The Fitting Truth

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There's the witness box in court. Or the Senate hearing with the cameras rolling. Maybe it's that sworn deposition that takes place behind the lawyer's closed door. But there is no better place on earth to tell the truth than the department store dressing room.

           

No matter when you go, no matter what you try, there is nowhere to hide, no place to lie when it's just you, the garment and a faded wall mirror for evidence.

 

One of the last compelling reasons to shop in store rather than online has been the ability to try on the clothes to insure the right size and fit. Although the latest industry technology now has virtual apps and has installed store mirrors that show how one will look without putting the garment on, I still tend to go traditional and, most times, I go it alone.

 

My technique is pretty simple, scout the entire sales floor, select the preferred item in two possible sizes and take everything I could possibly carry in one visit to the store's changing room. Six-item limit? No problem. Here's the rest of the misses department I'll be trying on momentarily.

 

Once I pull the curtain and put on the garment, it's usually inside of six seconds when I know if those low cut jeans or high-waisted dress is a waste of time. There are no false hopes here— if it looks great— it is. If it looks wrong— it is. Because I learned to sew at an early age and had to take a required college course or two in fashion design and merchandising I've learned a little about cap sleeves and sweetheart necklines. If the clothes aren't constructed right, I can often see it in the sanctity of this stall.

 

As for the times I have shopped with others, particularly my adult daughter and despite our varied tastes, it is only in the changing room when we reach detente. She reminds me how much she appreciates the trust we share— complete candor as to how she looks when she puts on that little black dress or silky sweater. I smile and bask in her compliment for a moment, then proceed to the honest work at hand: checking the stitching and the reinforcement of the seams.

 

A contributing writer to the Herald since 2012, Lauren Lev is an East Meadow resident and a direct marketing/advertising executive who teaches advertising and marketing communications courses at the Fashion Institute of Technology/SUNY, LIU Post and SUNY Old Westbury. 

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