BLOG: À La Mode
Retail therapy, set me free
By Melanie Barnes, Entertainment Writer
April 23, 2008 | noon
Glory help me, I’m online shopping... again.
It’s not like I meant to. I really didn’t this time.
It started out innocently enough, a Facebook invite to my hometown best friend’s 21st birthday party. Knowing that I won’t be able to make it to the party, I decided I’d buy something online and have it sent to her apartment.
As I said before, innocent, right?
Before I knew it, I had completely abandoned the store where I was browsing for her gift in favor of a store I had seen in an ad in NYLON. And it was having a sale.
I wish I could say I was addicted to something cool, like porn or even skydiving (although I do have an unhealthy love affair with peanut butter Cap’n Crunch). Alas, I’m stuck with a horrible money-draining habit and have nothing but a closet full of dresses, pumps and hoodies as evidence.
It’s just every time I get that itch I have to look, and damn that “clearance” button! I know that I definitely do not need another pair of flats, but sorting the price from low to high makes it so much easier than hunting down the bargains on Court Street.
A little too much easier.
This fascination with online buying has been with me for as long as I can remember. I believe it started when I made my first Amazon “wish list” one Christmas and sent it to my mom’s e-mail. When a few of the items ended up under the tree, I knew I had struck gold.
After that, I would still make the occasional wish list on various clothing sites and send them her way, though rarely did those ever become a reality. I didn’t really care. Simply dreaming of the outfits I could create was enough to fulfill my teenage “cool-girl-in-the-hall” fantasies.
Then I got a debit card, also known as an all-access pass to my own little world of online shopping and the front-row seat to the most awesome concert ever. I could order a freaking kimono from Japan if I wanted to.
I’m sure I’ve had one in my shopping cart at some point in time.
Regardless, now they’ve got me for life. Every store I’ve ever shopped at, “wish listed” or even thought about now sends me the most unrelenting e-mails announcing its sales. I swear Victoria’s Secret sends me at least three a day because they know I’ll eventually bite. I always do.
I feel as though I should have some kind of MTV self-help reality show. I hear they're handing them out like candy these days.
I’m glad I haven’t taken the time to figure out eBay yet. Rumor has it that there is a lot of neat stuff out there. But from where I’m sitting, I can hear my little debit card thanking me for not taking the time to look, for once.
---