Just In Time Massive Fail
Aug. 18th, 2008 10:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elfsSaturday, in a full-on frenzy of packing, I had to take Kouryou-chan out to get a new bathing suit. The one she has is a bit worn and frayed, still usable but Kouryou-chan's getting into that age where appearance is important. We tried the local "box o' everything", every anchor store at the mall, and several children's specialty shops. It's mid-August, the hottest day of the year so far, and the stores have already pulled all of their swimsuits off the racks to make room for their "back to school" sales.
School doesn't start for another three weeks, the summer is still roaring, and the weather here warms up late, yet the retail "just in time" system has no room for regional distinctions. If you don't buy a swimsuit in June, you're screwed for the year.
One cheerful young woman told me, "Come back on Monday" as she cleared out a colorful rack of Hanah Montana t-shirts. "We'll have our whole new inventory up and on sale!" It didn't seem to matter to her that what the bouncy and bored little girl next to me needed was a swimsuit. She wasn't selling swimsuits. She was selling her Fall line already.
We never did find one. Kouryou-chan's a hard fit anyway. She's eight, but she's incredibly skinny and exceptionally tall. Size eight pants just fall off of her, and a size six swimsuit didn't stretch enough to accomodate her long frame. In the end, she's off to summer camp with the one swimsuit she has already. It's a bit worn, but we both think it'll last another week.
School doesn't start for another three weeks, the summer is still roaring, and the weather here warms up late, yet the retail "just in time" system has no room for regional distinctions. If you don't buy a swimsuit in June, you're screwed for the year.
One cheerful young woman told me, "Come back on Monday" as she cleared out a colorful rack of Hanah Montana t-shirts. "We'll have our whole new inventory up and on sale!" It didn't seem to matter to her that what the bouncy and bored little girl next to me needed was a swimsuit. She wasn't selling swimsuits. She was selling her Fall line already.
We never did find one. Kouryou-chan's a hard fit anyway. She's eight, but she's incredibly skinny and exceptionally tall. Size eight pants just fall off of her, and a size six swimsuit didn't stretch enough to accomodate her long frame. In the end, she's off to summer camp with the one swimsuit she has already. It's a bit worn, but we both think it'll last another week.
