Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Hibiscuses and Pin Up Girls (or The Emotional Spenders Lament)

Most of you will know what I mean when I throw out the term "Emotional Eater". You may even understand the phrase "Emotional Drinker". While I have certainly dabbled in both of those- I am also an "Emotional Spender". This is equally as destructive as the first 2- but for very different reasons. At the risk of sounding particularly shallow- stuff makes me happy.

There. I've said it.

 (I'm sure you are all suitably shocked and stunned by this revelation)

So logically- if stuff makes me happy (especially new and exciting stuff) then if I am not happy for any reason- this could be a good way to cheer myself up. Right?

Now I'm not trying to say that buying things (or clothes more specifically) makes my problems go away. It certainly isn't a long term fix. It does often take the edge off though. I can honestly say that some good old shopping therapy goes a long way to help with my overall frame of mind. Sadly it doesnt' have the same affect on my bank balance as a general rule...

The danger with the Emotional Spending (Or E.S as I shall refer to it for the sake of word over usage here) is that the risk of post purchase regret is much higher than if you are spending in any other frame of mind. There is an element of ... desperation I guess. There is more hope pinned on a purchase to lift my mood and it means that I am not as likely to really think through whatever it is I am buying. I have certainly had a few E.S moments that have gone pear shaped in the cold sobering light of getting them home. Thankfully today's frock- (while bought in a frivolous E.S moment) is not one of my regrets.



I had a wedding to go to of 2 very special friends back in November. I even had a job at the wedding. Yes thats right. I was entrusted to stand up in the ceremony itself and read out a poem. I felt ever so important and knew that this meant there was extra pressure to wear something awesome if everyone was going to be looking at me for a few minutes. (haha) This pressure didn't translate into an immediate need to go out and buy something. I have many a party dress in the Wardroom that hasn't been worn out yet, so I figured that this was my chance to get one of them out into the real world. I had not yet chosen the right dress for this auspicious occasion- but I knew I probably already owned it.

A couple of weeks before the wedding I was having a "meh" kinda day. I don't even think it was for any particular reason. I just felt flat and bored. For the record- I already know that this the worst possible time EVER to be browsing on trademe. My E.S cell count was too high for window shopping. I slipped on a picture and fell into an auction and bought a new (and completely unnecessary) dress under the pretence that I needed something new for the wedding. I wasn't even fooling myself at this juncture. The issue with this purchase isn't that I bought a new dress. I am always going to be buying new frocks that I arguably don't need. (pfft) The issue with this one is that I spent WAAAY more than I usually would for a single item. On something that I couldn't even convince myself that was required. The figure I'm talking here isn't bank breaking- but when you bring in as many new frocks as I do- you need to be a bit less frivolous. I spent $140.00 on this frock. That's heaps more than my usual bargain hunting brain would let me spend.

I love this dress. I really do. That doesnt' mean I still didn't get a bout of post purchase regret a day after I had paid for it. If I shopped around I could have bought many dresses for this price. I was disappointed with myself for giving into E.S in a moment of weakness. (Being aware of the dangers sadly doesn't mean you are in the clear. An E.S trigger can happen anytime. Anywhere. Be careful online shopping kids...)



I was still feeling a bit dumb for  buying this on the day of the wedding, but I was determined to stop dwelling on it. I put on my big girl panties (figuratively that is) and made a conscious decision to feel as fabulous in my new  and potentially overpriced dress anyway. I straightened my hair. Slapped on some false eyelashes. Donned some sky high red peep toed heels and a matching hair flower. I was starting to feel quite good when I left the house to go and get some cash out from the money machine downstairs. I had to walk past my local cafe to get to said money machine. There was a table of the classic rockabilly type girls sitting right outside that I had to walk past. I swear- every single one of them stopped talking mid sentence and stared at me as I walked past. I think one of them may have even had her mouth open! Now being a girl that likes to pay attention to what other girls are wearing- I am usually pretty good at picking these vibes up. I know the difference between good quiet and bad quiet anyways. This was definitely a good quiet- so I walked back home feeling like a million bucks.This was the moment that all post purchase regret truly left the building entirely- and I decided the dress was worth it's weight in self esteem. To top off this brief but 
 fantastic foray out onto my street- I also got a text from an acquaintance that had seen me walk past. All it said was "Goddamn those are some awesome heels...." My head was at least 3 sizes bigger when I got back home.



So back to the dress. It's one that is almost in danger of being on the "cliche" side of rockabilly. You know. That 50's reproduction kind of dress that may not scream out- but most definitely whispers "mass produced". Its a basic halter neck with a fitted bodice and circle skirt. Black with nice and bright hibiscuses and pin up girls. Even the occasional butterfly. While it came with a black belt- it was kinda dumb. I had a much better black waist cincher so threw that on with it too. Thisdress would have worked with a red crinoline (to go with the shoes and hair flower) but the black one just felt right. I listened to my heart on this one and stayed with the black petticoat. God knows I'm not usually very good at the less is more philosophy!

The beauty of having so many colours represented in this dress means that my accessorizing options are pretty limitless. I have an UH-MAY-ZING new pair of yellow shoes (yet to be featured) that are going to look pretty damned good with this dress too....


Labels: , , , , , ,

1 Comments:

Blogger The Eel Fairy said...

ahhh, finally catching up on some of your posts. Really enjoyed this. Sounds like you talking!! Cxx

June 5, 2012 at 10:40 PM  

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home