Almost Locked in the Dressing Room

I consider myself at least a semi-pro at the whole changing room thing. With so much practice, I can shuck out and regarb in pretty much record time. Screens, sliding latches, hook latches, hanging pieces of cloth, you name it and I've seen it as a door...or at least I thought.

Today, I made a quick stop in Armani Exchange to browse through the sale items, as I was passing the store on Fifth Avenue anyway. I collected quite a few items to try on and a sales woman led me to the fitting room. I guess it's been a while since I've been in the store, as I got really confused when I couldn't figure out why there was no catch, doorknob, latch, or any other means of securing the door behind me. And the door was definitely didn't have some sort of neutral closed position that 'clicked' into place. Maybe this wasn't a real changing room?

Er...no. I was so weirded out (I wasn't going to undress with the whole darn world breezing by while I was changing!) that I walked out to find another room. The sales woman must have known I would be confused and kindly mentioned that I didn't latch the door. Really, no kidding? At this point, she gestured to the mysterious latch...that was at the very, very top of the door!

I shuffled back into the room, then suddenly found the door shut behind me and the latch latched. She told me her name as she walked away, in case I needed something. I jokingly mentioned that I might need her to unlock me from the room - but didn't realize that this wasn't far from the truth! I was luckily wearing my 2" heels or else I could have been a little foolish, jumping up and all to try to snag the latch. Seriously, this latch was 74 inches from the floor and I could barely reach it! (You should all know by now that I carry a measuring tape with me for these critical and embarrassing moments)

Ok, I know. I am really short, and heck, they probably assume that everyone shopping there has a little more altitude than me. But come on, check out the picture - there's no way that this latch is expected to be seen by the average Joe! (or Jane) It blends right in, and you have to be 6'4" to have it at eye level!

As for the items I tried on, nothing quite worked out. They also seem to have a new bizarre extension to their already strange sizing system, which I previously mentioned here. Some of the pants I tried on were a P0 regular, and some were this new oddity of a P0 petite. Unfortunately, I was in too much of a rush to properly measure anything or take a picture, but I seriously couldn't tell if there was actually a distinction. I'll have to follow up on that at a later point.

Man, I didn't realize these stores were made to booby-trap small children! Maybe it's to help babysit the kids while the parents are shopping? An indoor pet/child fence if you will....