Books are Entertaining
A rather dry statement, though hardly a surprising one for anyone who's known me for a while.
Like Wende and SCB and doubtless others, I've hit the library shelves for resources in the spirit of Wardrobe Therapy. So far I've learned that:
- It's important to wear clothes that fit you.
- Black is a neutral.
- You can save money by buying things on sale.
The same thing happens, of course, with all sorts of topics - decor and productivity spring to mind - which is why the self-help industry is such a cash cow. And the then there are the quizzes, like we were discussing briefly at Wende's. Does the average reader of Cosmo really need somebody to tell her that she's the kind of girlfriend who likes to get flowers for no reason at all? I'm a little curious about what makes us do all this retracking - is it just entertainment, affinity, self-fascination, and/or inaction bias, or is there something more interesting going on? (I'm thinking probably not, but you never know.)
So, I was perusing these redundant books, and I finally asked myself, "What information do I actually want, here?" At this point, I know what I like, what looks good, what works, what I want, all that good stuff. My primary issue right now is sourcing.
I understood surprisingly late that, for some women, shopping is something you do, something that regularly just happens as a part of ordinary life, akin to watching television or drinking coffee. Silly me, all these years I've only been going shopping when I'm planning to buy something. But I bet all those shopaholics have accumulated, along with their consumer debt, a body of knowledge that would come in handy. When the question is how and where to find what you're looking for, familiarity with the course, so to speak, has to be an advantage.
So, other than a systematic and comprehensive inspection of every store in the mall every month, how do we get to the bottom of this? There aren't any shortcuts, are there?
before I got married and had Max, I shopped. A lot. For fun and sport, and it is a sport. It's just like hunting. You have to go out into the wilds and track and find your game, then pounce on it before anyone else does.
ReplyDeleteNow, I just go out if I need to buy something. It's not nearly as fun.
I do hunt on the side, not as much as I used to, but I've found a couple of places that the sizing is relatively predictable at and consistent with my style so I check those two or three websites regularly and then hit the stores not-so regularly when I see they've got what I like on sale (or order from the website if I spot a really good deal). It's just how much time you're willing to invest.
ReplyDeleteThe books are all pretty repetitive after about the third or fourth one and looking at stuff YOU will wear becomes a more productive project. As much as many of us would prefer the reading to the hunting ;)
I'm a believer in browsing the Web sites of stores where I might want to shop. This allows me to achieve frustration and despair in the comfort of my home. Thrifting is the only shopping I regard as sport: department-store shopping is a surgical strike.
ReplyDeleteThe books are... hypnotic. Soothing, in an annoying way. I keep hoping for some insight I haven't had before, which is why I like the new book I like but very nearly tossed the latest edition of CMB off the balcony of Borders' coffee shop.
@Anne - I think you nailed it there.
ReplyDelete@Wende - I do a lot of that too, but I'm frustrated by how often I end up changing my mind when I see things in person, and also by inventory variations.
As it turns out, I'll be doing some exploratory work on Saturday. I'm going to the mall with a friend on the agreement that she'll keep me moving from store to store if I provide supervision to keep her from panicking and buying something dumb.