Publishers and authors talk a lot about branding these days. I don't know how brand myself. It's a frustrating thought. But I do have some thoughts about brand loyalty. Not for books--I shudder--but tomato paste? Give me Contadina.I'm shopping for little kid clothes for spring--grandchildren grow as fast and their parents did, and I love dressing them up when they're young enough to get excited about the styles I like. I do a lot of E-Baying for kids' stuff. It's an addiction. I'll have to stop soon--go cold turkey for a while--but not until we have all the pieces to our favorite Gymboree lines. "Put a watch on that one, Nana."
When my kids were little the boys got Toughskins. The boys still tease me about those jeans. They were tough, all right. Sears sold durable kids' clothes. But I loved dressing my daughter up in ruffles and bows. She remembers a longish dress that had bloomers. The lace stuck out below the hem of the dress. Now she tells me she hated that dress. She only wore it to church, but she says she felt like her underwear was showing. She was 5. I could have ruined her life. Instead, she built character over those bloomers. She's now training to be a policeman. Talk about your tough skins.
So I'm thinking about brands today. I'm one of those people who mostly buys what's on sale. It's the way I was raised. I'll use generic ibuprofen and store brand tomatoes. I really like Target's store brand foods. (Recently I read that Target is overall the cheapest place for groceries in the TC.) However, I do have some brand loyalty. I will not do cheap ketchup. Heinz or Hunts. I like Barilla pasta. Store brand soup doesn't cut it--although Target isn't horrible. I like good ice cream--Blue Bunny, Edy's and like that.
Over the years I've found clothing brands that I stayed loyal to. For a while I was way into Easy Spirits for shoes. I discovered Born a couple of years ago. Clunky but comfy. My Coach purse was worth the cost because I don't change purses except for the little evening jobbie.
What brands are you absolutely loyal to? Any good values you can suggest in this age of skyrocketing costs? What about generics and store brands?
