Alex Kuczynski Would Rather Be Mountaineering
We like a poke a little good-natured fun at Times shopping columnist Alex Kuczynski every now and again, but we do appreciate the difficulties her job must entail. Take her recent trip to Lord & Taylor:
[T]he higher your ascent, the more lightheaded you feel. This is not Everest you are climbing, but a department store, and the air and the merchandise become thinner and less interesting as you rise to the top. Lauren by Ralph Lauren is, frankly, snoozeville. Ellen Tracy, Kay Unger, Jones New York, Lafayette 148: we've seen it all before. Yes, there was a beautiful Ellen Tracy chocolate shearling coat ($1,998) on the third floor, and a black wool evening gown with mirrored panels around the neck by Donna Karan for $3,200, but there was also a cheap-looking imitation of a Tory Burch dress for $128 on the same floor.
On the same floor? The horror. But it gets worse:
The farther you rise, through coats and lingerie, through the cashmere department (nice quality and priced well) and Petites, the more you feel starved for oxygen and attitude. I had to stop at Larry Forgione's Signature Cafe on the sixth floor for a Caesar salad ($13.95) before I could continue.
Do you understand the risks this woman is taking with her health just so she can give you priceless advice like "If you're down in the dumps and don't want to spend a lot on retail therapy, hit the jewelry sale rack, where you will always find some fantastic bauble that with the right attitude at the right party will look like the real thing."? Special K, you're our hero.
