Bucharest city tales: Become a mall person – a way to integrate in Romania

Columnist Eleonore af Schaumburg-Lippe writes in her weekly column about life as an expat in Romania. This week she writes about how she helped a friend at his shop in Baneasa and how she found that the 'mall people' were a route to integrating in Romania.

This weekend was a little different than usual. One of my friends owns the shop Carton in Baneasa Mall, where he sells greeting cards and funny presents like cups with a funny message. Well, he called me Friday to hear if I knew anybody who could help him, as his regular sales assistant had called in sick. I didn’t really know anyone so I said I could help, and that is how I ended up being a volunteer in the shop for the weekend. I thought 'what a great way to integrate in Romania.' People always ask me, "Have you integrated in Romania?" or say, "You seem to have integrated here." And what could be a higher achievement in integration, than to be recognized by the people in the mall as one of their own? Now I had the option to observe the mall people. So I went on a separate mission, to find out more about this subspecies of Romanians, and learn enough to become an integrated member of this not spoken about so much subculture. First a definition of the species: Mall people - People that go to the mall with the purpose of being seen, rather than going there specifically for shopping, people who dress up with the right attitude and accessories to be a part of this culture. What to do if you want to integrate in the mall society: If you are a woman, it is very important to dress up, so the other people in the culture can recognize that you are one of them. First of all accessories are very important. Wear the best branded clothes, high heels, perfect hair and, very important, balance a pair of sunglasses on top of the head, lots of makeup and then remember the two most crucial items, handbag and mobile phone. The handbag should not be on the shoulder, rather suspend it mid-arm with mobile phone in the hand of the same arm. Now you are ready to enter the mall, but first the walk must be right. Either go for the very determined walk, as though on the way to very important meeting, a matter of life or death in the mall. The second option is more stroll in the park, but remember to move the hips from side to side a little but without too much 'salsa.' When it comes to shopping, placement of the bags with the new items is crucial. You are of course not really there to shop, but to show off you and your outfit. Impulse shopping is fine, but don’t overdo it, you don’t want to stroll around with too many bags. If the handbag is a top brand, place the shopping bag behind the handbag, however, with second division brands, the shopping bag goes in front of the handbag. Don't forget, chic paper bags are what you want, plastic carrier bags from budget brands are absolutely out. Go there with a friend or two, but make sure friends are correctly attired, otherwise you will not integrate. If you are a man - the rules are almost the same. Suits are not worn, it's more the casual look, not too casual, still well-coordinated, meaning at least an hour getting the look just right. Wear a white short sleeved shirt to show off your muscles, or a t-shirt with a logo in front or a funny message. Shirts can be worn, but don’t button them up, leave them open to the top of the belly so others can see the gold chain you are wearing. Remember to put products in your hair, or cover a bad hair day with a cap. Footwear is the most important component, so don’t lose focus and let the whole outfit down with a poor choice. Flip flops are ok to signal a sort of down to earth image, if you don’t have branded shoes. No issues with shopping bags, since you will most likely not shop at all, but the walk is important. Either go for the gangsta walk, with a movement of the upper/middle body from side to side, or the chillin' with my posse slouch, poking friends on the shoulder if not talking loudly on the mobile phone to find out where other mall friends are.