Today I went to the Lane Bryant Outlet Store in Branson, MO to check out what they had in stock, and also what steals and deals I could wrangle. It is, after all, an outlet store, and the inherent assumption is that there would be a deal that I couldn’t refuse, right?

The general consensus is more meh than wow, but it could have been worse. One prop that I appreciated: the ladies that ruled the counter there were efficient, courteous, friendly, and downright fantastic. I called earlier to get store hours and while the conversation only lasted a moment, the voice that greeted me definitely made me feel like the hour ride down the road was worth it.

I still think that if you’re going to shop in an LB, it may be best to stick to the retail store rather than the outlets — the one I’ve visited is a touch lacking as far as I’m concerned; then again, my style of dress is also different (I dress business causal year-round; I’ve found that the style covers a wide range of situations and makes me look darn cool in the process).

I have three LB gift cards. Silly me, I forgot that they cover Fashion Bug, Lane, and Catherine’s (don’t laugh, I like some of their stuff too). I cashed in a couple of “bonus” points at work for the gift cards, so it’s not like I’m at a loss. I have enough gift card cash to stock up on a few underthings, a couple of camis or blouses, and maybe a pair of slacks: I’ve been eyeing those high-waist trousers for a while, but OUCH — my college student id quivers.

Maybe I’m just super-picky — I can’t shop for clothes to save my life, because I consider clothing a huge lock-in of my overall dollars. I dislike buying clothing that’s going to go on sale two to three months after I purchase it, and fade/pop/crinkle/pill after a couple of washes. That’s a comment not directly aimed at Charming Shoppes’s lines exclusively, just to clarify — it’s merely something I’m beginning to get fed up with.

Something tells me that Singer hiding in my closet is about to get used, but I have zero experience with an actual sewing machine. We’ll just have to fix that too, now won’t we?