I remember growing up when my mother would buy me new school clothes every fall. It made me nervous to leave my clothes behind in the dressing room and go show my mother how well the clothes fit before she bought them. But by Jr. High, that had become a fantasy, and that fantasy eventually turned into this story.
Episode 87: Fitting Room Losses
A college girl is shopping in a Czech department store. All of the signs are in Czech. She has an expensive handbag. She is wearing a sexy blouse and jeans but not trashy. She has a nice necklace and bracelets and short, fashionable boots. She's looking through the racks of cocktail dresses and selects three of them. She finds the fitting room. We watch her try on the first dress but she feels that it's longer than she wants. She removes it and tries on the second dress, but she's not happy with it either. She takes it off and is looking closer at the third one. We see a price tag listing 660 euros and $750. She's in an attractive matching bra & boy shorts set. The third dress is meant to be braless, so she takes off her bra and tries on the dress. She's very happy with it, and she leave the dressing room to find a mirror. She carries her handbag with her and the other two dresses.
When she finds a mirror, she places the dresses and her handbag in a chair. She steps onto a platform that has mirrors in front and on two sides, and she's trying to decide if the neckline is the right balance between daring and too revealing. She decides to buy the dress and turns to get her handbag. The two dresses are there, but the purse is missing. She looks to see if it fell on the floor, but it's nowhere to be found. She calls out for help and for someone who can speak English.
A cute, mid 20s salesgirl comes up to her. She's wearing a thin, modest dress. "Hello, my name is Svetlana. What can I help you with?"
"My name's Kimberly, and someone stole my handbag." She points at the chair. "I left it right here when I was looking in the mirror, and I turned around, and it's gone."
Svetlana is sad and sympathetic. "I'm very sorry that this happened to you. The pickpockets, they are everywhere. What was in the purse?"
Kimberly is freaking out. "Everything! It had all of my money, my credit cards, my ID, my phone, my hotel key, ... everything!"
Svetlana tries to calm her down. "I will help you. I apologize to you on behalf of this store and my country. Let me help you." Kimberly is looking resigned. "I see that you were trying on this. Go back and put on your own clothes, and I'll take you to my apartment where you can file reports on my PC and access your accounts if you need money. And I can loan you some money that I keep at home for emergencies."
"You've very kind." Svetlana offers her hand, and Kimberly takes it. She's feeling kind of lost and unnerved by this, and she's leaning on Svetlana as Svetlana leads her back to the dressing rooms. We see Kimberly go into the dressing rooms, and we see Svetlana waiting for her. Kimberly emerges right away, still wearing the fancy dress. "My clothes! They took my clothes, too."
Svetlana looks very agitated. "This is ... I don't have the right English word for it. Let me think what to do." She pauses. "You have no money, and can't pay for this dress. The owner will not let you just keep it. I have to put it back on display. But your own clothes are missing. Let me think." She pauses again. Kimberly is wringing her hands and shaking nervously. "Go back into the room. You can hand me the dress so I can put it back on the racks to be sold. I will use my own money to buy something simple for you so you have something to wear. Will you do that?"
Kimberly shrugs and gives a nod of resignation. What choice does she have. "Yes, thank you, you are more than kind." She's trying not to cry. She goes back into dressing room. We watch her remove the dress and pass it through the curtain to Svetlana. Then she sits quietly on the bench in the room, legs crossed and bent over to cover herself somewhat. The camera lingers on this scene. Her confidence has left her, and she appears very isolated and vulnerable.