hour. This may require you to step out the circle of manhood for a few minutes, but you'll be back watching the playoffs in no time. I promise you, take some of these suggestions and you'll be a shoe pro!
1) Know your woman's clothes and colors. Almost any top can go with blue jeans. T-shirts go with blue jeans. Sneakers go with blue jeans. But not every top's color goes with every sneaker. So if your wife has light-colored blue jeans, blue-colored shirts, and she spots some red sneakers and says "Honey, these are cute. Do you like them?" your answer is "they are cute, but do you have anything that matches them at home?" She'll think about it and she may say "no, I don't. Let's get something else" or "well, I do have this ONE shirt..."
Does this sound familiar to you? It was my frustration until the last few years. I learned a few things that cut our shoe shopping time and return time down considerably while still having fun hanging out with my wife. We hardly spend more than 30 minutes picking out two outfits and a pair of shoes in a store now.
How do I do it? I paid attention at home and got selfish, that's how. Guys, I'm going to give you a few observations, tips, and tricks to help you shoe shop with your wife and get home at a decent hour. This may require you to step out the circle of manhood for a few minutes, but you'll be back watching the playoffs in no time. I promise you, take some of these suggestions and you'll be a shoe pro!
1) Know your woman's clothes and colors. Almost any top can go with blue jeans. T-shirts go with blue jeans. Sneakers go with blue jeans. But not every top's color goes with every sneaker. So if your wife has light-colored blue jeans, blue-colored shirts, and she spots some red sneakers and says "Honey, these are cute. Do you like them?" your answer is "they are cute, but do you have anything that matches them at home?" She'll think about it and she may say "no, I don't. Let's get something else" or "well, I do have this ONE shirt..."
- Not all yellows, browns, or blues are the same. Watch the tones!
- Camera phones are handy when shopping for exact matches
- Knowing your wife's clothes can save you dozens of minutes in shopping time
Comments
Louis Rodriguez
(Guest)
(Guest)
07/27/2009
This, of course, only works if your spouse is doing "Man Shopping" to begin with -- that is to say, she went shopping with something in mind. In my experience, this almost never happens, and when it does, it's pretext: "I'm just going to buy a top for those trousers..." From there, the 'top' is completely forgotten, and an epic round the mall trip begins that includes bags, tupperware, pots, pans, luggage, furniture...
I've solved this problem a different way: I simply follow her and listen to an audiobook.
Cute article.
I'll definitely be showing this article to my husband:)
I told my husband he was lucky he didn't have these problems, he said "Yep, that's right, I'm lucky." Sounded just like "what ever you think honey."
Great article.
This is a great guide for shopping with your girl. Good article.
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