Just a quick random observation I wanted to share with you.
While being busy with my wardrobe transformation I decided not to shop for as long as I did not know where to go with my style. And I was dumb-struck how difficult this actually was!
I have never been a shopaholic or into random retail therapy. Dressing my body is not easy and I preferred to not have the experience of changing rooms too often. Dusty, smelly places. Yuck! But, as it turn out, the minute I limit myself to NOT having something, I want it all the more. Goes for candy, coffee, cake... oh, cake... Oh well, and for clothes. All of the sudden I had this itching to buy stuff. This craving.
And of course, I had all the right reasons. I got rid of most of my clothes so clearly I should replace them. Even my mum - complete with "pity-voice" and all - told me to please have her pay for the clothes if I needed them and could not afford something right now. And of course, I am looking for a job and need to look presentable... I came up with a very impressive list of reasons for why I would need to go shopping. Right now.
This is all the more funny because I made a conscious decision not to buy items, it was not necessity or financial struggle that drove me. I could go for a spree whenever I wanted to but the idea that I had decided against it was almost threatening.
In the end, I did not go (yet). Every time I am surfing retail sites on the net, I keep to just looking at items, not buying. I can walk through the city and come home empty-handed. No problem. But that itching... oh, well, it is still there. And it annoys me to know that I have, too, fallen victim to retail therapy.
At the time I am typing this I come to realize that my effort in building a great capsule wardrobe is fueled by something else then just being able to live minimally. It would allow me to build many, many outfits with just a few key items. This, in turn, would mean to somehow cut myself loose from buying mindlessly. Giving myself a break and just focusing on a few pieces every now and then to either incorporate a new pop of color or a new silhouette.
Feel free to share your opinion on being a slave to shopping. Do you feel the same? Does is bother you? Did you overcome it?
Should you wish to be inspired by well-dressed lady that changed their spending habits, please feel free to have a look at "Light by Coco" and "Un-Fancy".
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