I have a serious problem with a certain store that I went to shop at on Saturday. This store is one of those that is split down the middle, fat clothes on one side, skinny on the other. Well I headed to my section, fat clothes, except I like to call it the Sexy section. As soon as I enter I see six racks of clearance clothes! Naturally I got woozy in the head and began attacking each rack with the precision that only an experienced Diva shopper owns. I’m minding my own, smiling, talking a bit to myself when out of left field comes the “woman” who is supposed to help my with my garment buying decisions. Honey, the word woman would have to be used loosely with this girl. She couldn’t have been more that sixteen, and a size zero at that! Now, I have nothing against young, tiny girls. Wished I was one in fact, but when you send Bambi to help the hunter you are just asking for trouble! Well, Bambi comes flying over hoping to score that commission that will pay for her next manicure. With not a smile anywhere on her face, she proceeds to begin her sale. I kid you not these were her exact words: “Hi, welcome to <insert store here>. My name is Bambi. Allow me to help you. This rack (pointing to the one I was looking on) won’t have your size. Most of our really big clothing is on this rack.”
I am not lying. I couldn’t decided if I should cry from hurt or laugh at ignorance. I chose the latter. I informed her, politely of course, that indeed this rack did have my size and that she needed to brush up on her eyeballing women for their size. I pointed out that “really big” was not two words that any Diva La Voom would want to hear upon entering a store that was supposedly “dedicated to fashions for all sizes”. She decided that I was not one that she could handle if a fight began so she stared at me for a moment and then turned without saying another word and left.
Needless to say after that I thought about leaving, but decided that perhaps it wasn’t the clothing’s fault that Bambi was so uneducated. So I bought my two shirts, earrings and hair clips (buy one get one free!) and headed out the door.
So lesson learned? Not all people realize that weight is a sensitive issue. I have known this all my life, perhaps now though, Bambi will realize that Divas are humans with feelings. Maybe now she will also realize that Diva’s can choose to be hurt by thoughtless comments, like the one that slipped effortlessly though her lips, or we can rise above those comments. I think I made the right choice. I walked out that door with my head held high. As I entered the world beyond that one door, I knew that I had scored one for my team.
Love and Winks,
Miz Congeniality