Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.
Even if they didn't have calendars, employees at British department store Debenhams would know when Christmas was coming up--when all the bottles of Chanel No 5 started disappearing from the store. Apparently, when men don't know what to get women for Christmas, they default to a bottle of the only perfume they can recall the name of.
Ruth Attridge, a spokeswoman for Debenhams, says that staffers refer to the phenomenon as 'The Male Sale,' and that sales of the legendary fragrance start about a week before Christmas and spike upward each day as the holiday draws closer. "It's like a starting pistol going off," she says.
And what else do these guys pick up while doing last-minute shopping? Lingerie and jewelry. Sorry for ruining the mystery, but please try to look surprised, ladies.
· How to Tell When Men Have Started Their Christmas Shopping [Daily Mail]
· We're Pretty Sure This Is the Biggest Chanel No 5 Bottle Ever [Racked]