] ...I find it amusing that the gentlemen of the time were considered to be shoppers of a limited range...

IMNSHO, I don't think that this has changed much. Women are still the primary shoppers in the household. When they delegate the task to men, they provide direction. Just last weekend at the deli counter in the supermarket, I heard a man instruct the counterman, "My wife says to cut it very thin. She wants it thin." His tone was half apologizing for being so picky but he was carrying out his wife's dirctions. LOL. Did you ever see men, presumably husbands, standing around while their wives shop? The awkwardness is written in their body language, and it is, IMHO, a smart retailer who provides a seating area for the men with a TV tuned to the 'game'.

Vickery noted that men were interested in procuring the things that relate to their sphere, e.g. game, land, property, etc. I think men like to go to The Home Depot, the gardening center, etc., because this is still their sphere. They know what they want and there is no discomfort or lack of control.

My conclusion: Shopping is as shopping was. Mrs. Allen asked me to convey to you that she agrees with what I have written. When we compare notes from her century to mine, we find that things are pretty much the same. ;-)

] ...Mrs. Elton's constant boasts about what her sister had at Maple Grove were obviously an attempt to show what stylish connections she had...

Mrs. Elton's bragging merely underscored how nouveau riche, and insecure, she was. A person of true gentility would not have discussed furnishings, grounds, or anything else in such a manner to new acquaintances. My impression from Vickery is that when women discussed fashions, purchases, etc., they were sharing information, not boasting. I think that it is much the same today. My friends and I share information about sales or new shops of interest as a way of being helpful.