Wannabe Shopping Addicts Anonymous

I love to shop. I love walking around the mall-you know, when you can find one that has more than 4 stores open (outside of the food court). I love moseying down Main Street in cutesy tourist trap towns and walking into shop after shop after shop, always realizing that you should have waited until the next store to buy whatever you just bought because you found it for way less. I also love browsing online. Like a fiend.

This is something that my husband cannot at all fathom as he sees no point in trolling the internet looking at photos of things I will never purchase. I, however, find it therapeutic. Shopping online and browsing new sites alongside my tried and true favorites exposes me to new trends and styles. When I see cuts or hems that I haven't seen before, I take note of them and add the knowledge to my File of Generally Useless but Interesting Information. Prices have a tendency to be lower than in store. You can find specialty sizes more readily than in an average store and the variety tends to be much greater. I can take the time to closely look at pattern, design, detail without having the social anxiety monster come creeping up my back. Fashion apparel design has always been something that interests me to no end, thankfully the internet gives me limitless opportunity to see what designers are putting out in new groundbreaking trends, what's coming back around and how to restyle those gloriously worn basics. I consider browsing online to be an exercise in rationality, self control and style R&D.

Now of course nothing is perfect. The obvious drawbacks of online shopping are: A) If you suffer from Patience Control Problem, like me, you may find that you get a but down waiting for your item to arrive WHILE THE POSTMAN WALKS AROUND THE BACK OF THE POST OFFICE WITH YOUR BOX AND TELLS YOU THAT HE DOESN'T HAVE IT WHEN IT OBVIOUSLY SAYS SHOEDAZZLE ON THE SIDE AND WHO ELSE IN THIS TEENY TOWN ORDERS FROM THEM REALLY?????...ahem, and B) While pictures and sizing guides can be very helpful and in many cases can help you ensure that you are getting the quality product you wished for, there is no good alternative for being able to make sure those jeans aren't just  a tad too snug, for double-checking if the color of that top will sit well with your complexion or for slipping your foot into those heels just to practice walking around before you commit. Return processes with online companies can be tedious and generally require you to pay some additional costs. Despite the fact that it can be a pain, I still take so much pleasure in online shopping. Nothing beats getting your package freshly delivered form UPS and ripping through that gigantic cardboard box to the much smaller one inside with your wonderful purchases inside that (finally, just when you'd almost forgot that you ordered anything).

No matter the pros or cons, taking the mental break to browse Shoedazzle.com or one of the like is sometimes just what I need to reset myself. Nothing calms me down better than pages and pages of shoes.