My parents sometimes comment that I’m a shopaholic, well, I have to admit that I love shopping (Who doesn’t?) But I tend to control myself and not shop excessively. But I still cannot deny the fact that shopping is such a fulfilling and exciting activity!!
And that is probably why I had this really random thought of writing a blog post on why girls love shopping.
Disclaimer: These are just my own opinions and observations, it does not represent everyone.
1) DRESS TO IMPRESS
I think the most basic and main reason why we shop is to look pretty/ handsome! Be it impressing your boyfriend, girlfriend, friends, colleagues, bosses, or anyone, just admit that most would want to dress up to look good in front of others.
It’s not just about flaunting your body or face with your shopping loots, but sometimes it is all about dressing decently to look neat and proper for a specific function like a business meeting. Our thoughts and behaviours are molded by society’s expectations. And that is why we do care about what others think or say to a certain extent.
Those who claim that they are entirely not affected by other’s judgment or feel that dressing up is sort of an attention-seeking behaviour, why not try turning up to school or work in your PJs?
And that’s probably why girls love shopping, we want to look different and unique for every single occasion.
We dress to impress. We dress to prevent bad judgment from others.
I’m not asking you to be superficial and place too much emphasis on dressing or to dress too provocatively, but we do care about our looks to a certain extent. Accept it.
Even if you don’t judge, you can’t prevent others from doing the same.
2) IT MAKES US FEEL HAPPY
Some say it makes them feel excited and provides a boost of adrenaline, others say that it is as relaxing as going to a luxurious spa.
It all boils down to one simple reason – It makes us happy.
For me, shopping gives me excitement especially when I look at shelves and racks of beautiful clothes and items that I really want. I would say that shopping can be an addiction. Sometimes the temptation is too strong to resist as it also provides a boost of confidence and happiness when you know that you are going to have new and pretty clothes to wear for the next outing.
I actually look forward to most of my shopping sprees knowing that I might have a chance of bringing super good buys home!
Who doesn’t enjoy that thrill?
3) RETAIL THERAPY
Heard of music therapy, art therapy and the list goes on and on… But I think retail therapy works really effectively for most girls, well, at least for me.
I think window shopping would easily do the job too. And I am actually thankful that it works on me or else I will burn a pocket in my hole and then the stress comes back all over again. And BAMMM! It becomes a vicious cycle. T_T
I actually found that I would subconsciously click into blogshop websites and view photos of clothes, bags, accessories WHENEVER I am in the midst of exam preparations!!! Super bad habit (tsk tsk) but it is a form of relief for me. Most of the time, after browsing through the web, I would tell myself, “Okay.. Enough of looking.. I have to save money..” Hahahaha.
But don’t ever go crazy and swipe your cards endlessly. Like I’ve said earlier, you’re just gonna fall into a deeper hole after that.
4) IT’S LIKE A GAME
YES, shopping IS like a game! Actually in fact, I feel that the “game” comes after the shopping part. Why do I say that?
I think the fun part about shopping is to explore the endless possibilities of fashion combination. Every time girls take something off the rack, they will probably go…
“This is gonna match my leather shorts!”
“OMG, this is perfect with my maroon skater skirt!!”
“Will this necklace go well with my other outfits?”
“This bag is super versatile! It will go with this this this this AND THIS!”
#truestory *Smacks face* I think my boyfriend is aggressively nodding his head as he is reading this paragraph. But I really enjoy the process of mix-and-match. Although mix-and-match is supposed to prevent us from buying MORE clothes, apparently it’s the other way round for me. The excitement of creating a different look with a particular apparel makes me want to shop more.
I think this brings us to the next point..
5) I HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR
Sounds familiar?? HAHA
We are never satisfied with the huge stack or piles of clothes we have in our wardrobe.
And it’s never EVER enough!
Common scenario: I walk to my wardrobe and start flipping through and digging beneath every piece to look for something to wear. I start trying on 1, 2, 3 or more outfits, look into the mirror and feel that it’s not good enough. I give up and decided that I just need more clothes!
I bet some of you probably do the same.
I know it’s a really really really bad habit to dump your clothes aside after wearing once or twice. What I do is to sell away some of them before getting new ones. At least, I don’t make such a big loss! And I will also get extra funds to shop heh! But yup, I do get bored of my clothes pretty quickly, I suggest to get more basics to mix and match instead.
And I realized that I seldom get bored of basic tops!
6) WAY OF SOCIALIZING WITH FRIENDS
When we go shopping, most of us wouldn’t want to shop alone. Of course you can, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that (: But personally, I don’t prefer that.
What I mean is that, when you hang out with friends (Particularly, for the girls), let me ask you, on a typical day out with your girlfriends, where would you head out to?
Food? Movie? Shopping?
Yup that’s basically it. Remember I said “typical”, of course there are actually many other healthy activities to do with your friends. But how easy is it to find a similar distinct interest with a group of other people? The answer is unlikely. Girls meet to shop. Simple as that.
I think one reason why girls like to shop together is also because of the sharing of ideas and giving of suggestions to your friends. Personally, I like to suggest to my friends some outfit ideas and vice versa, when I am having a dilemma between 2 tops, it would be really nice to have someone with me to give me some honest opinion. (Partly due to my indecisiveness..)
But yes, I do enjoy shopping with my girlfriends!
7) TOPIC FOR GIRLS TALK
When I say shopping is a form of socialization, it goes the same for communication topics with your girlfriends too. Spending hours looking at fashion magazines together with your girlfriends is probably one of the many side effects you get from shopping too much.
Ever since I got my hands on Pandora, a whole load of conversation between my friends and I are all about Pandora. Just plain talking about it is not enough. We even took the catalogue and browse through it together, commenting on the different styles and designs that we want to buy. Hahaha.
Sharing fashion tips and ideas is also another way of interacting with your friends and it all revolves around SHOPPING.
Guys who want to know what do girls talk about during “girls talk”?
Well, you have the answer. Not a full one though.
8) FOLLOWING FASHION TRENDS
I’m not one who follow fashion trends aggressively nor do I shop for branded goods excessively. But I feel that this could be one reason why girls always shop.
There is always something new in the fashion market. A new design, new style, new edition, limited edition, etc etc. Basically, there’s never-ending stuff to shop! Nowadays, the Internet has made it much more easier to follow the latest trends on fashion blogs, forums, and more.
Beauty and fashion tips are so accessible on the internet that it has made the temptation to shop so much greater.
While browsing through some fashion blogs, you might notice an attractive piece of apparel that looks super fantabulous on the pretty model. And it’s likely you’ll go, “WOW, I wish I own that outfit too..”
No matter how big or small the extent is, the Internet has more or less a certain influence on our shopping behaviour. And peers actually play a huge part too.
I think I am guilty of that too.
But I guess there is no harm if you learn to control (:
So that sums up the reasons to why girls love shopping! These are just my humble opinions and thoughts. Feel free to leave a comment or share my post if you enjoy reading it (:
Once again,
Continue shopping girls! (And guys too, if you’re reading this)
