My friend, who is now on lĂŻftblr, and I have been working together for some time. Instead of telling them all of this in person, Iâd rather make this post public for all newbies or maybe people who need a reminder.
Iâd say about half the job is acting the part. You need to LOOK and FEEL innocent. To trick yourself into thinking youâre doing nothing wrong.
You canât look like youâre doing something wrong. Donât dress sketchy, donât look sketchy, and sound sketchy. Donât walk in with your hood on. Dress how men or women usually dress. Blend in. If youâre black, sadly you will be a target more often. Lean away from âghettoâ fashion and if you get caught, Iâve heard of people getting away with claiming the race card. Itâs up to you if you think it will work in your situation.
Anyways, here are a few pointers you can see as a general guideline.
Dress nice, but not too nice
Donât wear too many bright colors. Neutral is best most of the time
LP look for those big black structured bags. Try using a wallet to hide things under or a more neutral bag
LP also look at teens (especially groups) so if possible, go alone. Make yourself look older.
Dress like you belong there. If youâre going into hot topic, pop in your piercings and wear all black with that MCR shirt. If youâre going into old navy that blue jean skirt and button up will be great
For behavior, the âDonât look/feel sketchyâ is really important. Here are a few tips.
Donât immediately walk to something and grab it. Shop around
Shop your way over to what you want
Donât look for/at cameras. Find out the blind spots before you go. Look up but only with your eyes and use mirrors/your phone camera to check
Donât conceal and immediately run out. If itâs an emergency, fake a phone call and pretend itâs urgent. âWait..is she okay? When?â
Donât avoid staff. If they are SAing you then drop your shit and leave. If they ask you if you need help donât say âoh Iâm just looking.â Say, âno I know what Iâm looking for. I just got distracted.â
Donât walk around quickly or too slowly
Look NORMAL. Youâre not doing anything wrong, remember?
I tend to make a different personality for myself when I plan to âobtainâ something unless Iâm with friends. More outgoing and assertive. A law abiding citizen with some time to waste or a birthday to catch. It helps
Going out with friends? Donât. But if they too are participanting, here are some guidelines.
Donât be loud and obnoxious
Still follow the dress and behavior points the best you can
Look out for each other. Set of codes like âwhat time is itâ means there is an SA and âhowâs your catâ is there is a camera
Set up your own guidelines. For instance, me and my friend know that if one gets caught, the other pretends they knew nothing and they donât admit to anything unless someone shows them proof
Your partner should know the laws in your area and shouldnât be cocky. Neither should you
Talking about lĂŻftĂźng in store/parking lot
Taking your stuff out in the parking lot
Letting people see you conceal (they may decide to tell on you)
And thats it! I hope this helped. If you have any questions, feel free to leave an ask! My ask box and DMs are always open đđ bye!!
