Megan McArdle has a post on the different shopping practices between men and women and asks the age-old question of whether men hunt and women gather when it comes to shopping.

I’m in a gray area of sorts when it comes to this. When I am looking to buy clothes, of which I do have quite a lot, I like to try them on and see how they look, from one store to the next: (gratuitous preppiness in three, two…) Pacific Sunwear, American Eagle Outfitters, Aeropostale, Gap, and on and on. For a cheapo like me, deciding on which pair of jeans I’d blow forty bucks on is a big decision. This experience, though, is quite rare.

Usually when I go to Wal-Mart, Target, or most other stores I know exactly what I want. I spend more time lined up behind the counter than I do looking for what I want, or rummaging for something I might like to buy.

If I am hell to shop with when I am “gathering” for clothes, my sister and my mother are paired Satans at the mall. I could not stand being with them rummaging through racks upon racks upon racks of everything, and even with my jeans-gathering practices I usually am done an hour or two before they are.

It at least gives me a chance to walk around and look at people (not stare, mind you) and just watch them go about their business here and there.

The worst experiences I have when shopping for clothes is when I get mistaken for someone who works in the stores I mentioned. Having the same look as most of the male employees can do that. Maybe I should getmyself an AE lanyard and just go ahead and pretend to be one, for a few seconds at least.