Right, I’m going to be the first one to say it before my friends jump on this dubious bandwagon: I adore shopping. When I die, my tombstone is probably going to read something along the lines of: “Here lies Anna; she shopped.”
Of course, while I (and my credit cards) have always been aware that my passion for fashion was getting a tad out of control, I only remember realising that I might have a problem when an unsuspecting ex-boyfriend walked into my Aladdin’s cave of a room and tensely asked: “Do you share this space with your two sisters?”
I’m sure you can all guess what the resounding answer to that particular query was.
Buying clothes, bags and shoes is not just about amassing more things: it is about making life that little bit brighter and more colourful
I love everything about the shopping experience: the smell of the shop, the way the new item feels and maybe most of all, the feelings of hope that are intrinsically attached to each gorgeous item. There is no brighter, shinier light than the smile on the face of a girl who has finally found the perfect prom dress. I have seen grown women cry tears of joy upon seeing fashion shows of beautifully epic proportions.
Even at a young age, I would press my nose against jewellers’ windows and wonder about the exciting lives the women wearing the huge pigeon egg sized rocks would lead. This fascination was the very reason for my choosing the path of fashion-and-beautiful-things writer to begin with. When you buy something beautiful you are not just buying an inanimate object: you are buying into someone’s dream and integrating it into your own life while making a statement about who it is you are or want to be. There truly is no better way to express yourself at a glance than by wearing a dress which is able to tell the world what you want it to.
Of course, all this would be well and good if it weren’t for the problem that many feel inclined to shame and even publicly call out people who are doing nothing more than spending their own hard earned cash as they deem fit.
The thing is that for me, buying clothes, bags and shoes is not just about amassing more things: it is about making life, with all its idiosyncrasies and its ups and downs, that little bit brighter, more colourful and well, better.
After all, who wants to face the rain in ugly shoes?