It’s all about escaping and getting a self-fulfillment fix. We don’t ask for it to last - just get us through the night. Lately, all stores have lost their luster.Then again, so have I. “I get no hit from champagne.” Nor from boutiques filled with pricey athleisure wear, deluxe fanny packs and platform sneakers. I used to use stores as museums and of course that human connection to great sales help who actually cared even if it was a deluxe hustle. A shopping trip may not be a trip to Europe, but it could be a decent field trip. A “trip” without an airport or baggage loss and flight cancellations. And (dare I say) something that feels like “an experience.” That is the hook for any splurge - it makes it all worth the cash. That in the end you will at least learn something or be transported. Side Story: A month ago I read where Jony Ive, the former chief design officer of Apple, announced his exit. Now shouldn’t this man be in MOMA for all the phones, computers, iPads, iPods, iWatches and accessories he has designed over the past 22 years?Īpparently, it was Steve Jobs who wanted to make tech like fashion - visually fabulous - thinner, sleeker in the hand. He even went so far as issuing “new models” seasonally, so he hired Jony Ive in 1992 and “the Apple Look” was created. I wonder if he was in charge of the cool white Apple logo and those icy white wood “showrooms” for stores (rumor had it that Mickey Drexler of J. But what a “look” that was established for such a dull arena as computer electronics. Remember Radio Shack? It was Jobs, and then Ive who gave us all those handheld rounded edged chic devices. “You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers!” Not to mention the covers, the keypads and eventually the watch – which for me is a medical device and still too clunky and Dick Tracy-esque … but a lifeline nevertheless. Now I haven’t been in an Apple Store in six years and hated it because it was always jammed and the sales help were young nerds who never had eye contact after “hello can I help you.” Every one of them dumped me after five minutes of a pricey purchase and no follow-up other than a receipt sent to my phone. The Genius Bar reminded me of a noisy airport gate lounge. Nowadays you needn’t be humiliated by going into an Apple Store - you can buy it all online. Besides, the stores ran out of stock and chips during Covid. So why bother with making that personal appearance? The Apple ”splurge cast“ - me, sales associate Jeanne, and “Mac Man” Adilson Pascui.īut last week, my dear friend and hairdresser Adilson Pascui (a true blue “MAC Man” aficionado) insisted we do an Apple Store splurge. He used to take his clients on clothing sprees. But now tech has moved into first place purchasing. I thought I just needed some chargers and something other than earbuds that really stay in my ears.
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