Shopping: The sweet bliss of UNSCATHED

SIA has always loved the buzz of shopping. Forget the beach or the snow or the bush. She's an indoors gal and the mall was always her favourite place to go & not because of the movies or other entertainment which it includes. Mind you when she was a nipper, malls didn’t have all that entertainment they do these days – they only had shops. Hard core shops. And that’s what she liked.

The thrill of the shop (using the word as a verb here) is always a buzz. When the SA wraps the item in tissue, puts it in the bag & gives it to you. It’s a rush, a high and as any addict will tell you, its just wonderful.

But ever since I started to "get" the fashion flattery stuff – colour, cut, fabric & proportion, I have gotten a really perverse sense of PEACE every time I walk out of a shop UNSCATHED.

Unscathed means resisting buying something which I touched, tried on or twirled in. Yes, I twirl, but when I do it outside the fitting room, it means the item follows me home. In the fitting room? Generally it stays on the rack.

And its never been about the money. Not that I have bucket loads, but I do subscribe to the theory that if you REALLY want it, you'll find a way to make it happen by re-prioritising other stuff, like food, rent, electricity, petrol, holidays and other small bits & pieces which are after all, just incidental to life.

Unscathed means I figure out WHY something is WRONG so that the LOGICAL side of me takes over from the HEART side, sufficiently that the item stays on the rack. The colour makes me look ill – why would I want to look ill? It has too many horizontal lines which make me look fat. And short. Why do I want to look fat & short? Its too directional. Why do I want a one season wonder when my whole ethos is about investment dressing? It doesn’t fit me well even though it’s of great quality & a bargain – why do I want to buy something that needs such a massive overhaul in alterations? If I buy it, I would need to buy bag/shoes/bling to wear with it because its not in my normal colour palette – so when I factor the extras, its double the price. No, no, no, no & no.

Unscathed gives you a terrific sense of closure - as long as you already have some basics in the wardrobe and arent walking around naked. In day time. Its about no longer losing sleep over something. Its about wishing that the item goes to a good home that will love it and knowing that wont be you.

Unscathed is about holding off looking OK (now) because you value look amazing (soon in the future).

99% of the time I am world class Olympic gold medal at unscathed.

I did fail once last week (still have to tell you about that…).

Today I got 2 more medals in unscathed.

UNSCATHED MEDAL #1: This Trenery shirt

I already have the Trenery shirt – looks like a school shirt but is sooo me in a crisp cotton poplin. Now that its on sale ($90 to $60), I was contemplating a back up. 

But instead of being my best white (stark), it is slightly off white – but so slightly, that I didn’t realize when I bought it. Now, I am not slipping – well, sort of. Its just that none of the white shirts in the store at the time were whiter – so I assumed it was stark white. Plus I was in a hurry. That doesn’t help. Oops.

I wore it today with a vibrant Hermes scarf which was 110% in my colours, so all was good with the world. 

But a back up? I realized that it isn’t appropriate if the colour isn’t spot on perfect. A back up has to be 100% perfect for you. Otherwise you end up with a so-so wardrobe times two because not only is the main not prefect, so too is the back up.

Maybe if it was $30. Hahaha. Just kidding. Not.

UNSCATHED MEDAL #2: This Zara top

I had saved this Zara picture from the US site many months ago. Because I loved it. 90s grunge in a 2013 mix. How could one not love it? 

Today I saw it at Zara in Bondi Junction. So I grabbed both available sizes for a try on. So excited. My dream top. 

As soon as one went over my head, I looked in the mirror & felt like dialing for an ambulance. Hospital colour.

Specifically, the maroon is a hospital colour for me as it is a burgundy with yellow mixed in. Burgundy likes me. Yellow does not. Hence maroon does not.

Being unscathed can be very liberating & not just on the purse.

Understanding what doesn’t work (& why) simply helps you make better decisions going forward.

Have you had any unscathed shopping incidents lately?