No matter what happens between GFJ and I, I figured that I'd play it safe and buy her a Christmas present. Shopping to buy her a gift is the one type of lie I will tell her. But if things go totally sour, I can always exchange the sweater for one in my size. (That is one advantage of being transgender - I am familiar with the offerings in stores that cater to women, and know when something good is on sale at a reasonable price.)
A common complaint among many plus size cisgender women is they have nowhere to shop for clothes in person. Dress Barn is closing (at the time I'm writing this) by the end of the year. The Avenue stores have all closed down, though there is still an on-line presence for that store. That leaves a diminished version of Catherines selling clothing staples, and Lane Bryant selling more trendy clothing targeted to the younger plus sized woman. While at the store, one of the salesladies mentioned some of the complaints (not at Catherine's) that former Avenue shoppers have, now that that chain has closed up shop. These women feel that they have nowhere to shop anymore.
In that conversation with the saleslady, she mentioned that she liked the coat I was wearing, and that she wished that her store carried such merchandise. Although the store was filled with coats, none of them had the look of the classic wool coat. She complained that district management had no idea of what customers wanted in the stores, and that no one listens to what is going on where it counts - in the stores. I'm afraid that if this company keeps ignoring its front line, that it will end up just like the Avenue. And that'll be a damned shame.
As it stands, I have a large enough supply of women's clothes to last me for a while (in my present size). Hopefully, the owners of Catherine's and Lane Bryant will figure out how to make more money from their stores and keep more of them open....
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