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I have a confession, Internet: I went shopping this week. I bought this blouse, in a lovely blue-toned pink.
Banana Republic cotton wrap blouse, $59.99
It goes with virtually everything in my closet, and it's a nice alternative to the tees that I usually wear. Is that a rationalization? Maybe.
Yes, I was doing the sixty days of not shopping (which is not over until March 1), and yes I have been extolling the virtues of the shopping fast. And yes, I went shopping this week.
I write about shopping all the time, but I don't do that much shopping in my own life. I'll bet you would be surprised at how few things are really in my closet. I do, however, spend a lot of time thinking about why I shop.
It's hard work, but someone's got to do it.
Why do I shop? Probably for the same reasons you do, really.
Because I need specific pieces. I don't do well shopping on the fly, shopping for a dress for an event, say, or for a pair of jeans because I'm leaving on vacation. Instead, I try to keep a list of things that I find myself wishing for -- right now, the list includes a pencil skirt that isn't too tight and a day dress for the summer.
Because I am trying to dress my age. I will be 40 in the spring; at 40, it seems, I should be wearing more than just jeans and tees all the time. I'm looking for blouses, which are as wearable as a tee but a little more sophisticated. Or maybe I'm just trying to figure out what it means to turn 40.
Because a new dress or blouse will change my life. Will it really? No, and I know that. But to some extent this is what is at the root of all my shopping -- and yours, probably. My needs -- for a dress or a blouse -- come most often from a desire to be someone different, someone who is competent and chic and sophisticated. If I change the outer package, everything else will change, too.
Shopping is about a lot of things -- desire and fear, mostly -- but it is only rarely about need. To shop successfully, it helps to have a plan, something to temper the desire. It also helps to recognize it and acknowledge it, and sometimes, to resist it.
And not to rely too much on shopping to change your life.
What else is hott in fashion blogs this week?
5 Resolutions looks at the effects of "stressorexia" on working moms.
She's a Betty points us toward eBay alternative Specialist Auctions, an eBay alternative. Check out the vintage clothing auctions. Awesome.
Via The Fashion Police, spring's hottest accessory (because an accessory can turn any outfit into something new, you know).
Susan Wagner writes about fashion at Friday Style and The Working Closet and Fashion Find. Send her your style questions at fridaystyle.susan@gmail.com.
