Maternity at the Mall

June 5, 2008 - 11:14 PM by Jessica

Not me, but from the collection of Avishag Arbel I gave in and went maternity clothes shopping today. At the mall, Jerusalem’s Malcha mall to be exact, a place that I really avoid whenever possible. But I headed there on the early side, 9:30 in the morning, when by all counts, stores should be empty because everyone else should be at work. And, I really, have had nothing to wear.

So you can imagine my surprise to find the place packed, for the “Shocking Sale,” Israel’s biggest sale, according to the banners, with “Crazy Discounts on the Summer Collections” for just three days. And I was there for one of them. No matter. I’m an efficient shopper, especially when I don’t have a lot of time and a decent amount to accomplish.

It took some time to find the maternity stores amid the tables piled high with sale items outside the stores. Nix on the first one, where I could barely fit my thigh into one leg of the largest pair of pants and the saleswoman was pushy. Ditto for the second, where they just thought I was fat, not pregnant. Supportive. But lo and behold, at the third, not even a maternity store, there were many stretchy yet stylish pieces to choose from, and, they were offering half off on the second item, as well a new return policy of your money back on all items that you choose to return. That’s a major advance for Israeli retail, where until recently you couldn’t even exchange items, much less return them.

Yet what I really appreciated about the process was the Israeliness of it all. At every store, both the ones I liked and the ones I didn’t, the saleswomen were so genuinely pleased for me and my pregnancy. No, they didn’t know that I’m 39 and have been trying to get pregnant for a long while. Or that I’m pregnant with twins, a piece of news that usually gets a good reaction. They just seemed to mean it when they wished me b’sha’a tova – at a good hour – the more common way of greeting news of a pregnancy here in Israel, rather than the more typical mazal tov, or congratulations.

But perhaps the best part was when the saleswoman in the fourth store informed me that if I buy two items that are white, I would get the second for half off, in honor of the upcoming holiday of Shavuot, when we eat dairy and wear white. Only in Israel.

Share with others