Hello long lost friends,
I’ve basically been on vacation for the past week, so I’ve had plenty of time to snack persistently, drown in daytime television, flip through piles of magazines, and really dissect my feelings of guilt– you know, all that fun stuff. Why the guilt? Apart from my dismay at the length of time since my last post, I am now the proud yet totally horrified owner of the Loeffler Randall Matilde flat boot:
I know, they’re gorgeous, and you know I’ve been all excited about this brand since the summer. So what’s the rub? I PAID RETAIL. Few things make me feel like a bigger sucker.
Look, it’s not like I wanted to line shopbop.com’s pockets. I did reconnaissance, I swear! I checked eBay with greater frequency than my boyfriend checks his fantasy football scores. But in the end, I made the investment, and came up with a few arguments in favor of being ravaged by retail prices. Here they are, in all their glory, and hopefully they’ll be of help to you in a time of need:
*Sometimes, if you really want something, you just have to pay full price, or you’ll miss out: Ever notice how the particularly gorgeous items don’t tend to be around long enough to go on sale, they aren’t sitting around at sample sales, or languishing at Loehmann’s? In fact, those awe-inspiring items often end up going for MORE than retail on eBay later on. So suddenly paying retail seems pretty prudent, huh?
*If a pair of shoes opens up tons of unforeseen outfit possibilities, you’re actually saving money: Have you ever fallen for an item of clothing only to bring it home and realize that you’ll need quite a few new pieces, accessories, etc., to accommodate it? Well, if that’s not necessary, then your way-expensive purchase is suddenly, like, practical.
*Investing hundreds upon hundreds of dollars in one thing is OK because you it encourages you to be a more judicious shopper, passing on smaller, less impressive purchases: Last week I went to the [amazing] Ports 1961 sample sale. Now we all know that sample sale shopping can be psychologically challenging; it’s easy to fall into the I-just-dragged-myself-to-this-crowded-and-remote-location-thus-I-will-not-leave-empty-handed! mentality. But no! Although I had, in fact, trekked to 26th and 11th, I gulped and passed on the $345-marked-down-to-$10 oatmeal wool cropped trousers that looked pretty cute but not stellar. And just think– if I make about 60 such decisions, I’ll have paid off my boots.
*I get to pretend I’m French: Rumor has it that the French invest in fewer pieces per season, but they make those buys count, spending more on truly arresting pieces that they then wear a lot. Quality, not quantity, get it? (Note: this rationale has a serious downside: you have to commit to buying less stuff overall and it burns, burns, burns…)