A measuring cup. A jug of windshield washer fluid. A fire extinguisher.
These were not a few of their favorite things, according to the women who complained on a new Web site about these gifts from their husbands.
The site (www.romeoshops.com) is home to an online personal shopping business started by a Minneapolis woman who says she’s here to help guys who can’t shop.
“The key is just to make guys’ lives simple in giving gifts,” said Michelle Courtright Bjork, 29, president of Romeoshops.com.
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Since she launched the site in September, nearly 150 people–including some repeat customers–have used it to buy gifts for their friends, sisters, wives, girlfriends and mothers.
Visitors may browse by category–holiday, anniversary, birthday, to name a few. Or they may fill out a quiz about the woman’s interests and tastes. The site then provides suggestions for gifts that suit her personality type.
Courtright Bjork and buyer Emily Sallstrom travel the country, visiting trade shows and artists to find gift items for Romeoshops.com. Among their finds: a black, cuff-style bracelet priced at $25, a martini shaker with cocktail cards for $50 and a red cashmere robe for $300.
The gifts are exquisite enough to make the recipient feel special, but they’re not especially personal. Instead, they’re gifts that have broad appeal: candles, slippers, silk pajamas. What makes them personal is their distinctive style, Courtright Bjork said.
“We always look for the details in things,” she said, as she showed off a tall, pinot noir-scented candle in a glass jar that’s hand-painted in an ornate, leaf pattern. “You can’t go into a mall and get this stuff.”
Items purchased through the site are shipped out the same day, and typically take two to three days to arrive at their destination. For those who dread not only shopping for gifts, but also wrapping them, Romeoshops.com offers free gift wrapping.
They say it’s the thought, and not the gift, that counts. So does a guy who relies on a personal-shopper Web site for gift ideas still get credit for the thought?
Courtright Bjork thinks so. She says her business plays the same role as the woman’s best friend whom men secretly consult for gift ideas. Besides, there are plenty of other retailers telling men what to buy women this time of year.
“We all hear those ads around the holidays aimed at guys suggesting some kind of mall jewelry,” she said. “Well, none of us wants to get that stupid little heart-shaped pendant!”
And for those who may view the “because guys can’t shop” slogan as an unfair generalization about men’s shopping prowess, the owner has this to say: “`Can’t’ means a lot of things–they don’t have the time or the patience or the taste.
“It’s totally tongue-in-cheek,” she adds.
Her own husband’s gifts have been hit-or-miss over the years. Once he gave her a plastic plant for Valentine’s Day. Another time, he gave her a brooch made by one of her favorite designers. And this year, for her 29th birthday, he gave her a pair of beaded slippers and a DVD of the “Beavis and Butthead” show. A hit and a miss? Hardly.
That show, she said, grinning sheepishly, was her favorite when they were both still in college and dating. “He remembered. That was very thoughtful.”