Busy, Busy, What?

Last Saturday was a packed day—running around from 7:30 in the morning until11:30 at night. Yes, some of that was entertainment, but busy time nonetheless. Somewhere around the middle of the day, I was rushing through a department store when a beautiful piece of clothing caught my eye. I stopped to touch it and found the softest wool imaginable. It was an ivory coat with black trim, mid-thigh length, double-breasted with black buttons and three buttons at the bottom of each sleeve. Absolutely lovely. I continued on my way, then stopped in my tracks when I realized that this was the prominent item displayed at the front of a whole section of winter coats. The date was August 1. It was inching toward 90 degrees outside. I was in San Jose, California.

Now far be it from me to presume to be able to resolve the decline in retail sales so many economists keep talking about, but perhaps if stores stocked merchandise that was appropriate for location and season, they’d see better results. But, maybe not. I still remember the women who used to wear mittens and scarves in Los Angeles. Maybe a few of them will be looking for new winter coats.