Saturday, September 23, 2006

The Inner Workings of a Shopaholic's Mind

Recently, Pear passed me a book from the Shopaholic series written by Sophie Kinsella. Although the book she passed me was the second book and I haven't read the first, I could immediately relate to Rebecca Bloomwood, the shopaholic.

Here's a snippet into the workings of a shopaholic's mind. (Ladies, don't lie to yourself, I'm sure you can TOTALLY relate.)


So for example, when I get to LK Bennett, I'm incredibly focused and direct. As I walk in, a pair of red boots with high heels catches my eye - but I quickly look away, and head straight for the display of sandals. This is how I shop these days: no pausing, no gorgeous new range of sequined pumps over there. I simply go straight to the sandals I want, take them from the rack and say to the assistant,

'I'd like to have these in a six, please.'

Direct, and to the point. Just buy what you need and nothing else. This is the key to controlled shopping. I'm not even going to glance at those cool pink stilettos, even though they'd match my new Jigsaw cardigan perfectly.

Nor those slingbacks with the glittery heels.

They are nice though, aren't they? I wonder what they'd look like on.

Oh God. This is really hard.

What is it about shoes? I mean, I like most kinds of clothes, but a fabulous pair of shoes can just reduce me to jelly. Sometimes, when no-one else is at home, I open my wardrobe and just stare at all my pairs of shoes, like some mad collector. And once, I lined them all up on my bed and took a photograph of them. Which might seem a bit weird - but I thought, I've got loads of photos of people I don't really like, so why not take one of something I love?

'Here you are!'

Thank goodness, the assistant is back with my lilac sandals in a box - and as I see them, my heart gives a little leap. Oh, these are gorgeous. Gorgeous. All delicate and strappy, with a tiny little blackberry by the toe. I fell in love with them as soon as I saw them. They're a bit expensive - but then, everyone knows you should never skimp on shoes, because you'll hurt your feet.

I slip my feet into them with a frisson of delight - and oh God, they're fantastic. My feet suddenly look elegant, and my legs look longer...and OK, it's a tiny bit difficult to walk in them, but that's probably because the shop floor is slippery.

'I'll take them, please,' I say, and beam happily at the assistant.

You see, this is the reward for taking such a controlled approach to shopping. When you buy something, you really feel as though you've earned it.

We head towards the checkout, and I keep my eyes carefully away from the rack of accessories. In fact, I barely even notice that purple bag with the jet beading. And I'm just reaching into my bag for my purse, congratulating myself on being so single-minded, when the assistant says conversationally, 'You know, we've got these sandals in clementine, as well.'

Clementine?

'Oh...right,' I say after a pause.

I'm not interested. I've got what I came in to buy - and that's the end of the story. Lilac sandals. Not clementine ones.

'They've just come in,' she adds, rooting around on the floor. 'I think they're going to be even more popular than the lilac.'

'Really?' I say, trying to sound as indifferent as I can. 'Well, I'll just take these, I think...'

'Here it is!' she exclaims. 'I knew there was one around here somewhere.'

And I freeze, as she puts the most exquisite sandal I've ever seen onto the counter. It's a pale, creamy orange colour, with the same strappy shape as the lilac one - but instead of the blackberry, there's a tiny clementine by the toe.

It's instant love. I can't move my eyes away.

'Would you like to try it?' says the girl, and I feel a lurch of desire, right to the put of my stomach.

Just look at it. It's delicious. It's the most darling shoe I've ever seen. Oh God.

But I don't need a pair of clementine shoes, do I? I don't need them.

Come on, Becky. Just. Say. No.

'Actually...' I swallow hard, trying to get control of my voice. 'Actually...' God, I can hardly say it. 'I'll just take the lilac ones today,' I manage eventually. 'Thank you.'



And for the next hour as she sits at a cafe sipping her cuppaccino, all she can think about are those clementine shoes and the outcome? What do you think? Duh. A woman can justify any want to a need.

Well, I haven't finished reading the book but I'm ever so thankful I'm not as bad a shopaholic as Rebecca is.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

www.jolieavenue.blogspot.com

I've been so busy and tired lately, I haven't had the time to sit down for a breather.

Life has suddenly caught up with me, age has clearly slowed me down and time has been slipping right by me. To be more explicit, work has come to a slow drag with sudden stressful climaxes, an extra hobby vies for the rest of my time, and love comes knocking at my doorstep.

Work...it's the same thing over and over again. Periods of constant waiting and periods of immense stress. A week without deadlines follows with a week with back-to-back deadlines. Work has definitely gone from stressfully interesting to stressfully mundane. But nevertheless, against the benchmark of going back to school, a pay check at the end of the month still works wonders for the shoppaholic's soul.

My newest hobby? I don't really know how else to call it. Perhaps it's called a hobby. Perhaps it's called side-line income. Anyway, Pear and I have just launched an online business on the 1st September 2006 selling jewelry, hand-made exclusively by us. It's our pride and joy at the moment: right from the start when we decided to start such a business, to the first day we actually got down to putting our talk into action on 9th August 2006, then to the day we rushed to launch the website on 1st September 2006, and till today, a normal business day for us, where we'll be meeting after work and uni to discuss business.

I'm still in disbelief, amazed at how just 2 months ago, we were still talking about how nice it would be to make and sell our own earrings. It was really all talk then and I never thought at that point in time, this dream would come true one day. Even my prince said so himself. When I met up with him slightly more than a month ago, it was only a casual topic of conversation that was brushed over briefly as a passing thought. And today. We've got a website, extra materials and orders!

Pear and I have plenty of dreams and to see one dream realised - I don't know how else to describe it but as Mr Big says on Sex and the City - ABSO-F***ING-LUTELY AMAZING!! The thing is, I've been so busy with the launch of it, I completely forgot to announce it to the world, so everyone out there, if you haven't already visited our shop, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Pigs to fly? Go NOW!

Apart from Jolie Avenue, there are other things new to the heart of this expired teenage shoppaholic - like Love. It's all new to me at the moment, and I have not figured out how to weave it into a bloggable topic yet. Perhaps coz 'love' is so personal to me, I don't think I can do justice to it with words just yet.

Monday, September 04, 2006

Like and Love

"There's a difference between like and love. I mean I like my Sketchers, but I love my Prada backpack." - Bianca, Ten Things I Hate About You

Sometimes, I wish it was so easily defined. Neverthless, here's what I think:

There's a difference between like and love. I mean I like that there's a difference, but I love how both feels.