You May Have a Shopping Problem When...

Now that my Neimans discount will disappear in a matter of days, I seem to have gained this dreadful anxiety and fear of loss. I'm panicking that I will miss out on making purchases with my amazing discount. My entire day spent at work has become a series of internal debates.

Manolos presented themselves as the first subject of this issue. I have my eye on the black patent Mary Janes, which, because they are a classic style, will never go on sale. I keep my shoes for a very long time, especially those that are investment pieces. Theoretically, I could still be wearing them in twenty years (after all, I still have my Sacha's from 8th grade graduation). Plus, I would be getting a little over 50% off with the NM discount... (in my mind they are pleading "buy me~ buy me!")

Ironically, clothing is not a huge temptation this time around. I have acquired a pretty decent wardrobe, and am more excited just to be dressing outside of a strict dress code (tights required, jackets must be worn with pants, etc... I never have dealt well with uniforms).

The big wake-up call happened when I wandered into the Gift Gallery/ Home department. There is a china set I've had my eye on. It never occurred to me to purchase one or two pieces until the other day. I was pricing out a platter and going back and forth on whether a set of plates which would actually see some use was a better buy than something that would be hung for decor. I started getting carried away (as I have a tendency to do), thinking that at 26 it would be nice to have my own set of china.

Nevermind that the smallest items are around $100/ PER PLATE. I thought out loud to myself how nice it would be to register for this china, and what a bummer it was that pretty place settings and registries are only associated with getting married (such a Sex and the City: A Woman's Right to Shoes moment). The sales associate rationed that I could always register myself. "Hmm" I thought, "Not an entirely bad idea." Then she told me under "bride" I would place my name and under "groom" I would type in "gift registry."

This is when the concept came to a screeching halt. It was one thing to consider buying a couple nice pieces of china for myself, but quite another to sign myself up for a pretend wedding registry. Talk about a shopping hangover! I quickly left the department and headed back to my own. It's definitely a good thing that I am getting out of the retail environment. I need a break from shopping everyday!