An Unusual Introduction

A 2020 retelling!

For Christmas, I received a $100 Nordstrom gift card (ok, I gave it to myself, because it only cost $90). Because of Covid-19 and a full house (two sons and a girlfriend spent the summer at our house), I hadn’t had a chance to use it. With Nordstrom having its annual Anniversary Sale, and a now empty house which made getting dressed easier,  I decided it was time to visit Nordstrom and get myself some belated Christmas presents. 

I wanted something “fun”. Over the past year I have become bolder in my clothing choices; more willing to show more of me, such as bare shoulders. I fell in love when I first saw the yellow and black dress I wore today, even though it exposes my shoulders and back.

I started looking in the dress department, as dresses are my favorites. I gathered up my choices, and a friendly Nordstrom SA found me a dressing room.

While I was trying on the first dress–the red dress with the spaghetti straps–suddenly there was a commotion outside my dressing room. A different SA is talking to a customer–and then a woman is crawling under the door to my dressing room to unlock the door, not realizing the room is occupied. 

The SA–I am soon to find out her name is Hannah–pops up quickly and is so embarrassed she is almost hyperventilating. She is apologizing profusely and I’m telling her it’s no big deal. She didn’t know I was in the room, she didn’t have her key, and she was just trying to help a customer. After all the kindnesses many Nordstrom SAs have shown to me, the last thing I was going to do was get upset. 

Hannah apologizes again and leaves the room. I’m not sure the customer is more shocked there was someone in the room–or that the woman in the room has a pretty deep voice for a woman.

I tried on the dresses I had pulled but none of them were really what I wanted. I walked over to another area of the floor, which trends a bit bolder and younger. I found a few things to try on, but I had my eye on one dress, which definitely met my definition of fun.

It was blue with spaghetti straps and was reasonably priced. I gathered a few others and another SA brought me a few others to try on (my rule is if a SA brings something, I will always try it on). It was the right length (I prefer shorter to longer), and the floral pattern was cute. It was a fun summer dress (and I find the spaghetti straps make it cooler, which helps offset heat issues caused by wearing a wig).

As I usually don’t have a girlfriend along to ask an opinion, I will often ask the Nordstrom SAs. I wanted to reassure Hannah there were no hard feelings, so wearing the blue dress, I left the change rooms and went looking for her. 

Hannah was with the SA who had originally helped me (unfortunately, I’ve forgotten her name), along with another SA named Paris (who later said I always dressed nicely). Hannah liked the look, and the first SA said “I like the look. Scratch that; I love the look”.
I was sold. I returned about a week later (stay tuned; you will read about that visit in a couple of weeks), and Hannah enthusiastically agreed to the selfie with me.

In the end, an Unusual Introduction, but a good outcome.

Allow me to stick my two cents in here. Ladies, if Dee and I can get out there, be ourselves and enjoy life, there is zero excuse for you! You have no idea how much it pleases me to get out, that Dee gets out, that Julie, Gwen, Lisa, Sherry, Tina, Jocelyn gets out, that we can be wonderful women. Go out!! Follow the rules. Do not waste your lives! Yes, it is a cliché, but it is so true, you get one shot at this, be you!!!!