The Day In The Life Of A Lingerie Sales Girl in Kerala

The Day In The Life Of A Lingerie Sales Girl in Kerala

  • 18 Jul 2016
  • Fathima AbdulKader
  • Features

Kevin Smith made the movie Clerks about sales folk in a shop. Angaadi Theru ,a Tamil film written and directed by Vasanthabalan, starring Mahesh and Anjali in the lead roles also showcases the sales folk’s story. What do they say about you once you are gone? Urmila Kaur from FWD Life became a salesgirl in a lingerie shop for a day to eavesdrop on salesgirls' bitchy talk.

During one of those regular brainstorming sessions, when I was asked to become a salesgirl at a lingerie shop for a day, I knew what I was getting into; Boring cotton bras and panties. I mean selling them to even more boring middle aged aunties and girls. Just because they serve you, doesn’t mean they like you. I mean, how exciting could selling the bare essentials be?

Very exciting. That’s what I realized after spending a day at a lingerie shop in Trivandrum. The owner of the shop agreed to ‘hire’ me for a day and keep my identity under wraps from the rest of the staff. So far, so good.

Underwear Everywhere

Friday was my first (and last) day at ‘work’. The moment I stepped inside the shop, I gasped. Never in my life had I seen so many under-things together. And even if I had seen them, I had never noticed the magnitude. They were everywhere; in all imaginable (and unimaginable) shapes, sizes colors and designs.

Soon I was introduced to my colleagues- Sheetal, Nisha, Sangeeta, and Anjana. A mischievous twinkle lingered in my eyes. They didn’t know I was a spy.

Good Noon, Uncle...

It was at eve’s collection that I learned two important lessons in life. Lesson one: always keep an open mind, for example, while at a lingerie shop, never assume that your customers are going to be women. ‘Girlie’ things always attract more men than women.

Lesson two: Reporters have a long way to go before becoming lingerie experts.

The first customer was a fat old gentleman. “What does this old f****r want?” one of my colleagues asked. Before I could tell him that we didn’t sell men’s underwear, he stumped me with his demand: some “cute red” lingerie for his beloved. Simple looking lingerie, the kind women actually wear, was an absolute no no for him. “I need something that will set our imagination on fire” he told us. When we gave him the flimsiest stuff available in the store, he looked at least 20 years younger. Uncle left happy, humming a popular Bollywood number.

 

Pink Please

Our next customer was also a man. He wanted pink lingerie for his25-year-oldd girlfriend, who is a nurse in a city hospital. The pink man proved to be an expert on the subject. “Hero Rayappan knows more than this girl” one my fellow salesgirls commented.

 

Ladies Last

The nurse guy had just left when an aunty walked in. “oh gosh...” a colleague groaned. Apparently, the woman shopped for bright coloured lingerie every 15 days. “She buys more lingerie than vegetables” they informed me.

This time, she wanted jet red panties. It seems her husband loves red on her. Is he a superman fan, i wanted to ask.

Next in line was a really over weight lady. We were not sure we had anything that would fit her. And the woman was very choosy. “Why is she so choosy? With her size, does she even have a choice?” a colleague murmured.

But the staff, polite and patient with every customer, after a frantic search, found what she wanted, “I want to spice up my romantic life” she whispered. The fat lady, it seems, had fat money too. She paid an outrageous amount for three pieces.

 

Angry

Customers can lose their cool even in cool lingerie shops. One woman lost it when the shop manager refused to take back her purchase saying she didn’t have the box in which the lingerie was packed.

After arguing for a good 15 minutes, the woman stormed out saying” fine, don’t take it, I will throw it away.”

The ‘sister turned mod’ left a bad taste in everybody’s mouth.

 

A little secret

My colleague told me a love story was blossoming in the shop. One of the girls was having an affair with a sales boy who delivers stuff to the shop. The boy, they told me, was treated like prince charming by all of them! Wow. Finding love in a lingerie shop! Can it get more romantic than that?

 

This article is adapted for Wtzupcity.com from an article published in FWD Life Magazine January 2012 issue. All opinions expressed are those of the author.

Creatives: Anu Sajee

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