The 'F' Word.

FASHION. I love it. Who doesn't? Who doesn't turn their heads as they walk past a shop window with a well-dressed mannequin in the window? Who doesn't flick to the style pages in magazines for a sneaky peek of up and coming trends? Who doesn't admire other people's handbags/shoes/jeans/jackets as they glide past them in the street and wonder where they got that from?

Okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating, I admit it. We don't all do this? In fact, my boyfriend couldn't care less about current trends. He just wears what he likes, feels comfortable in, and whatever I tell him to put on, of course! I have friends who prefer to dress in what best suits their shape rather than what the fashion industry is trying to promote. And over half of the male friends I have wouldn't even know what was 'in' last season, never mind the current one.

But quite honestly, I don't have any problem with that. I can understand how fashion isn't a priority in many people's lives and it's true, there are much more important things to think about than what you'll have hanging in your wardrobe next spring. However, the majority of us girls just can't help ourselves.

Whether we long to find out what next season's trend will be, or whether it's just a case of cramming as much into your wardrobe, in-fashion or not, it can definitely turn into an obsession if you're not careful. I should know, I've been there done that and bought the t-shirt, literally; although not one, drawers full of them!

It starts off with a pile-up of magazines all with the fashion pages marked and most items seen, searched shops for, or even bought; then comes the discovery of online shopping where you get to the point of knowing your card number off by heart from having typed it in for your order so many times; then, of course, it's popping out to the nearest shopping centre or high street selection of shops on what is supposed to be your lunch hour to buy that top/skirt/pair of jeans before they run out of your size. And no, who cares if you skip your lunch as a result of adding more credit onto your card; it's a step closer to fitting into those high-waisted numbers you need to lose a few kilos for in the first place. Oh, and I suppose there's no point mentioning that Saturdays are no longer the days when you'd pop into the town centre to do some shopping. Everyday might as well be a Saturday for you. Or every day you get chance to hit the shops at least. Would you dare walk out of a shop empty handed? I would have rather dropped dead. No exaggeration. (Okay, maybe slight)!

But that's what I mean when I say obsession. It literally is. It's an addiction and it just keeps on growing and growing as your wardrobe expands. People say to you, "You never wear the same thing twice". And it's true. But eventually it gets past the point of dressing in something different everyday to make a statement; there's just no need. You've got so many pairs of trousers and skirts you could wear a different item every day of the month and you'll probably still find something you haven't worn. Your collection of tops/shirts/jumpers is so endless that you could easily change your top-half 3 times a day for at least 3 months and there'd be still no need to repeat. And don't even get me started on shoes/bags/accessories. They have long since needed a special place made in your house because, do you really think they'd fit in your wardrobe with all your garments?

Does all this sound familiar? It's scary but true. There are so many of us out there who are addicted to shopping. But the good news is, some of do get past the addiction. Just like people addicted to nicotine give up cigarrettes. Alcoholics become tee-totals, and ex-drug addicts can't even remember their last fix. So I hold my hand up high and say, I am a recovered shopaholic. I can now go for weeks without buying one single item of clothing. The only time I wear new jewellery is if it is a present. I can now walk out of a shop empty handed and still have a smile on my face. And most importantly I can go much longer than a week, a month, and even a whole season if I have to of not even stepping into a place where I once would consider more comforting than my own home. And you know what I'm talking about.

But luckily for me, I didn't have to learn the hard way. I've never used a credit card or even a store card in my life, so my obsession with fashion never once lead me to any kind of debt. Practically all of my monthly salary was spent mostly on clothes, but I still kept aside the amount I was saving fro my new house and never once dipped into my savings account to feed my addiction. My extensive collection of 'clobber' took up three warbrobes, and has since been turned into a closet, but however much I bought each month and although fashion always came first, there's no doubt about the fact that I luckily had the funds in the first place, and this is what I'm stressing; you just have to. But the minute you run out of money or other things in your life start to take priority, you know it's time to stop. And only one word curbed my addiction. Mortgage. That all important monthly repayment that once you've got, you just know that your whole life is about to revolve around that. Among all the other things that come with owning a house of course, mostly all starting with b and ending in l.

So, unless your whole live doesn't have to depend on your mortgage and homely payments, and you luckily have a job that covers all costs easily leaving you with more than enough to spend on what the hell you like, there's no need to quit the addiction like I did. That's unless you really want to.

Okay, so I can't really compare it to giving up cigarrettes or drugs like I previously did. Most ex-junkies would never touch that horrible skag again. But I, of course, still treat myself to that pair of sandals I've just got to have, and I'd never use the same handbag in summer as I did in winter. However, all within reason. Now it's all a lot simpler. If I can't afford it, I just don't buy it. Those shoes will just have to wait until I can non-guiltily treat myself to them. I'd go back to a handbag that I haven't used for months as my summer arm candy. Whereas before I'd probably end up bribing my boyfriend into buying them all for me, usually involving me sitting through a horrible, gorey, violent or incredibly torturing film at the cinema, whilst he munched his way through two buckets of salted popcorn, just so I could have that dress I'd previously seen in Mango.

These days I'd rather sacrifice something for that dream jumper I'd see in a shop window. I'd put in an extra hour at work, or skip a Saturday night out, or even miss my favourite weekend treat of a girly meal with wine, because that could cost a pair of gladiator sandals for the summer. Mmm, the very thought of them......

I would be lying if I were to say I don't miss my daily trips to the shops and ripping off those price tags of all those newly bought items. But I still probably have enough clothes to not wear the same things more than once for most of summer, but that's because instead of throwing out stuff I'm bored with, I'll now keep it and wear it the next season. Anyway, who else has noticed the same things popping up in the shops season after season? Waistcoats look here to stay, but that's a whole different post.

So, my friends, I end this post with, for the non-fashion followers reading this, you really don't know how much money you're saving! Good for you, and unless you're not wasting your hard-earned cash on some other obsessive and mostly brainwashing, media addiction, don't fall into the fashion industry trap.

And if like me, you're a fashion follower and addicted to the shops, make sure you know what you're doing. Have the funds, don't let it take over your life and you CAN wear the same things twice. But not three times. ;)