to be pissed off with snooty shop assistant in Selfridges in kids clothes dept...

[blighter]

twas' similar to the scene from pretty woman. i love going to selfridges with dd, we like a good mooch & to have lunch in the 4th floor restaurant. dd wanted to have a look at the clothes in the childrens section so i obliged although not my scene, dressing kids in designer clobber, so it was a mooch. tbh i enjoyed looking at the price tags, unbelievable. anyway, the lone women assistant was giving out vibes that i irritated her. she may as well come up to me and said 'fuck off, we don't want your kind here, it is obvious to look at you that you aren't going to buy anything'. she came up and no sooner had i let go of the price tag to one garment than she had immediately tucked it back in. i don't dress in a typical way of alot of females that shop there, rebellious but i tend to dress down rather than up when i go there. i do like good labels but not for a 9 year old, no way (each to their own). i am sure that if i had been dripping in prada & dior she would have been full of smiles/arse kissing. makes it all the more vile

fuck her, she earns a shit salary anyway!!!

I would have bought something just to piss her off (and then returned it the next day), i always get the feeling (when i'm in posh shops) that people are looking at me as if i'm going to pinch something because i obviously cant afford to buy anything.

If you were wandering around exuding an air of inverted snobbishness I'm not surprised you annoyed her. Unprofessional of her to show it though.

Are you really surprised that people judge you by your clothes? If you consider yourself to dress rebelliously isn't that what you want?

Ahem: YANBU to be cross at the shopping assistant - everyone should be treated fairly, and be welcomed but...

I wouldn't purposely dress down just to irritate them either. Sounds like you're actually quite pleased with the reaction you got.

Stupid shop assistant to make judgements
Mind you even if I won the lottery I think I'd still dress my son in cheap colourful stuff from Asda ... I'd just get somebody else to wash it - that would be worth spending on not a designer label.

i find it odd how some (just a few) shop assistants seem to have their heads up their arse. i HATE that snooty thing. you can't judge by the way someone looks as to whether or not they have any money to spend. dd was dressed nicely and is very well behaved (i am well behaved!! but dress as a scruff :). You should see they way they are all over some people. I just think it stinks really. She works in a shop ffs although i don't think snooty behaviour is nice in any circumstance. i should have said something but wasn't in the mood to be confrontational plus was with dd & having a nice time + i had just had two eclairs in restaurant :D

YANBU-if she was being snooty it's a bit daft. It's practically impossible (particularly in this day and age) to tell from looking at someone how much they have to spend. It would put me right off spending my money there though.

OP, did you let your dd try a few things on? (you may have got a even bigger reaction) .

I used to work in a kids' clothes department (not as posh as Selfridges though). I loved any customer who didn't try to return stuff covered in dinner.

dodie - not really, i think you should be able to dress within reason anyway meaning you shouldn't have to have a prada dress etc to be accepted. I wasn't behaving in any odd way, i was actually trying to fit in and not look like i couldn't afford the stuff, just looking at the thing and (in my mind) smiling at the prices on the tags. I have always been scruffy, i wasn't doing it for them, i just don't make a point of dressing up BECAUSE i am going to selfridges. I do like designer stuff but in a subtle way, i don't like to shout it out that i spend money on clothes. I had just bought two pairs of expensive jeans there so she could piss right off but to look at me it isn't obvious. she had no right to make me aware that she thought i couldn't afford her clothes. i could afford the odd few (cheaper) but just don't believe in dressing kids in stuff like that, that's just for me, i don't have a problem with others doing it, up to them.

marne - noway, i don't like kids designer clothes/have no interest, i wouldn't want her to try on anything unless i had the intention of possibly buying it, it was dd that wanted to look. i had just dragged her around the kitchen section so felt i owed her :)

I once walked in2 a shop in Rome, and wanted 2 try a few things on. The shop assistant was a right snotty madam. I asked her if I can try the bits on in the cubicle, and she said no, as they were under a certain price. I just dropped them on the floor, and walked out smug, as if 2 say 'here's ur shit back'!

Haven't people been turned away from Harrods for "dressing like a scruff"?

Which is a strange policy. If you see pictures of slebs on their day off, some of them look like homeless people. You can't tell whether someone is going to buy stuff just by what they're wearing.

VeronicaSpeedwell, :o me too!!
the worst kind of shopper is one who wears riding gear with muddy boots and smells of horse :o

In fairness she'd probably had a v.busy day, just got the rails tidy again, then a shopper comes in who is showing little interest in the clothes and just untucking her perfectly neat labels and showing their amusement at the price.

She probably can't afford those clothes either and works hard to keep her area looking nice to keep her job.

one - you're right, you can't wear (i don't think) trainers, carry a rucksack etc, which is why i never go although i don't like it there, extremely pretentious & touristy although oddly enough dd mentioned it today & asked if we could go, i had better make a hairdressers appointment and iron my skirt :D

If you went into Next down the road from Selfridges in your 'rebellious ... dress down' look then I don't doubt that you would get the same 'look'.

I dress myself in Next and M&S, and the kids in Primark so hardly the types that look like they buy designer gear for one's self or the kids. Nevertheless I like looking at stuff in Selfridges and I've never encountered any snooty assistants while doing this.

country - the place is empty infact with the exception of the odd person i cannot recall when i have ever seen the childrens clothing section busy, she was mulling around looking bored, at least i gave her (unintentionally) something to focus on

country - i wasn't outwardly showing that i found the prices amusing. i was trying to look like anyother shopper as she was making me feel uncomfortable for NO REASON. & i wasn't making the rails look a mess, i was occasionally gently touching the dress at the front, certainly not moving the clothes along the rail. you weren't there and i am telling you, i did nothing to deserve the snootyness other that not look like victoria beckham...

I had a friend...not posh, just middle class but very well travelled, etremely good looking and a bit sophisticated/charming (gay of course)...and he taught me to waltz into shops in London like I owned the place and try everything on even if I wasn't intending to buy because the assistants get confused and its funny to see them trying to work out if you're an eccentric millionaire or just a poor nutter.

He also used to get us into the most exclusive parties and VIP areas of clubs in London just by bullshitting. He was/is a marvel and now quite famous. He taught me that you shouldn't judge a book by a cover and to always look for cashmere in charity shops.

you contrary and seeking to provoke
you knowingly dressed out of norm to get a reaction.as you said you chose rebellious, dress down....well you got your reaction didn't you

poosh - i have a pierced nose, very long hair and dress hippyish' always have. people who dress let's say not like most women their age are more likely to get treated differently by those who are judgey. i don't deliberately dress the way i do to get treated badly, only a fool would do that but i know in expensive places like ie selfridges you can get some snooty people who don't take somene who looks the way i do seriously. dh & i are very comfortable moneywise but we are private with our money, not showy. it does bring out the rebellious in me knowing that some judgey types are labelling me by their looks, it brings back my rebellious side in my old age but i dress the way i do because i always have, i don't follow fashion but sometimes like the odd fancy thing

Longdistance - I just dropped them on the floor, and walked out smug, as if 2 say 'here's ur shit back'!

No matter how snooty you thought the assistant was that was a pretty bad thing to do!!

And I've shopped in Rome - some of the assistants are a bit up themselves.

But I would simply place the item back on the rail, smile politely and leave if I felt someone thought I wasn't "good enough". What you did must have vindicated her opinion. If in fact that was her opinion.

Harrod's isn't actually posh though. It's a theme park and the "rules" are part of the attraction for tourists, really. Nothing to do with the appeal of the actual store.