“After all, we shop for a feeling, not stuffs.”
I declare 2017 as a year of no new clothing.
Just a few days before the end of 2016, my co-worker, planning for 2017, casually asked — “how much do you budget for clothes?” I didn’t know exactly how much I spent, but I knew it was a lot.
Dreaded, I began to recount my major shopping trips in 2016.
As a thirty-something woman in fashion, I’ve learned a thing or two about design and quality clothing. My closet was full of brands like Acne, IRO, Joseph, Maje and Opening Ceremony with occasional mix of fast fashion brands like H&M and Uniqlo.
I did not always buy things when I shopped, but I always shopped the things I fancied. And I fancied nice things. This meant that I bought expensive items. Each shopping trip would cost anywhere from $20 to $2k.
I shopped often. I checked Net-a-Porter or Shopbop whenever I got bored at work. My inbox was full of promo emails from brands and bloggers, eager to share deals and findings. They say humans are creatures of habit, and creatures of habit I was.
To estimate how much I spent on shopping in 2016, I needed to figure out how much I spent per each shopping trip. Maje bags here, and Joseph coats there were about ~$4–600 per item. Because I bought 1–2 things, I assumed that I spent $850 per each shopping trip.
Grossly simplifying that I shopped every 6 weeks, my annual spending on shopping came to about ~$7,366.67.
$7,366.67
I could not believe my estimate.
Flabbergasted, I checked my card statements — looking for clues to disprove my rough estimate. However, more and more I looked, the more my estimate became a reality: I had indeed spent more than $7k on shopping in 2016.
“We are happy with things, until we find out there are better things available.”
- Happy Money, Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton
On a subconscious level, I knew I spent more than I needed, but $7k surprised me because I always felt like I’ve never had enough. I swore I could fill my wardrobe with yet another item that I saw on Net-a-Porter. I stared at my closet full of shiny, designer objects and realized that I paid more for a temporary euphoria than for the actual object itself. After a few months, most of my clothes quickly lost its luster and I went back to feeling “I have nothing to wear.” Material things gave me pleasure, sure, but only until I found the next thing that I wanted.
Why do we feel guilty shopping?
I wasn’t embarrassed that I spent money. After all, I worked hard for it and had truly earned it. But I realized that I felt embarrassed because I had spent mindlessly. I knew it was time to stop and take a hard look at my spending habit. Why did I begin to amass pretty and expensive soon-to-be-trashes?(To be continued)
-Youna
