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When I tell people that my job is studying women’s shopping patterns, you can’t imagine the jokes I hear. Most of them revolve around the stereotype that women have an insatiable appetite for shoes, handbags and sparkly things. Oh, if only it were so simple, I say. And then I bring down the hammer and…

If you’re a woman reading this article, chances are you don’t play golf. The PGA would like to change that. The Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) of America has launched an industry-wide initiative to bring more women into the game, and has appointed an executive to help make it happen. Her name is Sandy Cross, and…

Do college bowl games make you think of women’s fashion? Me neither. Until now. Turns out we weren’t thinking big enough. Just when I thought that fashion had infiltrated every possible nook and cranny of life, from car interiors to cell phones, I discovered a slice of the apparel universe that had been standing on…

I have a girl crush on a fashion website called ModCloth. And I’m not the only one. ModCloth is an e-commerce business selling apparel, accessories and décor, and in a word, it’s adorable. But don’t let that fool you – the site may look as cozy as a kitten, but it’s a lion in disguise.…

Raise your hand if you know a married couple in which the wife makes more money than her husband. How fast did your hand fly up? And if I asked if you to name a single (unmarried) woman who is earning a good income, would your hand fly up just as fast? I bet it…

Every time I find a sticky packet of sugar at the bottom of my purse, I think of Nora Ephron. I once saw the divine Ms. Ephron dump out the contents of her purse (on purpose) at a conference in New York City, and the mish mash of random objects that fell out caused the…

When the young sales associate walked me out to the sidewalk to bow and thank me for coming into the store, I knew I wasn’t in Chicago anymore. After all, I hadn’t even bought anything. I just got back from my first visit to Japan to observe the country’s retail environment. I had envisioned a…

I had just chosen my nail color when it happened. Please take a seat, said the manicurist, as she motioned to the small chair. It was rush hour at the salon, around 5:30 on a Thursday. As is my custom, I gave a head nod and brief eye contact to the client seated next to…