Woman in the Middle

I subscribe to Vanity Fair magazine, which I just love. I don’t usually spend much time looking at the ads for the many expensive products using the pages of my favorite magazine to hock their wares. I just enjoy the stories. This month, however, the October issue of Vanity Fair came with a separate smaller magazine which contained 76 pages of beautiful things brought to you and me from Ralph Lauren. I picked it up Saturday morning for the first time to figure out if it was something that should go to the recycling bin or to the library.

 Ralph Lauren flagship store in New York City.  

As I thumbed through the pages of this amazingly expensive piece of advertising, I saw many things that made me think to myself, “If I were thinner and had much more money than I have now, I might buy some of the these clothes.” Then I got to the back two pages. They included a list of all the Ralph Lauren stores, everywhere. I noted that California, in spite of the economic down turn, has eight Ralph Lauren Stores, including six which are within reasonable driving distance of my home. Obviously Ralph Lauren and I are meant to be, when I lose 100 pounds and gain a million dollars! Then I saw where other Ralph Lauren stores are located : Kuwait City, Dubai, Bahrain, Hong Kong, St. Moritz…and they went on to list every exotic and expensive place you can think of. So while I am within striking distance of a dream Lauren wardrobe, as the crow flies, I finally had to admit to myself, it ain’t gonna happen. Even if life hands me the ability to wear and afford Ralph Lauren clothes, I am not the sort of person who wears clothes from a company that has stores in Kuwait City and Dubai. Another dream bites the dust! By the way, the 76 pages went into the recycle bin.

Ralph Lauren Store, Dubai Mall