Love shopping, fashion and cool new things. Do I?

The very sentence 'we know you love shopping, fashion and cool new things' was in an email to me from some marketing person. It doesn't really matter who from, in fact it was no one I'd even heard of, but the sentence had my eyes popping out of my head. Really, do I?

Actually no I don't like shopping, except for some reason in French and Italian supermarkets on holiday. I do like shops and I do like checking out stock and knowing what is in them. But I would never choose to shop. One of my clients asked me for help the other day in choosing a birthday present. I introduced him to Net-A-Porter. He loved it. For him it was the most pleasurable experience, no effort required. I suspect his girlfriend will love me too.

It is why people love Ocado, it is why if you could you would buy your food only from M&S and Waitrose. Anything that makes the shopping experience less of a chore and more pleasurable is the key.

Then there is fashion. Well of course I love the fashion industry, it enthrals and amuses me in equal measures. But I don't love fashion in some blind must have latest thing way. In fact I think fashion needs to reclaim some moral high ground and create an expression of culture through clothes. Of course marketing, profits and big companies dictate otherwise. Then there is the issue of people buying to create wealth. Our disposable incomes actually helped to fuel economic growth in the developing countries. Yet now we face such hard times (thanks to a few!) we need to not love fashion as we did.


I've fallen off the wagon of late in respect of not putting money aside as savings and instead spent it. However, I need to get a grip and return firmly to the fold of making do. On Sunday I decided to do a Make Do Magic post which provides useful shop things from range of products - please don't expect laptops or laptop folders type products - and I'll continue to do this. Which promptly puts me in the actually do I look bothered about cool new things. The coolest new thing I could ever get is a Miele washing machine.

My spending spurt is in direct correlation to the outpourings of our coalition government. I find their use of the word 'austerity' 'deficit' and 'cuts' rather preachy. I feel as if I'm being told off and I ought to know better. Being a bit rebellious by nature I want to do the opposite. Ah, that would require the means. I'll just keep switching the radio/telly off whenever they are on instead, it will stop me ranting at radio/telly too.

All of which puts me back firmly into the slow fashion camp. I think the buzz words should be cherry picking, creative and cunning. Both Vintage Vixen and Fashion's Most Wanted have impressed me with their resourcefulness (cunning) and I'm planning a Make Do 12 month strategy to ensure I employ more cunning (resulting in healthier personal finances) but satisfy my creative nature and my vanity. I think if you love fashion on any level you have a good healthy dose of vanity. I'm going to devise a cherry picking plan which will allow me to buy but within parameters. And in a way that doesn't really involve shopping particularly for cool new things.