My dad is going back home next Thursday. He arrived on Valentine’s Day, and it’s been two months since then. At first, he wasn’t used to things here, so we took him around to all the nearby supermarkets, libraries, shopping areas, and so on. During the first week, he went on a shopping spree at ROSS—bought 20 to 30 items, and the total was still under $200. He also went wild at TJ Maxx.
TJ Maxx is one of my favorite places to kill time (another day, some cheap good fun). I often check out their cosmetics, skincare, men’s T-shirts, and teen girls’ section. Sometimes I buy socks, underwear, or bras too. Once, I saw a whole rack of SKIMS underwear—didn’t go crazy, just got two pieces. In hindsight, I probably should’ve bought them all, even if just to resell later.
Their cosmetics and personal care section often carries good Asian brands. They’re not that popular here, so there’s often unsold stock. But honestly, Korean and Japanese brands do a better job with these kinds of products than many major Western labels. I don’t have a go-to favorite brand—I just rotate through different ones to try. I also like buying men’s T-shirts—more precisely, Young Men’s. Lately, I’ve been obsessed with black, emo-style, oversized artsy T-shirts with mushrooms, leaves, or apocalyptic themes on them. They’re cheap and comfy.
I don’t really like so-called women’s clothing, especially in summer. It always seems to fall into just a few categories: cute, sexy, or overly proper and stiff. It makes me wonder about the people designing women’s clothes—are they really designing based on whether it sends a sexual signal? Is it “sexy” or “conservative”?
So I often shop in the men’s or teen sections. I wear men’s tops too—Polo shirts and the like. Even though people love to mock middle-aged men who wear Polos, I think, well, I’m kind of a middle-aged man inside, so my outside might as well match. Surprisingly, the men’s short-sleeve tops in that section are often made of breathable, sweat-wicking fabrics. The designs are preppy, but Daiga says I look good in preppy clothes. The truth is, I hate wearing preppy clothes. They give off this image of a well-behaved kid who’s good at studying. I don’t like that. I’d rather wear skulls.
The teen girls’ section is great too. I don’t see why age or gender should limit me to shopping in the “middle-aged women” section. The sleeveless tops in the teen girls’ section always have fresh, fun designs and are super affordable. They kind of give off a Shushu/Tong vibe—like budget alternatives.
Even now, I’m not really sure if my dad actually enjoyed this trip to the US. Did he feel it was meaningful? I think he must have gotten something out of it. After all, he’s already filled up two 50-pound suitcases and an additional pretty big carry-on.
