Last week, I began taking the opportunity to lay one urban myth to rest. Forth and Towne did not pass away because boomer women don’t want to be catered to as a special segment of the retail marketplace.
For the rest of today's blog, continue at The Boomer Blog
As one of the few women outside of suburban New York and Illinois who actually got to go shopping at Forth and Towne, here are the remaining highlights of my visit. I went to the suburban New York location, by the way. Traveled by loooong train ride and expensive taxi, determined to freshen up my wardrobe at all costs. Here’s the rest of what happened:
• I was confused. The Forth and Towne concept was that there were different types of women, each with her appropriate area. Each had its own descriptive made-up name, none of with which I identified. One area was artsy, soft-fabric casual clothes, for instance. Another was more conservative, structured business clothes. And so on. First of all, I don’t know any boomer woman who wants to be typed, in the first place. Second of all, if you can’t figure out which type you are, trust me, the shopper does not want to undergo an identity crisis and will blame you, not her. I never did figure it out, by the way. But did end up with a few pieces, each from a different area of the store.
• I absolutely loved this pair of black pants that I bought. And I bought them for the fit, alone. What I overlooked at the time—and which eventually doomed the garment—was that it featured button hooks too tiny for adult fingers
(I’d simply gone into denial, leaving them unhooked in the store); and they picked up lint easily (which I couldn’t have known then but found out the first time I took them out to a white-napkin restaurant…)
That said, the prices were great. Many of the pieces were wonderful. The dressing rooms were great. The service good enough. And given that we learn from our experiences, I hope they—or someone else—will try again, and get it right this time.
Carol Orsborn