[nabs-l] techniques for shopping and trends

Fri Oct 28 23:54:45 UTC 2011

Hi all,
I'm curious whether anyone who has been blind since birth/childhood
has figured out how to give people good feedback on clothes they try
on, etc. and if so what techniques do you use? I too enjoy shopping
with friends and family and I would love to be able to help them pick
out stuff but I don't really get a sense of what looks good or not
based on a description, I think because I have never actually seen
colors etc. Do you guys get a sense for whether something fits right
by feeling it on someone who's wearing it?
Best,
Arielle

On 10/26/11, Ashley Bramlett <bookwormahb at earthlink.net> wrote:
> Ah, I wish we had a Belks up here. We shop at Macy's most often and a little
> at bloomingdales.
> When I was down south to see relatives, I liked Belks and Dillards; good
> selection and well laid out.
>
> Ashley
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Lea williams
> Sent: Wednesday, October 26, 2011 9:48 PM
> To: Debbie Wunder ; National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] techniques for shopping and trends
>
> Hey I shop a lot with the help of the workers. I went a couple of
> weeks ago to get some shoes and an outfit. I first went to the shoe
> shop and just walked in and asked for help after walking through the
> store to hunt someone down. NP. I knew that i wanted sneakers or tenis
> shoes, whatever you call them and got a pair. But if your not sure,
> just tell them what stile of clothes you would wear with them, dressy,
> casual, fancey etc. You can also ask what color close the shoes would
> best work with. I got a pair of heels and I told them I primarily wear
> dark blue dressy geans and black slacks or dark kackey and they were
> able to tell me what color would go best with the colors. They took me
> to an ile to let me loose alone in my size while the lady went and
> found a helper for me. The worker came and I told her kind of what I
> was looking for and she picked out things that was around that would
> have worked and i chose from there.
> I have found telling them and asking a lot of things helps the both of
> you. If your not sure or understanding what they are saying, then ask
> loads of questions. It is your money your spending and if you buy it,
> it is you who takes it home not them.
> After this i went to Belks and had the lady there help me find an
> outfit. That one was a bit more tricky because she took me to the back
> and was trying to get me to pick from two tops that were hanging up on
> the wal. I did not like them and just started to wonder off and
> saying, "so whats over here or there"? We then discoverd that the
> store was filled with loads of clothes that were not on the wall.
> Waow!
> I did find a nice outfit, something that was on sale and cost less
> than the things on the wall by the way.
> Something you could do is to find out what your colors are, google. I
> Google a lot of things. You can put in Google,
> What style and color of clothes works best for me?
> and you can find bloggs that says, if your dark haired with whatever
> skin, wear this and that. they usually say spring, wenter, summer or
> fall colors, but the give good information. Then when your shopping,
> you have more of an idea of what colors to pick.
> If your not shure if something will fit, Ask them what do they think,
> will it fit you or not? I do this all the time , Sometimes a small is
> really a medium etc...
> They will help, and if they have small children or kids at home or
> even have raised them, they do a great job because they do it with
> their own children and it is second nature for them.
> If your still not sure, take  a few sizes and hold on till you have a
> few things and then go try them on. The worst is to get home and not
> like what you buy because it's to tight or loose.
> And like I said, google, google google.
> Not just
> What is in season?
> But also
> How to choose shoes for an outfit?
> Or Will a blue shirt go with kackey pants?
> or
> What color tops to wear with dark/lite/etc bottoms?
> What kind of tops to wear with (fill in the blank) pants/skirts...
> Be kind of spisific but not spisific. If you know your body shape, google
> What style of clothes looks best for my body shape?
> Man if i had money to spend on clothes and not bills, I would go
> shopping more often.
> You could also do this with hair styles etc...
>
> If your worried that they might be to busy to shop with you, call them
> and tell them your blind and interested in shopping there and when
> would be the best time of the day to come in. Some places will say mid
> day because they have more workers, and some will say earlier or later
> because their is less custermers. It is the prefrence of the store. If
> you find someone you really like shopping with, get their name and ask
> them when they normally work. I do this and then the next time I went
> I asked for them. this is a wonderful thing for them and they get high
> marks from there bosses for being requested.
> I would too ask if there might be someone close to your age who could
> help you shop for clothes because their style would be better than
> someone or is either a lot older or younger than you. I had an older
> women helping me and she did not try to pick out anything to old
> fashion , but what i got was so much better than what she was trying
> to get me to by.
> a lot of it does come from expirience and confidence though. Know what
> to ask and not being easily timpted to get whatever they hand you is
> good and try to ask yourself and be aunist with yourself if you really
> like the stuff. I know if i am nervous, I am more likely to buy
> something I do not like because I am more influenced than when I fill
> cunfirtable.
>
> HTH
>
> On 10/26/11, Debbie Wunder <debbiewunder at earthlink.net> wrote:
>> Hi Ashley, I find that if I am shopping alone, and not with a friend or
>> one
>> of my daughters, if I go to the counter and ask for assistance, mostly
>> people are very willing to help. It of course depends on the store, I have
>> had good luck at JC Pennys or Dillards, also some smaller ladies shops. If
>> you develope a relationship with a store manager, they seem to enjoy
>> helping.
>>
>> It is important to me to have some one that I value thei opinion. The one
>> thing that I have found that my youngest daughter is quick to tell me is
>> that some things do not feel cute, and some feel cute that are not.
>> Sometimes I here from my daught,No, mom. smile
>>
>> Debbie
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Ashley Bramlett" <bookwormahb at earthlink.net>
>> To: <shogle at students.kennesaw.edu>; "National Association of Blind
>> Students
>> mailing list" <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Tuesday, October 25, 2011 9:58 PM
>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] techniques for shopping and trends
>>
>>
>>> Sam,
>>> Thanks. And that's the technique I was thinking of! As we know, shoes are
>>> laid out on racks, in rows. I figured I could go up to one, for instance
>>> the sandles if that interests me, and feel them. Then get a sales
>>> associate to help me pick the size, color, etc from there. Actually, they
>>> are supposed to help anyone; they will measure your feet to find out the
>>> right size.
>>>
>>> We've gotten assistance for shoe fitting before, but family has done the
>>> browsing. Glad to know another blind person does this. I have a little
>>> vision, so may be able to see the colors and that will aid me in going to
>>> the right shoe row.
>>> My shoes are wearing out. I want some new blue easy spirit shoes to go
>>> with slacks. And I need new sandles for next summer. So I definitely can
>>> do some shoe shopping. IMO, since shoe department staff are expected to
>>> measure feet and pick out shoes from the stock room my impression is they
>>> have more sales staff on hand. I notice when shopping with my mother that
>>> its easy to get help in the shoe department typically, but if you have a
>>> question in the clothes department, you'll be waiting a long time!
>>> Sighted
>>>
>>> people need help finding a size or a particular brand sometimes; after
>>> all
>>>
>>> department stores are huge! But since the coporation wants to keep all
>>> the
>>>
>>> money, they are stingy about hiring adaquate sales staff to assist
>>> customers. Another  good thing about shoe departments or shoe stores is
>>> I've noticed their customer service is overall better. If you need to
>>> order shoes, they take care of that well. Clothes stores aren't the
>>> greatest; they may take your order, but fail to notify you when its in or
>>> enter the rong thing in.
>>>
>>> I wonder if new balance shoes or Niki are more popular.
>>>
>>>
>>> Ashley
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Sam Hogle
>>> Sent: Tuesday, October 25, 2011 10:39 PM
>>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] techniques for shopping and trends
>>>
>>> Hi Ashley. I've gone shoe shopping before, and to me, they are some of
>>> the easiest items to pick out. When I go shoe shopping, I find out where
>>> the shoes are, and go down the line feeling each one. Some may find that
>>> weird, but if they were to say anything, I would respond with at least
>>> I'm doing it independently. Anyway, if I find any that I'm interested
>>> in, I then ask someone to describe those to me. The description would be
>>> stuff like brand name or color. Then, based on what I like and what I
>>> know from others about what the trend is, I make my selection. Hope this
>>> helps.
>>> Sam
>>> On 10/25/2011 9:59 PM, Ashley Bramlett wrote:
>>>> Thanks Chris.
>>>> Maybe others will chime in later. I heard that personal shoppers is
>>>> one technique. I wonder how that works though. Do they select clothes
>>>> based on skin tone and size? I wonder if some stores will measure you
>>>> for size. I would expect you'd need an appointment which is fine, but
>>>> I wouldn't want to pay for a service just to pick out clothes.
>>>> Also what about shoes. Usually if I'm with family, they browse and try
>>>> and pick for me. Is it okay to browse by touching the shoes? Maybe get
>>>> a shoe salesperson to bring me to the right type of shoe and then I
>>>> see what is there? Sighted people just look around and say oh that
>>>> shoe looks good. But I wonder a better, independent way even if its
>>>> with sales staff.
>>>>
>>>> Ashley
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message----- From: Chris Nusbaum
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, October 25, 2011 7:03 PM
>>>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] techniques for shopping and trends
>>>>
>>>> Hi Ashley,
>>>>
>>>> I can't help you very much with techniques for shopping for
>>>> clothes, perfume and jewelry, as most of these questions would be
>>>> better answered by ladies, which I'm not. But I can give you one
>>>> resource for finding out the fassion trends. There's a lady
>>>> named Lynn Cooper who started an initiative called the Mirrors
>>>> Project, to make fassion more accessible to people with
>>>> disabilities. She comes on ACB Reports, which can be heard on
>>>> acbradio.org, twice every season to give her Fassion Report,
>>>> describing
>>>> that season's fassion trends for both men and women. This is a
>>>> good resource to find a detailed description of all the trends
>>>> spesifically tailored for blind people. Lynn's Web site is
>>>> www.lynncooper.us and you can find the 2011 ACB Reports shows on
>>>> www.acb.org.
>>>>
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: "Ashley Bramlett" <bookwormahb at earthlink.net
>>>> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
>>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>>> Date sent: Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:47:40 -0400
>>>> Subject: [nabs-l] techniques for shopping and trends
>>>>
>>>> Hi all,
>>>>
>>>> What are techniques for clothes shopping? What do you need to
>>>> know when going to shop? Of course, the size and brand you wear
>>>> are important. What else?
>>>>
>>>> I know how to shop for regular items like groceries; you just ask
>>>> a clerk in the store. But clothes are different. You need the
>>>> right thing and often need to try things on. I?셫 sure picking
>>>> out something like jeans, sweat pants, or a casual shirt is
>>>> easier than picking out something more dressy. Personally, I
>>>> grew up using JCPenney and Hects before they were bought. We
>>>> also use Macy?셲 too.
>>>>
>>>> Also, how do you pick perfume out? What about jewelry? We cannot
>>>> see it in the case.
>>>>
>>>> I know some stores have personal shoppers. Do they charge for
>>>> their service? If you used one, how did it go? How long do you
>>>> have with them? Some blind people always shop with family so they
>>>> can get feedback on how they look. I;?셝 rather pick my own
>>>> things and pick out something independent from my mother?셲
>>>> taste though, sometime.
>>>>
>>>> Also, I?셫 not into fashion much, but its good to be aware of
>>>> trends and the latest stuff so we can pick them if we want. How
>>>> do you find out about that stuff? Are reading magazines such as
>>>> Seventeen a good idea even though we can?셳 see the pictures?
>>>>
>>>> Thanks.
>>>>
>>>> Ashley
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>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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>>
>>
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>
>
> --
> Lea Williams
>
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