By Hillary Chura

There is only so much choice my mommy brain can handle—especially when it comes to shopping—which is why I’d always avoided Century 21, that mecca of merchandise mess.

It’s partly because we don’t live near the department store, but also because my first exposure was during the torture that is Christmas shopping. Whatever the reason, I was never ever ever going back. Hearing friends’ tales of smashing deals at Century 21 did not sway my conviction. Nor did seeing shoppers trying to wedge their bulging Century 21 bags onto crowded subway cars (another kind of hell altogether—for everyone involved).

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