The Vendor Thread

[freedomofexpression]

So I thought it would be a good idea to try and bring together everyone's experiences purchasing your legwear.  If you have purchased something from somewhere, let us know what and where and if you were happy with your experience!

I might as well start:

• ASOS.com
  I've bought some skinny jeans from them. I like their "Ridley" line.
  Big on-line supplier.  This means that the sizing is pretty consistent, but the customer service is less satisfying.
• GoJane.com
  I've bought skinnies from them.
  No real complaints. I think I learned about the low-rise problem when I purchased a pair of skinnies from them.  In addition, their sizing can vary.  Be careful of anything sourced outside of the US as they tend to run much smaller than their US counterparts.  [Recently they seem to have gone from on-line sales to an on-line catalog but phone purchasing. I do not know why.]
• WorldOfLeggings.com
  I've bought both leggings and some heavier cotton/lycra "jeans." which are low-to-mid-rise, but warm for the fall and early winter (especially with hose underneath).
  No complaints. My first purchases were from here. Had to learn a little about sizing but returns were fairly hassle-free.
• Dillard's and JCPenney
  I've bought Celebrity Pink jeans from Dillards (nice and soft) and A.N.A. Jeans (soft, but a tad short) and Stylus leggings from JCP.
  Pro: You can try stuff on and know that it fits and you like it before you purchase.
  Con: If you're new to crossing the imaginary gender line, you might be nervous.  Don't be.  Nobody I've spoken with about this has ever mentioned having a negative experience with the sales staff.  They want to make money.  Your money is just as green (or blue or black or whatever color your CC is) as the other gender's money.

[K/S/K]

Having trouble with the fitting room denim blues ?

Shop the other side of aisle and grab your selections and then grab something from your side - take the pants to a fitting room.
Here is a helpful hint pick a size one size bigger than your normal; a normal and then one size smaller.
Bring along a tape measure and make some pre-measurements to know what your limits are.
Also by bringing more than one size you will not have to make trips back on the sales floor to try another size or style.
If you are in redneck country take all your clothing to the appropriate fitting room.
Some stores have unisex fitting rooms but if you have to use the ladies fitting room a courtesy check with the
fitting room attendant is suggested to avoid any embarrassing problems.
Approaching this with a positive look the sales people may be of assistance to put you in the right size style and if out
of stock in that store find out if another store has your item in stock.

After a few novice shopping excursions you should have knowledge of where things are at in a store the sizes covered and
the difference between Misses Petites Plus sizes and what it is with that strange even odd sizing number.
Most of the women in clothing stores know of the problems with their finding clothing that fits on their side of aisle
and can quickly relate to what men's sizing is comparable.

After all it is just clothes and not like you are shopping for the Emperor's new clothing !

[Deleted]

I buy most of my jeans at ross and recently blue spice jeans from tj maxx. it's easy to just grab a couple of pairs and take them to the fitting rooms. the fitting room women notice you're taking girl jeans, but they for the most part don't really care, they have more things to worry about (work wise) to give a dime if your jeans from the ladies department.

I also go to Macy's once in a blue moon whenever they have some specials on the celebrity pink jeans.

I've yet to order online. Asos is quite pricey, but I've seen other sites that offers lower priced jeans.

[freedomofexpression]

Today was the first time I got a little flack from a sales lady.

I've had a very rough week and I thought I would reward myself with another pair of those super soft CP jeans that they sell at Dillard's. I had brought one pair in black and one pair in acid-wash grey in a size 9 to the men's department, grabbed a shirt I thought might look nice with them, and then headed to the fitting room. I tried both of the jeans on and loved them, but I noticed the stitching on the grey pair was coming apart at the crotch. So I put my skinny Rude jeans back on and headed back to the junior's department to find another pair to try. I found two more pairs to try on and headed back to the men's for another go at a slim collared shirt.

Just as I was leaving with my stack of jeans, a young sales lady with a Russian accent asked me if I needed help. I told her, no, I thought I had what I was looking for. She then told me that I couldn't leave the junior's department with the jeans! I've never heard of *that* before, so I brushed her off by saying that I had to "go look for a shirt for me" and walked back to the men's department.

Has anyone run across this, before? Am I missing something like a lost commission? Or do you think she was rattled by a guy in skinny jeans walking off with jeans from the junior's department? To be honest, I'm usually flagging down sales staff who pay me no attention, so this caught me off guard.

[Deleted]

that is weird because the macy's i shop at has both male and female stores in 2 stories, so literally i would have to get to the escalator to women's juniors, then an elevator to get to the top floor in men's to try out in fitting rooms. the ladies never had a problem with me doing that. that russian lady is probably very old fashioned.

[K/S/K]

In cases like this where one has to go to another location (floor being one) to avoid the acrimony of trying for size I read'em the customer riot act ---
"Would you like to provide a fitting room on this level or escort me to an appropriate one at that other location." Any resistance and I then play the ace
card "Do you really want my business or would you rather have your store manager (best if you know him/her by name) handle this simple request !"

A few years back I was in a Belks store in North Carolina and the women's and men's stores were separated by a parking lot.
Found what I was looking for a nice pair of short shorts in white denim and wanted to try for size. The clerks were all flustered
and fortunately did the right thing call the floor manager over who subsequently checked and found a ladies fitting room vacant and
blocked it off for my use. The short shorts fit perfectly sale made and the clerks learned a lesson. Alternative was to buy the shorts
and take them across the parking lot to the men's section try them on and accept them or go back across the parking lot and return the shorts.
Egad the flaming hoops one must leap through !

As long as you have not left the store without paying for the clothing item - Shoplifting is not the issue nor any other subject except a gross
inconvenience to a paying customer. I have educated many a store dick about what is going on - and it is nothing he wants to make a public issue about
his bad judgment and the stores also in this case find out who the store manager is and drop his name - stores don't like to be called out on this !

[freedomofexpression]

Yah, I thought this was kind of strange. But, then again, this is Virginia. Even with the occasional misunderstanding, I still find shopping at a brick-and-mortar store preferable to buying clothes online. Maybe if I go shopping in Vegas when I visit my parents they'll actually encourage some skin tight fashion. :-)