I fell off the wagon.  On June first of this year I decided to forgo shopping in an attempt to curtail my materialistic urges.  I started out with the good intention as I abstained from buying anything except the bare essentials all throughout summer.  It was especially hard on my trip to Hong Kong, but I continued to hold out and determined to not be distracted by all the shiny things I see. When I finally gave in and bought a pair of shoes last week, I was disappointed in myself.

Pretty shoes

The good thing about living in New York is there are lots of opportunities to buy designer clothes cheaply at sample sales.  The bad thing about living in New York is there are lots of opportunities to buy designer clothes cheaply at sample sales.  When you see all these beautiful things on sale at an 80% – 90% discount, it’s really hard to say no.  The past 5 months, I’ve seen postings for sales popping up and I’ve ignored most of them, convincing myself that I absolutely don’t need to buy more shoes or sweaters or dresses.  That is, until I saw the post for a one-day-only Manolo Blahnik sample sale. My initial intention was go to and buy myself some much needed black pumps to replace the old and shredded pair that I currently wear.  When I got there, it was mayhem.  Women frantically dashing around, grabbing and hording piles of shoes, you would think they were giving them out for free.  The room was filled with shoes, but alas no pumps in sight.  I should have just left, but I didn’t because my will power only extended so far.  I browsed around and looking at all the beautiful shoes in all different sizes and colors, it was heavenly.

After trying on on all the pretty shoes, I finally settled on a few strappy sandals.  Shopping always leaves me with mixed feelings.  It’s a weird combination  of  adrenaline rush and guilt.  By the time I got home, the adrenaline wore off and it was just mostly guilt.  I stared at the bag, sitting there untouched in the living room, wondering when I’ll wear the coveted shoes.  This time I only lasted 5 months without shopping.  Even though it was a big fail, I am not going to give up on this experiment.  I’ll have to keep trying again and again until I can last a whole year without shopping.