mardi 1 juillet 2008
The big day is tomorrow. The opening of the semi-annual sales season here in France. Well, at least the south part. For the rest of the country, they started last week. I don't know why it is later here. Supposedly because in the south it is hotter so stores need more time to sell their summery clothes at full prices. Whatever. Everyone just goes to another département or shops online anyway. Now that I am working in Aix, I am surrounded by tons of expensive shops. I never was a big clothes shopper so I doubt I will be seriously fighting the crowds tomorrow. Some women take the day off from work to go shopping!
Each time the Soldes arrive, I tell myself that we will buy stuff for the apartment (like furniture, fixtures, etc.) Except that while it is still en travaux there is really no point of buying stuff because a) there is no place to put it (we already have two bedrooms out of comission) b) it might just get damaged or paint dropped on it or something and c) we might change our minds about what colors we want in each room in the meantime.
So I usually end up picking up a few shirts and pants and that's about it.
Some women have been scouting out their favorite stores, trying to figure out what will be on sale. I guess so that they can just grab and go on the Big Day. Also, some stores were closed today, I guess so that the workers can finish the last-minute arrangements without people coming in and asking "Will that be on sale?" "How much will this be off?"
I think the sales last for about six weeks. But by the end, all that is left are the fuscia and Army-green shirts with three buttons missing for 80% off.
I don't remember Sales being national news items in the US. Was I just not a big shopper or was it more of a "get over it already" type of thing? Sure there were the after-Christmas sales, etc. but it wasn't like Ohmygodthereisasale! I don't even know what the laws are in the US concerning sales, whether stores are forbidden from having them at certain times, etc.

4 commentaires:

o a dit…

I don't know about the US but to me it seems there are sales all the time...Just yesterday I ordered amazing shoes and tops, most in the range 14.99$ which is a joke here in the beautiful Europe. With the conversion, only fools would shop here...

The Late Bloomer a dit…

No, I definitely don't think sales are restricted by law in the U.S. anything like here in France -- that's why the whole experience is so different here! And in recent years apparently they have been trying to change the system in France so there wouldn't be so many regulations on the semiannual Soldes, but apparently this would be really detrimental to the smaller businesses... So who knows? I think it's a bit crazy too, how people rush out and literally take days off for the first day and stuff, but at the same time, if it works for the businesses, I'm certainly not against it either! Back home in the U.S., it did pretty much seem like a sale of some kind was going on all the time...

Once again, big differences! And things that we just tend to pick up on bit by bit, after living here for a while.

Brandi a dit…

I am always so disappointed by the sales here. In the many stores unless you are a 34 or a 50, there just isn't your size and for all the rest you have to fight off people to even look at a rack. Although like a glutton for punishment, I might just see what's out there...
BTW, nice blog.

Starman a dit…

There are NO sales restrictions in the US. That is best evidenced by the constant circulars for sales in the Sunday newspapers as well as the flyers sent through he mail.

I tried to leave this the other day, but for some reason it wouldn't let me.

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