GAAAAHHHHHH!!!!
I am just home from one of the single most frustrating experiences of my life. OK, well maybe not my whole entire life. (Overdramatic much? Sheesh.) But still…
On a total whim, I ran into Kohl’s after work today since I had both a 30% off coupon AND some reward cash that need to be used up before the end of the week. Wow! I thought. What incredible timing! I need a new bathing suit and a few new things for our vacation next month, so this is going to be perfect!
Wrong.
Fake news.
False.
It was very much not incredible. Unless you’d like to say it was incredibly disastrous, incredibly depressing, an incredible defeat. Because, then yes. That would be accurate.
It’s Not Me, It’s You
Trying on 4 different shirts, a skirt, and 5 bathing suits should not make someone feel the need for a drink. It just shouldn’t. Yet that’s exactly how I felt when I left the dressing room today.
Every single thing I tried on was a size large. Every single thing fit differently. Some were too small. Some were too large. All of them were wonky in some way, shape, or form.
I understand that’s going to be the case pretty much anywhere you go. Different styles mean you’re going to need different sizes and all that jazz. But is a little consistency too much to ask for? Apparently so!
And the fabrics! Oy. The fabrics used at Kohl’s really seem to have taken a nose dive in quality lately. Too much stretch, not enough structure. Weird patterns. Things that are too flimsy and see-through when they have no need to be. I don’t know…maybe I’m just getting pickier in my old age?
OK, Maybe It’s Me
Whatever the combination of factors, in the past 6 months or so (maybe even up to a year) I have only found 3 pieces of clothing there that I truly like. Only one of which I’m really enthused about. And, I mean, that’s a huge change! Kohl’s used to be my go-to, never-fail store. Finding high-quality stylish clothes that fit well and didn’t break the bank was almost a Kohl’s guarantee! Not so much anymore.
If I’m being totally honest, the death knell started ringing for Kohl’s when my “mom bod” took over. I just don’t have a positive body image anymore and I’m finding I need to be a whole lot more selective in what I choose to put on myself. Maybe it’s a time in my life where I really need to start spending a little more for a little better quality and buy fewer items instead of seeing how much I can buy for how little.
Quality over quantity seems to be a recurring theme I’m seeing in my life now that I’m in my 40s. But that’s a different blog post for a different time.
But I Just Can’t Quit You!
Just in case the shopping gods are displeased with my treatise here decrying one of the great shopping meccas of our time, let me say this:
I won’t stop shopping there because they are just too good.
They’re good at stocking well-priced and adorable clothes for babies, toddlers, and kids. My girls can always find something they like in their respective departments and my 10 year-old and I can even find things we agree on (not a small feat, I promise!). Their store brand of athletic shorts for guys are great and let me save a little money that I can put toward name brand shirts for my teenage boys. And my husband routinely finds great collared shirts and khakis for work. Throw in their great “sale prices” (I use quotes because their original prices are just so jacked up), coupons and reward cash and you really can come away with some steals of deals.
I guess for the time being, though, those sales will be in any department but mine. Because, Kohl’s…I love ya! But you gotta get your ish together. So, until you do…? I quit. Sort of.
