Shopping Buddy / n. / 1. A good friend, a comrade who aids one
in seeking merchandise or bargains. 2. Trouble.
Tina DiDomenico and Heidi Arreola stroll while leisurely sipping
from Starbucks cups.
They talk and joke, point out cute outfits and things for the
kids as they wander the Gilroy Premium Outlets in search of
Christmas presents.
Shopping Buddy / n. / 1. A good friend, a comrade who aids one in seeking merchandise or bargains. 2. Trouble.
Tina DiDomenico and Heidi Arreola stroll while leisurely sipping from Starbucks cups.
They talk and joke, point out cute outfits and things for the kids as they wander the Gilroy Premium Outlets in search of Christmas presents.
“This is my ‘outlet,'” said mother of four DiDomenico, eliciting a laugh from her friend. The two friends, both stay-at home moms, met through a parent’s group a few years ago and get together to shop, at least ostensibly.
“It gives us time talk, and it’s relaxing – we get to go to lunch and not necessarily talk about the kids for once,” said Arreola who has three children between the ages of 6 and 11.
Rather than dragging a bored husband or boyfriend along for the day, women often opt for shopping buddies, friends who can tell exactly how that hot new dress will look on you, and know when to say wisely, “Why don’t you try this one instead?”
In our society of conspicuous consumption, the art of shopping has been elevated to the level of sport. It is a latter-day treasure hunt, complete with maps, voyages and adventures. There are even whole magazines devoted entirely to the art of shopping – Shop, Lucky, Suede.
A shopping buddy acts as navigator, steering her friend through the treacherous waters of “So Last Season,” “Super Slutty” and “Too Hideous For Comment” to the welcoming shores of bargain paradise.
She’ll flatter when appropriate, tell a friend (and even the occasional solo stranger) exactly how hot they look in that little black dress, and make the face that means “absolutely not” without actually making her friend feel bad or, worse yet, unstylish.
“We go shopping together because it’s a good way to tell what’s stylish,” said Rosalyn Ireland, a personal assistant from Berkeley who was shopping with friends at the Gilroy outlets on Friday.
“Yeah, and you don’t want anybody to be getting too far ahead of you, so you have to come and see what they’re doing,” said friend Leslie Thomas, a foster care worker. “Most of the time you don’t know what you’re shopping for until you find it.”
This mildly competitive group air can cause otherwise sensible women to pull out their credit cards to keep up with their friend’s perceived tres chic sense of style, even if they never end up wearing the item again.
Every woman has a pair of shoes hidden away in the back of her closet that a friend swore she couldn’t live without.
“We’re even as far as getting each other into trouble,” said Vicky Davis, a surgical center employee from Madera while pointing back and forth between herself and friend Myleene Turner. “Shoes are my downfall.”
“Mine is just anything for the kids,” said Turner, also of Madera. “We also shop for clothes, things for the home, and right now we’re doing our Christmas shopping.”
Sisters JoAnn Cornelius and Cynthia Lubenko, 65 and 67, go shopping together one to two times per month.
“We usually look for bargains, but I’m more of the shopper,” said Cornelius. They both laugh when she continues, “She’s always griping at me to not spend so much.”
Whether superficial acquaintances with similar taste or lifelong friends, shopping buddies discover their shared interest in consumerism lends itself to years of social interaction through an otherwise trivial errand.
Middle school math teachers Barbara Moser and MaryAnn Kremenliev, both of Walnut Creek, began doing their Christmas shopping as a pair while attending a conference together seven years ago.
They only shop together once a year, but their outing has become a steadfast event tied firmly to their attendance at the California Math Teachers’ Conference in Asilomar.
“She likes to shop, but I don’t,” said Kremenliev. “Going together makes me get through all of my holiday shopping at once.”
Said Moser, “I drag her along. Maybe I’ll change her mind eventually.”
“All I know is that I’ll keep shopping with her,” said Kremenliev. “When I find something I pick it up and show it to her. Half the time it’s the wrong size or the tall and I would never notice unless she said something.”
Pants that fit the first time. There’s always something to be said for a free personal shopper.
