oops

Oh shit.

I bought eight pairs of shoes today.

But wait - I am going to try to justify this obviously ridiculous move.

Reasons why it's okay to buy eight pairs of shoes in one day:

- They were on sale.

Usually that's a fairly lame defense but Wittner had an 80% off sale today. My eight pairs of shoes came to a total of $1,219.60. I paid $243.80, meaning I saved $975.80 off retail price. I also didn't break rule number two - although this is exactly the kind of mad sale-spending I thought it would inspire.

- They're all classic, practical styles.

The style gurus at Who What Wear.com are continually stressing the importance of investment vs. seasonal pieces. Most of my shoes were black, of good quality and relatively classic design. (The chunky buckled heels - which will probably cause me to break my ankle the first time I get drunk while wearing them - are actually a seasonal piece. But hey, 7/8 isn't bad.)
Most of the shoes are suitable for the workplace, and will be needed for that miraculous day that I actually get a job. They were all practical purchases (again, I'm ignoring the buckles.) So there.

- I nearly bought at least two of them at full price.

There's fashion-lust and there's fashion-love. Lust is all in the heat of the moment. You see something in a shop and involuntarily reach for your credit card (or try to rattle off the numbers from memory, in my case.) Love, on the other hand, grows over time. You see it, you want it, but you don't take the plunge. It's fashion foreplay and the same kind of situation that happens when you lay-by: you want it all the more for having to wait for it, or thinking that it might have slipped away.
And they say romance is dead.

On the other, more logical side of the argument:

- It is ridiculous to buy eight pairs of shoes in one day.

Moderation is hardly my middle name, but it's profoundly excessive.

- I broke one of my rules.

I didn't spend a third of my pay this week. I spent everything I had left until Tuesday and then chipped into my savings.

Yuck. I am not good at this.

Anyway, I'll write that off as the last hurrah. At least I'll be elegantly shod when I'm trampling about as an op-shop bag-lady.

i spend too much money

I spend too much money on my wardrobe. I spend way too much money. Actually I don't like that word - spend - because it makes it glaringly obvious how much I've been throwing away. I tend to think of my wardrobe purchases as an investment, although it's not likely to return any dividends.

By the time pay day rolls around each week, I'm normally scrounging around for change in my car ash tray while wearing the lovely new dress I just had to have. I don't save anything and there's normally at least a couple of hundred dollars owing on my credit card. Which I cut up, by the way, but still use online because I can remember the numbers. I spend so much of my income on pretty new dresses and handbags and shoes that I can't actually afford to go anywhere wearing them.

Anyway, that's enough about that as it's too depressing to dwell on. The first step is admitting you have a problem and living a hand-to-mouth existence with $2.90 in my bank account because Mimco had a sale has definitely become a problem.

And the solution?
To stop, obviously.

Except that's never going to happen. Quitting cold turkey, I mean. I'm not going to stop wanting pretty new things, and as long as I keep earning money, I'll keep trying to find them. Instead of trying to stop completely, I'm going to (try to) change my habits.

So, here are the rules:

1. I am not allowed to spend more than a third of my wage on clothes, accessories or make up.

A third might seem pretty generous, but since I'm now wasting about 90 per cent of my income on a good week and three times my income on a bad week, a third seems feasible. Unfortunately I'm very bad at maths, so this will probably prove a headache. Sigh.

2. I am not allowed to buy anything full-price.

Which is not to say I should go all out just because something is on sale, but we'll worry about that when/if the problem arises.

3. I must learn to make do with - and make the most of - what I already have.

Obviously this is the most sensible thing I've written so far and if I were a stronger-willed/less consumerist/better person I'd be more committed to this frugal lifestyle and not buy anything at all. But that would be like trying to give up chocolate - I'd last a week and then eat an entire block in a single sitting.

Instead I'll try to keep my limited purchases down to things which work well within my existing wardrobe, and try to creatively devise new ways to wear what I already have. That at least should prove entertaining.

Anyway, those are the rules - all of which may be bent or broken at any point during this bizarre little experiment, and should probable be added to because none of those are particularly limiting, really.

We'll see what else comes up as I go along.