Shopping with the ladies

Mom needed a new dress for the wedding, so I suggested that we go to The Winner in Sharon, PA - "The world's largest off-price fashion store."

My family has been there before. I believe with were originally drawn there by Reyer's "The world's largest shoe store." Sharon is the land of Superlatives apparently.

It's only about an hour and 20 minutes away, so I figured it would be a good, short trip. Mom, Grandma and Mary joined me on this adventure. We got there easy enough. Mom was showing off her phones GPS capabilities.

Upon arrival, I kept with our tradition of taking a stupid picture of Mary in front of any monument we could find. Our conversation usually goes like this (spoken in our own patented, dopey, faux-enthusiastic tone):

MARK: Oh boy, Mary, do you want your picture in front of _____________?

MARY: Sure.

With that out of the way we got down to shopping. We saw this mannequin on the way in.

Unfortunately the photo doesn't truly depict the terrifying nature of the wig.

Inside, you are greeted by matching golden lion statues on either side of the door. Tasteful wasn't on The Winner designer's checklist. Directly in front of you is a beautiful vintage Jaguar convertible. I tried to convince Mary to get in for a picture but she was chicken. It was a bit peculiar because there was a Club (anti-theft device in the back seat.) I found that odd because (a) it wasn't being used and (b) why would you need one in a display vehicle inside of a women's fashion store? If you don't notice a ne'er-do-well hotwiring your car besides the rack of pantsuits, I'm guessing he's not going to be able to get it out the front door without you noticing.

The winner is 3 floors of dresses (and bizarre native American sculptures) There's a bank of 3 elevators. One of the elevators is staffed by an employee b/c as we later learned it could only be operated from the inside. I guess most men don't find the place as interesting as me which is why there's a Men's Lounge.

Notive the keg-r-ator, the popcorn machine and the rack of clubs for sale. I was intrigued enough to do an internet search at home that revealed that The Club is made by Winner International. So their business model revolves around off-price women's fashion and manual automotive security devices. The men's lounge also contained some guy reading a newspaper, a bench that looked as though it were a refurbished church pew, a space heater and a TV (I think it actually had knobs.) I didn't partake in any of the refreshments. I did find it odd that the men's lounge was on the first floor yet the men's restroom was on the 3rd floor.

On a side note: There are signs posted throughout the winner that cameras and picture taken are strictly prohibited, so the following images are highly illegal. Enjoy.

A number of the dresses made Mary and Mom thankful that Mariella doesn't enjoy big sequins.

If your wedding theme is Chipotle burrito or Hershey Kisses, I suggest you shop the Winner.

Mom and Grandma both found very nice dresses and we stopped to eat at Nico and Lou's Coney Island restaurant, located conveniently next-door to the Winner. We popped into Reyer's and learned that if their being the largest shoe store in the world doesn't apparently translate into volume discounts. They was some pricey kicks.