So, a long time ago Kristin returned some things to Buckle and got a $45 credit for a later use.  She looked around and decided there was nothing there she wanted so she gave the card to me.  This thing has been sitting in my wallet for literally over a year now, and I still can’t find a way to spend it.  And since I caught some flack on my Twitter because of it, I thought I would explain why I can’t stand that store.

First up.  The style.  See I went in there looking for a shirt one time.  Something plain to wear to a wedding.  Something that didn’t scream “I want to be Mark Driscoll“.  See, everything at Buckle, and I mean everything appears to have stayed in the printing area a little too long.  Maybe printed on two or three or four times.  There’s ink and design everywhere.  Swirly lines on the shoulders, skulls on the sides, plant looking things literally covering every shirt in there.  I’m just not that flashy.

Second.  The price.  See, the problem with a $45 credit is this.  You can’t buy anything in there.  Even if I wanted one of the overly printed on shirts I would need to come up with another $45 just to buy it.  The only things I have seen in there within the $45 price range are accessories and belts.  Now, again, I’m not much of an ‘accessory’ guy and I still can’t justify spending $45 on a belt.  Even though it’s ‘free money’ the thought of handing over that much money for something so little conflicts with everything in me.

Third.  The sales people.  Let’s say I did want the overly priced, overly printed shirt or I decided that $45 was a good deal for a belt, let’s say I liked the style and the price, what about the pushy ‘commission making’ folks that work there?  I literally cannot walk into the place without being told how ‘cool I would look in a fedora‘.  I’m sorry.  No, I would not look like Justin Timberlake if I bought that hat, I don’t care what your manager told me to tell you.

There was literally one time, back when I was looking for that plain shirt without print all over it, and I finally found one with the least amount of ink covering it.  The price tag read $85 and the tag said ‘medium’.  Neither of which really work for me.  The overly pushy sales girl told me to try it on anyway and that ‘the style is tight shirts’.  Cornered back into the dressing room I gave the shirt a shot, and was able to button just three of the buttons.  Let’s see, I could pay $85 for a shirt that still has crap printed all over it and doesn’t fit.  I think I’m good.

So the card went back in my wallet and there it has been.  Talk about a long-winded justification for why I don’t feel like I’m ‘cool’ enough to shop at Buckle.