The Cleveland Chronicles, Part 5: Severance, Severance

Forgive me, residents of Cleveland, if the name of Severance Town Center makes me think of "Venus in Furs" by Velvet Underground.

During my trip to Cleveland, The Scribe and I managed to steal one whole day to ourselves by going to Severance Town Center (not to be confused with Severance Music Hall at University Circle). Our initial plan had been to go to Marshall's, catch a movie, and get some dinner for both Mr. Scribe and Kittensley.

While we did get to Marshall's - and, to our relief, both man and cat got their fair share of kibble at the end of our day - the rest of our plans took us everywhere else.

Here's the thing about Severance Town Center: It's a huge place, anchored by the big-box retail of Home Depot and Wal-Mart. It's also not terribly pedestrian-friendly, especially on a day so hot and humid that would make even a Hawaii girl like me start cursing the summer heat for being so brutal. Really, now: I don't know who did the planning for this place, and I probably shouldn't care, but it reminds me way too much of those malls I saw a lot of in Southern California, where people actually have to drive to get from one end to another. (And if you ask Scribe now, she will tell you how many times I've used the word "California" like a curse word while trying to find our way through the place. Love you, California, but: seriously.)


That said, it's not like we didn't appreciate those fine (and thankfully air-conditioned) retail establishments that provided us with much-needed eye candy during our Severance run.

- Marshall's. This was our first stop - and I have to note this because this is the place where I got the gossamer hippy-dippy blouse that you see on the left. It looks very Stevie Nicks next to the chiffon Old Navy skirt I'm wearing in this picture (and yes, it's really sheer) but I can see myself getting a lot of use out of this. I was also pleasantly surprised to find a fair amount of beauty products over there - especially in terms of fragrance and hair products, with some fine salon brands in the mix for less than $10 - but TJ Maxx still has them beat in the makeup department. I also found some cute gifts there (hey, I had no idea Roca Wear made baby booties!), and the shoes and bags were definitely drool-worthy.

- Dots. It's such a welcome relief to find a store that not only sells inexpensive clothing, but also sells it in such a wide range of sizes and styles so no one gets left behind on any particular trend. (In the battle of inexpensive retail, Dots practically beats out HNL's Jeans Warehouse on the quality -and relative un-skankiness - of their on-trend selection.) Not only did I get the sexy red-and-brown Latino-inspired maxidress over there (for $20), but I also got this-here red top on sale for less than $10. It's actually kind of cute - the sleeves are puffy, the neckline is smocked, and the back has a keyhole cutout that's revealing but still bra-friendly. So you can see why I'm rocking this top here with the black skirt from Mold Gravy (again - it was for another project for which Mr. Scribe used me as a model), but I also got to wear it with jeans later that weekend for an errand run around Coventry. Lurve.


- Sally Beauty Supply. "What do you mean, you haven't been to a Sally?" I asked Scribe when we walked in. "This is where the hairdressers and nail techs get their stuff!" True enough, as soon as we walked in, we both got geeked out to the max over the assortment of professional (and still not that expensive!) nail tools and hair stylers for every texture. "Why did I ever waste my time on CVS?" Scribe asked me back, as she eyeballed the assortments of nippers, files, and foam curlers in every single size ($1.99 for a pack of 8? I'm there), filing away potential purchases for a future trip.



- Ashley Stewart. It's too bad I already did a good bulk of my shopping at all the other stores mentioned by the time Scribe dragged me in here, out of curiosity. How curious were we? So curious that even Scribe was drooling over the trapeze dresses, living vicariously through me as I tried them on. (Verdict: Not for me... but if there had been one in Scribe's size - and AS didn't carry any in hers, unfortunately - I'd totally love to see her rock it!) And can we talk about all those floaty blouses we saw on the rack? Be still, my retro-loving, 40D-rocking heart! I felt like I'd stumbled into a version of my Mom's '70s-era wardrobe, where everything was bound to fit me. It was awesome, people - and if my wallet hadn't already been screaming in agony, I would've bought something. That's why it's also a great thing for me that Ashley Stewart is also online -- and currently offering a flat rate of $8.95 for standard shipping, no matter how much you buy. (Caveat: Have any Domesticity readers out there ordered online from AS yet? Let me know in the comments!)


- Payless. And finally, because we couldn't help but duck in here anyway: Scribe got this gladiator sandal in gold (which also made Mr. Scribe happy, if not scratching his head over our all-too-frequent shoe-shopping), while I got the $6 flipflops. Our feet finally breathed in a collective sigh of relief.