Russell Bell tips his hat to some great service at Whanganui shoe shops. Photo / 123rf
OPINION:
When it comes to fashion, I am told all of my taste is in my mouth. This is especially the case when it comes to purchasing fashion items for my significant other. Mrs Bell is, shall we say, discerning. I am more a grab-and-run type of purchaser; being a typical
male, when purchasing for myself I avoid trying things on in store and am adept at applying the "that'll do" approach.
But, as it happens, I have also learned well from previous and sometimes painful experience. To be fair, a man who once purchased a bright-green suit and is colour blind has no business buying clothing or footwear for his partner, unless of course he has help.
And, fortunately, there are some fantastic businesses in Whanganui where the service is such that they remember Mrs Bell and take a caring approach when I walk in the door.
For clothing there is Amla at 55 and Mel at Just Looking, who I actually specifically seek out because I have a 100 per cent success rate where they are involved.
And then there is Footwear. Like many Gen Xers, Mrs Bell was an avid viewer of the adventures of Carrie Bradshaw in a TV show whose name I forget the name (because at the same time I was in another room watching The Wire or The Sopranos) that spent a good deal of time focusing on the shoe fashion – how do I know this? Because after receiving commentary about Carrie's escapades (and some dude called Big?) I would be educated as to what makes a great woman's shoe (and how if I ever purchased these, I needed to know what I was doing – lest I incur scorn and wrath).
