Marital strife might not be your story, but I want to throw out a couple of things that might make you pause a bit if you have a challenge with retail therapy.
Why You Keep Buying Clothes You Never Wear
Making emotional purchases- it's the biggest culprit to the things that are hanging in your closet that you're not wearing.
Let's call a spade a spade - emotional purchases are usually fueled by something deeper than just a crummy Monday.
The real issue, my dear, is that dreaded "I" word - insecurity. We all have our own inner voids and feelings of insufficiency that we're desperately trying to stuff with stuff. With clothes especially, there's an innate desire to curate an outer appearance that protects our inner selves. New threads = fierce armor to face the world. We can't help but think,
"If I look good, I'll feel good too."
Here's where it gets tricky, because I wholeheartedly believe
IF YOU LOOK GOOD, YOU FEEL GOOD! We just need to throttle back on the compulsive shopping that can stem from retail therapy.
Looking at what could be major contributors to the shopping obsession. We've all found ourselves stuck in the cycle of, “Maybe if I buy this, I'll finally be happy with myself.” Spoiler alert: It's a lie!
- Feeling insecure about your weight? Buy something black and slimming.
- Feeling insecure about your career? Buy something expensive so people know that you’ve made it.
- Feeling insecure about your appearance? Buy whatever the salesgirl said you looked good in or that IG account said was a “must have”.
Buying new things when we feel bad about ourselves might seem like a way to “fake it until you make it” … but realistically, when we buy clothing that doesn’t represent who we really are, it doesn’t get worn.
If this becomes your default, you will realize pretty quickly that you have a closet full of clothes and nothing to wear. And then comes the guilt. And oh boy!-isn't that fun to release!😒
Not really sure about your own personal style so we are easily influenced by others.
This can be beyond common, especially when we're influenced at every turn on social media. Before it would be the magazines, TV and the trip to the mall, but now we look at everyone, looking fabulous, going to beautiful places and think- “I want that!”- and we don't take a minute to stop and see if it would
A) Look good on our body.
B) Work for our lifestyle or
C) Be a piece that feels like us!
There is a huge difference between the styles you admire and the styles you actually enjoy wearing.
Cue my white button up shirt story I always tell. I think I've purchased 3 or 4 in my lifetime and EVERY time I feel wildly uncomfortable in them.
It's not me.
Style is as subjective as art, music and food. You like what you like.
There is space in this world for Taco Bell and Del Frisco's Steakhouse and everything in between because we are all wildly different. Let's figure it out so you can stop wasting money and time!
