My Junior troop recently had another one of those "WOW!" experiences. We have been working on the "Looking Your Best" badge and as a part of that, I went looking for a store to host the girls so that they could learn about fashion.

My first idea was to have a personal shopper at a department store talk to the girls about wardrobe and then go down to the cosmetic counters to learn about proper make-up application. I wanted to go this route so that the girls could learn about classic fashion and tasteful cosmetics and hopefully be steered away from the the more typical tween fashions. I struck out big time.

Nordstrom's could not fathom why on earth it would be to their benefit to host 12 girls and their mothers for a couple of hours in their Junior and cosmetics departments. They went to great pains to explain to me what a personal shopper does and offered me 12 one-on-one appointments, which prompted me to explain what a Girl Scout troop is and how we operate. I actually received a series of calls from the store, as if they were uneasy with their decision and perhaps deep down knew it was poor customer service to turn us away. By the third call, I was simply exasperated with them. I no longer wanted to hear why they couldn't help us and the string of explanatory calls was irritating not soothing.

Rethinking my plan, I sent out a "any ideas?" email and received a reply from a mom who suggested the Limited, Too. It turns out that the Limited, Too actually has a Girl Scout program. I received word-of-mouth recommendation for a particular store manager, and we proceeded to plan the event. The manager asked us to come in before the store opened at 8 am on a Saturday so that they could give us their undivided attention. It was then that I received a clue as to how popular this event would be when 100% of my girls and two tagalongs RSVPed that they would attend. The only other activity that held this allure is/was horseback riding.

The actual event was fun, fun, fun. The girls were given a tour of the store areas, with marketing explanations for placement of products and a tour of the back room. Following that, the store employees pushed back the racks as the girls selected three outfits to model in a troop fashion show. The girls selected three themes (sleepwear, summertime fun, and personal choice) and chose outfits accordingly. It was a Polaroid moment, and luckily I had been forewarned to bring cameras and a video camera to capture the moment. The girls also posed as live mannequins in the store window for a photo opportunity.

So what did the girls get out of the morning? They gained some insight into how a retail store operates. I wouldn't be surprised if one of them ended up working for the Limited, Too when they are old enough to work. They also learned something about fashion as far as coordinating outfits and accessories. The fashion show itself, even with just a half dozen moms as the audience, gave the girls a chance to "be on stage" and strut their stuff. By the third round, the self-confidence had improved and the embarrassment and/or shyness exhibited by some girls had diminished.

The store benefited as well. As I mentioned, the Limited, Too has an actual Girl Scout program, and part of that program is a 15% off shopping pass good for four shopping trips. The discount was nice but was not necessary to prompt the girls and their mothers to shop. A lot of the girls went home with outfits that they modeled in the fashion show, and others went home with bags full of sale items. The best part for me, though, was that the store manager truly made us feel like the sales didn't matter. He enjoyed working with the girls and showing off is store and its stock with his target audience.

One mom, remarking on the morning's shopping spree and reflecting on our failure to work with Nordstrom's said she was reminded of the scene in "Pretty Woman" when Julia Roberts' character returns to the store that previously had refused to serve her and says "I was in here yesterday, you wouldn't wait on me....You people work on commission, right?....Big mistake. Big. Huge. I have to go shopping now."