Alex K Goes Shopping: Northeastern Vacation Edition

Alex Kuczynski is back and all is right with our myopic little world! Now we understand why she had taken a hiatus from the Thursday Styles in The New York Times. She was in Maine, and apparently, the only place to shop in Maine is L.L.Bean, so it's open 24 hours. Hey, we know all about getting material from our travels. We have never actually been to L.L. Bean in Maine, because that would require going to Maine, and that's just not enough of a draw. We have, however, recently been to the store at Tyson's Corner Center in McLean Virginia, the first L.L.Bean branch store, now one of seven locations. It's not as huge as the home flagship, but an impressively large two-level affair itself, full of fishing poles and kayaks. The brand will forever give The Shophound a flashback to the brief but memorable Preppy craze of the early 80's, and the de rigueur Maine Hunting Shoes we wore during the winter.

More after the jump

L.L.Bean is the sort of company that offers great, rugged adventurewear, and also a wide selection of Mom Jeans. That is part of its charm. It's not exactly anti-fashion, but blissfully unaware and uninterested, which gives more credibility to those backpacks and down jackets. As usual, Alex can find pathos in any shopping excursuion, even if it isn't her own:

For decades, the flagship has been open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Among my friends it is the stuff of legend. One of them remembers driving to Maine with his father during his parents’ divorce and stopping there for a snack (a cafe open most hours serves muffins, sandwiches, juice and coffee) and an uncomfortable attempt at father-son bonding.

What a way to ruin a 24-hour café. We also get a welcome dose of her signature obliviousness that is always just a bit beyond the believable:

I’ve long been a customer of Bean’s fleece jackets and flannel pajamas, and it never occurred to me that the company makes much of its profits from hunting gear. Wandering among the camouflage hunting outfits and Gerber Ripstop knives is like finding out your new beau is a member of the N.R.A., hates his mother and splits the check at dinner.

Really? Has she never seen an L.L. Bean catalog? Did the fact that they sell so many hunting bags, hunting shoes and hunting jackets not tip her off to the possibility that hunters comprise a significant part of their clientele? Bloodsports aside, she reserves special judgment for those who return the non-returnable.

At the outlet, a block-shape building adrift in a parking lot, a stack of towels was on sale for about $2 each, and as I shook them out, I saw why: each bore a name or a monogram...Who were these people, and why had they returned their monogrammed goods? Did they change their names after they ordered the towels?...I watched a woman and her young son examining the towels. The mother explained that these were good towels even if they did have someone else’s name on them, and anyway it was all they could afford. I do hope the McCormicks feel hot shame right now.

Of course, The McCormicks might have returned the towels because the monogram was misspelled or maybe the wrong color, and thanks to them, a lady on a budget got some quality towels. Maybe it's a win-win. We're so glad you're back, Alex. Your substitutes were all respectable, but they only served to prove that nobody else has your unique perspective on consumerism. There is still only one truly critical shopper.

Critical Shopper: Exploring the Great Indoors, Late at Night (NYTimes)

Comments

[jay lavelle]

I wouldn't fault Alex entirely about not knowing of Bean's hunting connections. For most of the 80's and 90's Bean took a "PC" approach -- renaming the Maine Hunting Shoe the "Bean Boot" and downplaying the Field Coat's interior shotgun-shell loops and how many dead ducks you could fit into the large waterproof back pocket. Back in the day the catalog's cover would be a painting of a hunting scene -- now it looks like Lands' End.

But why didn't Alex mention the apparant disappearance of the classic Norwegian sweater?