What IS it about TJ Maxx that Russian women love so much?
I’m not the only one that knows that TJ Maxx is an exclusively Russian zone.
But really. Why is TJ Maxx the only store I thought I could buy clothes in until I was 19?
Why do I never meet any native English speakers when I go to TJ Maxx (hence, enforcing the stereotype)?
Is it because it’s so cheap? Is it because it has clothes that you can wear to Russian clubs? It is so very cool to wear this shirt. If you don’t have this shirt, you are not a cool Russian. You are not a BMW or Benz Russian. You are a Toyota Camry or a Nissan Maxima Russian. I want this shirt. And then I want a BMW.
I think it’s the thrill of the hunt. Ex-Soviet women are so used to waiting in lines and getting the best deal that combing through racks of heavily discounted clothing to find that perfect mini-skirt to wear to your cousin Gleb’s birthday party provides us with some kind of psychological rush that’s not unlike what I imagine happens to your neurotransmitters when you do a line of coke.
Update: Google Search just confirmed this for me.
If we are at the age where we quite don’t remember the Soviet queues, TJ Maxx shopping has been thrust upon us like a commandment, passed down l’dor v’dor, like some cultures pass down jewelry or photographs. We go, we spend hours looking for deals, and by the time we are out of the house we have been conditioned to TJ Maxx to the point where we don’t even know that other clothing stores exist. We are like lemmings, walking towards the cliff of a store that turns out to be a massive timesuck. And yet, when we get a Good Deal, we know, smugly, that the people who go to other stores and buy the same thing for $30 more are freiers.
Russian women don’t like to be freiers (which is actually originally a Russian word that has made its way into mainstream Hebrew. ) For instance, this Saturday, I bought a cute blue gauze-type shirt for $4.99. Originally, it was $12.99. What kind of idiot pays $12.99 for what amounts to a polovaya tryapka (a rag that you use to clean the floor with) and won’t wear past next season? An American idiot, that’s what kind. An American idiot that spent 20 less minutes having to dig through ripped jeans to find the same exact thing in her size at American Apparel in the comfort of her own home and will have it conveniently delivered to her doorstep.
Us Russian women are all freaking Einsteins, all clustering like a flock of wildebeests near one measly Dolce and Gabbana knockoff jersey, hoping the other woman will pass it by so we can wear it. That’s why we are all up at 9:00 on Saturdays, because we are smart and Americans are not and NO OTHER RUSSIAN WOMAN will think to go to TJ Maxx at that exact time.
Except that every other Russian woman is there. Waiting, watching. Hoping.
You forgot Marshall. Did not I teach you anything ?!!!!
I went to Nordstrom Rack yesterday, which is basically an “upscale” TJ Maxx. And EVERYONE AROUND ME was Russian. Nottt a joke.
Funny story about Nordstrom Rack. I got a Groupon for it a couple months ago, $25 for $50 worth of stuff. Unfortunately, I’d never been to a Rack before (since the word “Nordstrom” is verboten in cheap circles) and had to look for ages to find one. By the time I did, I was too lazy and the coupon expired and I lost $25. This is the worst thing that has ever happened to me.
I’ve only just discovered shopping at Marshalls, and only because it’s right next to Best Buy and my boyfriend is trying to warm me up to the idea of spending a gazillion dollars on a 60″ TV. Luckily Target is just around the corner too and now THAT is where I am in my element.
For TVs, we like to go to Best Buy and do comparison shopping with Amazon there. We actually got our TV off of Amazon for cheaper (shipping included) than we would have at Best Buy. If you have a credit card that gets Amazon points, it comes out even better.
I could buy out Target.
First of all, you count your blessings that you no longer have to shop at Ross! (like first five years after immigrating)
Second of all how can we all dress alike if we don’t shop the Maks?
Third of all I specifically go to the Maks to try to find other Russians in this backwoods town I live in.
Fourth, you know Maks sells home goods too! It’s the only place I shop
This comment deserves five stars.
I also intend to buy home goods at the Maks once I have a home. Maybe I can buy one there, too.
Our immigrant mothers taught us well. I only rarely pay more than $10 for a blouse, and when I do I live with guilt for the next few months.
I have a theory that economists do not account enough for guilt as the driving force for consumer purchases. When I include it, Brooklyn’s GDP will skyrocket.
My great-great Russian grandmother threw my great grandmother a bagel and told her she was getting married at age 13. She and her scholar-husband moved to the states, and I’ve shopped at TJ Maxx ever since.
This is the greatest biography I’ve ever read.
It’s also a matter of aesthetics, I think. That’s a VERY Russian shirt. If I wore it, it would just look tacky.
Boots and shoes, now, THAT’S where I get my Maxx thrill.
Perhaps you could find a TJ Maxx in a nice Amish neighborhood?
So true. I have to say, though, I ended up at Neiman when I was getting married, doing research for my Vera Wang knock off, and for some reason there was a lot of Russians there.
The knock-offs. Russians are like sharks to knock-offs. (c.f. my post about my fake Burberry scarf)
I am waiting for my mother to comment on this.
Our part of suburban Maryland isn’t so immigrant-dense to have enough Russians to populate the TJMaxx. But my wardrobe right now? Almost completely via TJMaxx and Marshalls, through some sort of genetic instinct. (And that’s all I have to say about that.)
If you’re talking about Rockville/Gaithersburg, I’ve been to the TJ Maxxes there, too (OBVS.) And every single time I’ve been to the one on Rockville Pike, RUSSIANS. We are everywhere. Like cockroaches.
See, we’re heretical Maryland Russians… all the Igors and Elenas and Vladimirs we know are down in Rockville/Gaithersburg. We’re up north of Baltimore in Harford County, halfway between DC and Philly.
Oh my Gawd. I didn’t think there was anything worse than living in Philly. Now I know.
John Wilkes Booth went to my high school and I am not making that up.
OK, son, I just found your comments and they are hilarious! However, since you only spend 10-15 minutes every quarter in the mentioned stores, and are happy for mama to do all the dirty work of dressing you nicely, you have ever our (I insist on OUR) favorite stores are full of immigrants from Russia, Poland, Ukraine as well as some Middle Eastern countries as well as India. I could argue that my sole purpose of going there is to meet the part of the world that is sometimes referred to as undeveloped, I like to broaden my knowledge of other cultures and, as you know I have many international friends i made as a result of those visits.
I think I may be the ONLY non-Russian on the comments now. xD But, yes. Even with us, Camry’s and MArshalls is where it’s at.
Not the only one! Stick around, we need more Ethiopian opinions
I don’t remember the last time I bought clothing full price. I think that says a lot.
It is painful for me to buy clothing that is not on sale.
That must be one snazzy TXMaxx you shop in – the one by my house does not have security tags on t-shirts…may be because the Russians have not found that store yet. I have never been a fan of clothing at TJ’s – I go for the cool home goods and the cheap Israeli Dead Sea creams.
My mother shops for me at Ross, Marshall’s, TJ Maxx. I simply do not buy new things (writer; work from home, so not as necessary as when I went into an office.) The other day I put on a sweater and was shocked – shocked! – to find that it had holes in it. And this after my only wearing it for maybe fifteen years, tops! (Spending money makes me sad. I too once lost a $10 coupon, it was for CVS Bonus Bucks, and my husband says he has never seen me so angry.)
Mr. B has sweaters from middle school. It makes me sad.
The Italians are the same way, its the thrill of the hunt, dragging your kill back to the SUV…ohh, its a wonderful thing! True confessions, my Mom and I were there yesterday.
Just catching up on your blog. This is brilliant, as always. I love the Maxx so much, I worked there for three years in high school!
Welcome back! And, that’s hilarious
I feel like what I wrote is akin to the beginning of a yo momma joke.
Except it’ll be a TJ Maxx joke in the Russian circles. Maybe we’re onto a new style of “anekdot” …
LMFAO. Yo momma’s so Russian she worked at TJ Maxx.
So I cheated on TJMaxx and went to Macy’s yesterday. Bought 2 dresses and 3 bras for $73.56! Yeah!
My half Russian daughter and I play a game at stores like TJ MAAX – who can spot the Russians first. It’s fiercely competitive and tons of fun!
Pingback: Hehmer
Pingback: Khantelle
Pingback: Cander
Pingback: Ehantelle
Pingback: ctilde
Pingback: zqsszq
I’m Russian and I didn’t even know it! Although really, TJMaxx is for you fancy people. I buy on consignment and off eBay.
eBay is the new Russian thing, I think. But TJMaxx is always a classic.
As for clothes if you wear up to size X, try H&M! Super cheap and trendy! Looks awesome and wear well!