Love and shopping? Do the two words go together? Should they? I say they do. Why? Well, if you’re like me, you love shopping and can’t wait to do it over and over and over again-sometimes a few times a day, if you’re lucky.
And just like any relationship you’re in, there are different reasons for why you love the whole shopping experience. For some of us, it’s a matter of economics. We obsess about how to get more bang for our buck, how to stretch out our dollars so that we have everything we need (food, clothing, shelter). For others, it’s all about the fun-the fun of finding the perfect outfit to wear to go out to dinner, the right handbag to go with the outfit, the right shoes to go with the handbag (well, you get the point). Shopping can also be social-the bonding and small talk that happens when you are with your best girlfriends, scouring the racks at a department store, trying on jeans in a fitting room or window-shopping as you walk down a street filled with boutique stores. For me, it’s all of the above and so much more.
Whatever the reason, all I can say for sure is that shopping is a high. I can feel it-the excitement surrounding it-just like the high you get when you fall in love (or read Fifty Shades of Grey-it’s a toss up).
If I’ve had a bad day or feel just lousy because my hectic life is getting way out of control, more than I can handle, I go shopping and suddenly and almost instantaneously, I feel better, notice the corners of my mouth turning up into a smile and feel my back straighten out as I walk with a spring in my step.
I’ve read all about the medical reasons behind my physical reaction to shopping-that shopping releases the same endorphins from your brain as when you fall in love. And I so believe it because I get the same reaction from ‘love at first sight’ with a man as I do with ‘love at first sight’ over a pair of designer shoes-the tingling sensation, the flutter of the stomach, the anticipation of taking your shopping bags home with you and going through all of your purchases, showing it off to your sister, calling up a friend and gossiping about the bargains you got, sharing the heady moments together.
It is heady. It’s just like the beginning of any romantic relationship. The beginning of a commitment. Let’s face it, I’ve have shoes that have been with me much longer than some of my boyfriends. I’ve had clothes that have come into and have gone out of style-been considered new, then old and then vintage chic, all within a few years-but nevertheless have stayed with me through thick and thin (sometimes more thick than thin). I have clothes that go with my many changing moods-clothes that I slip into when I want to feel sexy, youthful, athletic, professional or playful. Then there are my comfort clothes that see me through ‘that time of the month’ or when I just want to crawl under my covers and never see the light of day again. Regardless, all of it would not be possible if I didn’t love shopping.
So do love and shopping go together? Absolutely! And just like love, I either go in all the way or not at all and 9 out of 10 times with both, I take the jump and enjoy the journey (and bargains) along the way!