GLOSS ANXIETY

Don D

Posted as a public service follow-up to the Shoe Shopping thread. Talk radio Tuesday, about 4 a.m. had a psychologist on talking about shopping habits and the psychology employed by mall designers and the like. He said that trendy shops on Rodeo Drive all have really high-gloss floors because the high-dollar shoppers expect that and are comfortable in that venue. But, he said, women who are not high society, high-dollar, top-end, ultra high income, are very UNcomfortable with the high gloss floors and that's why you don't typically find them in America's malls. The few stores you see in a mall that have super gloss floors and tons of lights are the ones that you hardly will see a customer in. 90% of female shoppers fit into the low-gloss or no-gloss category and he cautioned to not be offended by the comments, since they're simply facts. Most women, he said, will shop till they drop if the designers of the mall and the shops utilize these concepts when they design stores. He said Gloss Anxiety is a clinical term for this phenomenon.

Next week: A report on why most women would love to have a mirrored disco ball hanging in the bedroom.

deniseE

Don....you really should get some sleep!!!!!

x:D

Whatever

So at 4 a.m.(when sensible women are asleep) a male psychologist talks about Gloss Anxiety (which to me is about lipstick x:D ). Your thread speaks for itself and the poster. :oo

ritaanz

Public service follow up.....my @ss! This is just another poke in the eye. Why are you trying to antagonize and provoke us femme fatales?

Are you suffering from "lack of nooky"?

mcmel

Watch out rita, I made a similar comment LAST week and he accused me of "attacking" him. x:'(

Whatever

Could he be suffering from Nooky anxiety?

mcmel

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 05-06-04 AT 09:11AM (CST)[/font][br][br]I've heard a late night report by somebody famous (someone I don't know) that when Don isn't getting enough attention he pipes up about reports that are slanted against women. It generally riles up the women and gets Para and ray chattering for a couple days. x;)

ray a

Wow, what a thread. We go from Gloss Anxiety to Don's Nooky Anxiety. Next, we'll hear about Forum Anxiety.

I was going to observe that our local Target and Kohl's department stores tend to have very glossy floors. But, then being as far away from NYC as we are, they might be considered high end establishments.

Don D

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 05-06-04 AT 09:39AM (CST)[/font][br][br]Gosh girls. I was actually posting what I thought was a very interesting subject. I'm sure there is an equally interesting commentary on why sports shops and bass pro shop and golf shops and Nascar shops and whereever else men hang out, are arranged and colored the way they are. Why attack the messenger here? I thought the program made perfect sense. I just wish all those catalogs my wife shops out of would somehow have a gloss anxiety effect on her and she'd be in a trance, unable to order from them. Now, for those of you who would like to make an intelligent comment about the content of the program I mentioned, please do that. I'm just trying to help you cope with and prevent that demon that snatches you into shoe shops. And for those of you who have not thought about it, next time you're in the mall, notice that the benches are arranged right in from of Victoria's Secret. You reckon that was an accident? Hell no. It was so men could sit out there and finally get up enough nerve to go in and make a purchase for their honey, but only after all the women had left the store.

Your friend and faithful unbiased contributor.

ritaanz

Right!

ray a

Sports shops and bass pro shop and golf shops and Nascar shops - so Don, are these the kind of shops you hang out in?

Parabeagle

I think the important message in this thread is the fact that Don listens to talk radio at 4 a.m.! Personally, I'm sawing logs at 4 a.m. and even if I wasn't a talk radio report on glossy floors would probably work better than a Unisom on me.

I hope someone at M. Lee Smith has the presence of mind to realize how valuable these forum discussions are and is compiling them into a volume or two for sale at the SHRM Store. x;-)

rad

Your psychologist is a jackass. As a psychologist, he sould have known there is a confounding variable in his research - the cost of the shoes, not the glossiness of the floors.

Don D

The real variable in this equation is the variation in the amount of time that different women remain in denial about this reality. I see that rad is in total denial, peppered with a bit of hostility and a razor blade or two. We have all the time in the world and will welcome you when you raise your hand and tell us, "My name is rad, and I'm affected by gloss anxiety." Until then, it is perfectly OK for you to call the messenger a jackass and to lash out at the research and toss in imaginary variables. That's part of the overall therapeutic process. It's lets us know its beginning to work. If you were silent, we would have cause to worry. Now, if the others of you who are in deep denial will let us know your feelings of resentment, it will help us all as a group to move forward. We even have room in the tent for the two detractors who are peeking into the tent with pea-shooters. They need no further identification. I forgot to mention that the psychologist said this is the same reason most women wear shades when they shop.

ritaanz

Lord Don, flattery will get you nowhere.

rad

Maybe they need the shades to protect their eyes from the glare from the gloss. Aside from that, I wear shades year round becaue I'm vain and I don't want wrinkles.

Whatever

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 05-06-04 AT 11:08AM (CST)[/font][br][br]Don, I know you have a sensitive side..so I hope you won't take this personally but...your psychologist is a jackass who couldn't walk a mile in my shoes (any of them) because he would probably fall on his tush trying to navigate the glossy floor which shines onto his glasses that do not have anti-glare coating.
In any case, I thought tent revivals are not as popular as they use to be.

Don D

Whatever; I understand that you're working through this thing and in due time, you'll be OK. But it's important to know that this is not "MY psychologist". The guy was on the radio that morning for God's sake. He may be a jackass. I don't know. I have no affiliation with him or the program he delivered. I merely related what his position was. My psychiatrist is a woman.

Cinderella

You know, I actually think there is some truth to this. I don't shop in stores like J. Crew because they look so nice inside, I know the price of the clothes they sell are out of this world. I would rather hang at Old Navy (cement floor and $29.99 jeans - woohoo!), Mervyn's, and Lane Bryant. x:)

Rockie

I would say avoid shopping in all stores with high gloss floors, especially if one chooses not to wear underwear!

ray a

Rocky, now you're going to have all the guys on the forum walking around expensive stores staring at the high gloss floor hoping to see a reflection.

rad

Good advice.

Don D

Ray, please let us know the results of your research Monday. I read once a story about a guy who wore only the shiniest Italian loafers and kept them brilliantly polished. This was the reason.