The Wall Street Journal headline asked, “So You Love Costco?”
Hmm?
I had to think about the question for a few moments.
Like most behemoth commercial entities, or, for that matter, just about any large institution, I try to resist giving a yes/no, black/white answer to such queries, so I went with my usual response: “It’s complicated.”
And for me and my house of two, the answer to this Costco question for the most part is: “Well, It’s certainly not love, but I sort of, sometimes, but not always, think it’s okay.” We like the lower prices on many items, but Becky and I often have a hard time justifying purchasing industrial-sized jars of olives, wheels of cheese that would work on our tractor, and freight-car boxes of crackers and then rolling the flatbed cart to our vehicle hoping to fit everything in.
Reporter Jamie Waters wrote what is essentially a fashion article focusing on the clothes — men’s clothes, mostly — stacked high on tables in the center of the Costco warehouses. He acknowledges that many dedicated fashionistas — those with a New York City, East Coast up-to-the-minute fashion sensibility — would sniff at the idea of wearing such, well, common apparel. He argues that it might be a mistake to do so, at least as far as the quality of the clothes he tested.
Waters found the dress shirts, t-shirts, jeans, underwear and socks fit well and were comfortable. The writer was especially taken by the athletic socks, $14.00 for a pack of eight. They were “glorious,” he announced. According to those he interviewed who have worn Costco clothes for years, they are durable, hold up well and are a great bargain. I think the writer was a bit surprised to have his expectations overturned.
One interviewee said when he was younger he bought clothes guided by who he thought he should be. He is not sure if it is him getting older or more comfortable with who he is now, but these days he tends toward “unfussy” clothes that “do the job.” The kind of clothes he finds at Costco. This comment led me down a thought trail.
I understood this person to be saying he used to dress to fit in with others or perhaps dressing to play a role of someone he wanted to be. I thought of teenagers in general and, specifically some of the students I had in my classroom over the years. The students who were dressing to fit in with their peers, or dressing like some idol they had latched onto because maybe then they could be as cool as this musician or celebrity.
Then, as a sort of self-help exercise, I thought of how I dressed as a teenager and why. Maybe my students were similar to me and my attempts to dress like the pictures I would see of British musicians or California hippies when I was that age. Trying to be even more honest with myself, I considered why I dress the way I do these days. As much as I want think of myself as someone who is “unfussy” and wears clothes to “do the job” I have to wonder how much of my look today is based on some imaginary image of myself. I would like to think not very much, but I admit am probably fooling myself.
Anyway, I was happy for the confirmation that decent clothes can be had at Costco for way less than the pricey stuff people could be buying. Next time Becky and I do a Costco run, I am going to look for some glorious athletic socks to add to the pile on that flatbed cart.
Norman Knight, a retired Clark-Pleasant Middle School teacher, writes this weekly column for the Daily Journal. Send comments to [email protected].
