Doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo…*

So during my New York trip the other week, I had the opportunity to head over to the enormous Chelsea T.J. Maxx -- one of my regular stops back when I lived in NYC -- for an event aimed at showcasing some of the great finds to be found in the store. T.J. Maxx execs had commissed the highly adorable Dr. David Lewis (below), a respected neuroscientist from Mindlab International in England, to do a study on women's physical and chemical reactions when they find a really good deal. Dr. Lewis, in turn, strapped a bunch of women into some funky headgear and set them loose in T.J. Maxx to see what kind of responses they had when they uncovered a really good bargain find.



The results, if you're a shopper, weren't altogether too surprising: Turns out our juices start flowing and our endorphins jump when we pounce on an awesome deal. I had a ton of fun hanging out with Dr. Lewis, who was full of amusing tidbits (did you know that the Chelsea T.J. Maxx building used to be the city morgue?), interesting stories (he also works with film companies to put together mentally engaging movie trailers) and didn't even seem to mind when I started playing with his fantastic model brain and accidentally dropped the cerebellum under the couch (um, oops).

A couple of the other attendees volunteered to try out the brain waves caps themselves (see below) – I personally skipped it, but followed for awhile as they headed around the busy store in search of thrill-causing bargains. (At least, I followed until I got distracted by a really great Marc Jacobs bag. My own thrill radar went off, even without a little cap. Unfortunately, it was $500, so my budget radar went off too.)


I'm pretty sure if I'd been wearing a little swimcap, my brain waves would have skyrocketed as soon as I saw these Eleanor Grosch peacock Keds. If only they'd been in my size…


Same goes for these orange buckled patent wedges. Again, not my size! Sigh…

All was not totally lost: I did score an elegant little Betsey Johnson diamante watch with a black satin band to wear with cocktail dresses…

*Is it weird that I can't say "T.J. Maxx" without their little jingle instantly running through my head?