champagne tastes and beer budgets

this afternoon, bigEm and i decided to do some comp shopping. it's funny how working in retail changes the way you look at a store- even when i am "just shopping" i find myself noticing the little and big things.

how long does it take before a sales associate acknowledges me? greets me? offers help?
how impactful is the visual display and merchandising?

is there cross merchandising?

what type of story are they trying to tell?

and so on.

even more, i find myself becomingly increasingly jaded and underwhelmed by various shopping experiences. until that is, on this particular outing where we happend to stop in barney's where i was given a sneak peak into the world of JAR in a little alcove hidden behind the women's fragrances, a personable but polished dealer begins to weave his story about JAR, a reclusive artist who creates unimaginably complex, decadent, and stunning pieces of jewelry. only a small number of each creation is produces, lending to a product that invariably increases in value over time.

like children in a candy store, my boss and i tried on some of the "lower end" earrings, beautiful roses petals, gold painted over aluminum. stunning pieces that were both bold and refined, i instantly fell in love with them and vowed to purchase a pair whenever i "make it". . . sigh, to be born with champagne tastes and living on a beer budget. . . a girl can dream, can't she?