Friday 30 May 2008

How to Shop

OK, so we've established that there are those items which, whilst left unworn for a while, can still become well-used parts of our wardrobes. However there's no guarantee of this, and I still have many more pieces I don't wear, than rediscovered ones.

This made me realise how hard it actually is to shop, how many different ways there are of going about it, and how there are problems with all of them.

Take list-making for example. I have done this in the past, but it never works for me. I can NEVER find exactly what I'm looking for and will always find it once I've stopped looking. All my well-worn basics, bar jeans, were spur-of-the-moment buys which turned out to be very useful later.

The other type of shopping is far more fun; going out there with no idea of what you want and picking up whatever you fall in love with. But this is a major problem when (true example here) you fall in love with a dress, maybe discounted but still not hugely cheap. You can't bear to leave it, although you know you have nowhere to wear it. Fast forward six months and it hasn't been worn outside the home.

Is this the charm of shopping, the unexpected element, or are there things to do that can avoid it? I truely don't know, but I'm posing the question anyway.

For example, you can use the rule of '3 different outfits, 3 different occasions' before buying something, or the one I've been trying to employ as much as possible: 'is it entirely perfect in every way?'. But these 'rules' are SO difficult to stick to, and can also mean missing out on real gems.

3 comments:

  1. Oh, I don't like that 3 outfits rule. You'll never get anything outstanding if it has to blend into the existing wardrobe seamlessly. Sometimes I've gotten something, haven't worn it for a year, and then worn nothing ELSE for the next year.

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  2. I completely agree with you. That true example... the dress is just waiting, I tell you, to be invited to a glamorous dinner party, then it'll be PERFECT.

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  3. I'll be examining these questions when my ban is over. I never had a method to my madness when I shopped before the ban. That was part of my problem.

    One thing I noticed, though: if something elicits a guttral, visceral reaction in me, I know I'm supposed to have it. That reaction is different from the "oooooh that's cute" reaction that stems from things I know deep inside I'd never wear. The guttral reaction is like a tidal pull toward something.

    A fabulous dress, for example, that we buy, then don't wear for a year, only to wear only that dress for the next year.

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