Scottsdale Fashion Square:
I decided that it would be a neat idea to take Virginie to one of Arizona’s largest malls, Scottsdale Fashion Square. Virginie and I watch this series on Youtube called Dead Mall by Dan Bell. This film-maker travels around the US documenting the dying mall industry. While watching this series, Virginie is always stunned by how these huge shopping centers are so vacant. I would always tell her that the mall I grew up going to was still thriving. It was hard for her to believe given how this series painted the industry but I was eager to show her a proper mall. Who knows, maybe Scottsdale Fashion Square will soon become a thing of the past.
On the way there, I kept complaining about how difficult it is to find parking because of how busy Fashion Square always is. I figured I should make her first Fashion Square experience proper because parking is usually the biggest deterrent for me. The good news was we were just being dropped off.
Starting The Mall Trip Right:
Once we arrived, we did like any true Fashion Square shopper would do, we bought Starbucks. When in Scottsdale, act like Scottsdale. While we drank our coffees outside I would tell about my mischievous teenage years loitering at this mall. Virginie was a saint growing up so she thinks I was little over rebellious. To be fair, I did go through a short rebellion period but that did not last long.
After giving Virginie a little history lesson of my teenage rebellion, it was time for us to begin out mall adventure. We headed towards the door and one aspect of Fashion Square that has always intrigued me was how luxurious it is. I think Virginie was fairly surprised by it too, given that her only knowledge of American malls comes from the Dead Mall series. Virginie could definitely tell right away that Fashion Square was far from being considered a dead mall.
Where to start?
We entered the food court and foolishly I asked her “what next? “. I forgot that I was supposed to be the tour guide showing her around. Once she gave me the look of “are you seriously asking me that?”. I quickly started to name off all the stores that I could remember and thought she would like. As soon as the Disney store rolled off my tongue, she immediately lit up and begged to go there first. I warned her that it was very pricey but I was going to rob her of that experience.
While making our way towards the Disney store, Virginie was mesmerized by how massive Fashion Square was. I explained to her how Scottsdale Fashion Square was organized. The ground level was mostly dedicated to the food court and a handful of novelty stores. The first level is where you go if you want to spend big money. It has all designer stores such as Michael Kors, Gucci, Coach and so forth. I told her we would probably never be able to afford shopping on that level in this lifetime. The second level which is the top level was nearly all consumer friendly stores. This was the level I would be at the most when I was a teen. Lastly, at the ends of the mall were the flagship stores like Macy’s and Dillards. Now that Virginie had a basic understanding of Fashion Square, I could tell she was starting to feel a little more comfortable.
Disney:
We arrived at the entrance of the Disney store and Virginie instantly reverted back to her childhood self. She investigated every single inch of the store while oohing and awing over all the neat Disney merchandise. It was like a miniature Disneyland to her. After a little while, Virginie found a mug that she was absolutely infatuated with. It looked like Chip from Beauty and The Beast which happens to be her all-time favorite movie. I could tell she really wanted it but as you can imagine it was expensive. She reluctantly put it back on the shelf but before she could let it go I told her I would purchase it for her. Virginie insisted that I should not buy it for her but after some words, she finally agreed to me buying it for her (She paid me back a little later with tickets to the aquarium). I love seeing Virginie when she is happy and excited. She has this special glow that is so infectious. When Virginie is happy, I am happy.
Once our mini Disney adventure ended it was onto one of Virginie’s favorite stores, Claire’s. Until this point in my life, I had never been inside of a Claire’s but that was about to change. We spent a looooong time in there and it wasn’t due to Virginie.
Neverending Claire’s:
While Virginie was shopping for the cutesy accessories that she loves so much, I noticed that you could get your ears pierced here. Now, I have wanted my ears pierced for well over a decade but I just never pursued it. I bought this up to Virginie and she was all for me getting studs in my ears. I had to promise her one thing though, I would never gauge my ears. Fair enough, I wasn’t a huge fan of that look anyways. I love jewelry, so I was stoked on being able to wear more.
Virginie and I went to the front desk and asked for the paperwork to get started on the process. I signed the documents and handed them back. There were a couple people ahead of us getting their ears pierced, so I thought the wait wouldn’t be too bad. Boy, was I very wrong? I swear, we were in Claire’s for what seemed like over an hour. I can’t believe how long it took the workers to shoot a couple of holes in people’s ears. Virginie and I circled that Clairs store more than a dozen times. It was not all bad because Virginie would pick out hair accessories and asked my opinion on them. I enjoyed that part and I am sure she did too.
Once our wait ended, it was time for me to man up and get shot in the earlobes. I am making it sound worse than it really was. The lady started on my right ear and all it felt like was a little prick followed by warm pressure. Nothing too bad. The toddlers ahead of me made it seem like it was going to feel like a train running over my ear. I had my tears locked and loaded! My left ear was a little bit more tricky than the right one. For some reason, the gun did not shoot the earring all the way through. This caused me to flinch because I was not prepared for this extra pain. I held my tear back but damn it hurt. The lady apologized, I assured her everything was fine. I officially had the earrings I have wanted for so long now. I’m not going to lie, I felt pretty badass afterward.
Virginie and I headed to the checkout to finally leave this place. It was worth it though because I got my ears pierced and a 30% coupon that Virginie was able to redeem. We left Claire’s both with smiles on our faces.
Rich Lands:
It was getting late in the day and Virginie and I were meeting my brother for dinner later but I had to take her to one last store. This particular store was on the first level so you know what that means. Yep, it was one of the expensive classy stores. The store’s name is… MICHAEL KORS! Virginie is absolutely obsessed with his handbags, I thought she might find a store dedicated to them neat.
Once we got to our desired floor I started to feel a bit uncomfortable. The first floor has such a different feeling than the rest of the mall. It is not nearly as busy as the other floors but the shoppers you do see are packin’ some serious cash. I am fairly certain I could not even afford a keychain from a store on this floor. I feel like the shoppers can sense this which makes me feel especially out of place.
After a treacherous walk through Rich Lands, we finally arrived at Michael Kors. The look in Virginie’s eyes was priceless. Virginie doesn’t have a very expensive taste nor does she ever want super expensive things but she does LOVE her Michael Kors handbags. She circled that store with so much excitement it almost made me feel bad I could not get her one.
Once we left the store, I promised her that she would get a Michael Kors handbag one day. *Spoiler alert, she received one for Christmas(Thanks, Jana and Dan)!
Finishing A Long Day:
Our day at the mall had finally come to an end, it was one of my more eventful trips to the mall. Both Virginie and I were pretty exhausted but our day was not over quite yet. We still had dinner plans with my brother and his wife.
The dinner was a nice way to end the day. We all sat on the patio of the restaurant and enjoyed the beautiful October evening weather. After our meal, we took a little stroll down the road to an ice cream place called Creamistry. Neither Virginie or I had ever had the type of ice-cream they served. It was freshly made right in front of you with some kind of witchcraft. I swear I have never had such amazingly tasty ice-cream, it was so damn creamy. We were a little bummed because both of us decided to share one. I think both of us could have eaten a tub of that witchcraft goodness.
With our stomachs stuffed with food aid delightful ice-cream, it was time for us to part ways with my brother and his wife. I can’t lie, Virginie and I were both relieved because we were both extremely tired from our busy day.
When we returned home we struggled to get into our pajamas but we somehow managed. After finding something to watch on Netflix, we ended that night much like the previous nights, with our hearts full of love and smiles on our faces.
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