In some situations men are quite superfluous - in fact they hamper proceedings as an irritating inconvenience.
That was most certainly the case at the iD designer sale at the Dunedin Railway Station on Saturday.
Shopper Sally Richards agreed to have her photograph taken for a before and after shot in the fashion items she bought at the sale.
But that did not mean Ms Richards would rush her shopping for the two gentlemen waiting to take her picture and ask her important questions.
"You're like a couple of boring husbands,'' she told us as we silently wished she would get on with it, but waited politely like the other listless men and children out of their comfort zone among the racks of clothing.
"I'll be 10 minutes,'' she said, before taking 20.
But no boring husband should expect anything else.
The sale on Saturday was an important fixture of the annual iD Dunedin Fashion Week, where 400 turned up to shop with intent.
One hundred women and two possibly lost men lined up for an hour outside the sale before pouring in at 10am, chatting and smiling, but the serious nature of the event was clear in the darting eyes of the perfumed hunters as they took in the layout of the room.
That layout included cut-price gear from the likes of Company of Strangers, Claire Bloom and Melanie Child, and the racks were quickly abuzz with shoppers.
Cherry Lucas, chairwoman of iD Dunedin, said many of the retail fashion stores did not have sales during the year, or did very rarely.
"When people come to a sale, they come with money to spend, and the retailers price accordingly so that people know they're getting a bargain.''
Of the success of the event, she said: "I would judge it by the sound in the room behind - lots of happy shoppers''.
