SHOPPING?

As mentioned in my last post my Vogue has finally arrived. A little bit of a treat for me once a month (when they send it to the right address that is!!) but a little reminder of what I am missing.

The subject of fashion was always going to be a difficult one for me from the moment I decided to make this huge, life changing move. I love fashion, I love clothes, I love shopping, I spent almost all of my disposable income on clothes/shoes/bags/accessories, over the years I dread to think how much money this would have added up to.  I spent a huge proportion of my spare time shopping in the real world and online, reading fashion magazines, fashion blogs, talking about fashion and recent purchases and coveting the latest things. I have collected 6 years worth of Vogue magazines, lovingly packed carefully away and I have continued my subscription as mentioned above although the nearest shopping town is about 3 hours drive away, and despite the fact that I am no longer earning enough money to buy new clothes! And I think the reason I love Sex and the City so much is the wardrobe of Carrie and Co, I still love everything every time I re-watch the episodes and the film’s (well I know I will when I finally get my mitts on the 2^nd film).

So how does a shopaholic, fashion addict cope with the knowledge that life in that respect may never be the same again? I know that there are much more important things going on in the world and in life in general but a girls got to have a little outlet eh?

Well, firstly once removed from the world of mass consumerism, limited internet access and a lack of funding plus the lack of temptation lurking around every corner, it is surprisingly easy to not obsess over material things. I am not confessing to being completely over it nor do I think given the opportunity I would go and splurge immediately but it is not that bad when you are not confronted with the opportunity to do so.

Especially when you are living in such a place as this. Day to day whilst skiing I am wearing ski clothes, 3 jackets, 3 pairs of pants, all intermixable colours. All hideous really when compared to real clothes, in no other walk of life would I wear a pair of turquoise bottoms with a chartreuse jacket?? Nor would I be seen dead in the shapeless styles and horrible fabrics that this outerwear is made of. They are a necessary evil. There is no other choice. I don’t really believe there is ‘nice’ ski/board wear, some is just a whole lot better than others. I have the best options of a bad lot. I wear these more than anything else in my wardrobe.  Strange that, the things I love sit in a drawer, or packed away in a box or a suitcase. But I also spend a whole lot less time thinking about it all.

Well, a lot less time than I used to anyway. My winter wardrobe that I have bought with me is what I would call incredibly casual, I am currently wearing skinny indigo jeans, black vest and grey cardigan. This would be considered rather dressy. This is not what I consider rather dressy. Last night I went out to a ‘party’ of sorts at a really cool bar, I wore khaki peg trousers, a nude ruffle shoulder jumper and brown lace up high heeled hiker boots, I would never have gone out in the evening wearing something so casual, I was probably one of the most dressed up in the place!!! Hmmm….

So although I am wearing less clothes (not in the naked sense I will have you know), because of the skiing factor, I have worn almost everything I bought with me. You will probably not be the least bit surprised when I now admit that I am BORED with almost everything.  This then leads me to getting creative with what I’ve got. Having got a splash of bleach on a pale grey baggy vest whilst doing the housework the other day, rather than bin it like I would normally have done, I sprayed the whole thing with bleach and I now have a new top, pale grey baggy vest with nude splodges all over it! I then (getting in the mood for it) chopped the neck off of an oversized jumper, which has improved the shape enormously. I then stopped before I took the scissors to my whole wardrobe. I could see it ending rather worse than it started so I thought I had better quit whilst I was ahead. Just call me Versace!