Shopping Habits

Uniqlo blouse
Oak + Fort jeans (c/o) (similar)
Dune London mules (similar)
Mango sunglasses
Vintage necklace (similar)
Linjer ring (c/o) (similar)
Mejuri ring (similar)
Mejuri earrings (c/o) (similar)
Location: Winnipeg Clinic – Winnipeg, Manitoba

Shopping. My favourite pastime, my best coping mechanism, my sometime addiction… I could go on. I love a little bit of instant gratification and persistent online promotions (which seem to become more frequent, with deeper discounts, all the time) make it all too easy to keep up the habit.

When we lived in Paris while Ian went to school, shopping wasn’t really an option. That year of largely doing without taught me an enormous amount about my style. I learned just how little you actually need, when you keep a closet full of neutrals, for one thing. I learned to recognise what drove my compulsion to impulse shop, and find more constructive ways to manage those triggers. Which means that I don’t indulge in the worst habits of my early twenties, like buying a new outfit every time I’m going out, anymore. I am a smarter shopper now, but to say that I am a less avid one would be a lie.

But so much is changing in quarantine. And that, surprisingly, includes what I’m shopping for. I’ve worked from home for years now, but that hasn’t stopped me from having a continuous influx of new clothes arriving at my door. I’ve spent many a happy lunch hour online shopping, planning outfits for my next wine date or holiday. I do not get dressed for work, beyond changing from pyjamas to loungewear, unless I’m meeting with clients. My job is fast paced and high stress, so I feel better doing it when I’m comfortable. But that always made it seem that much more important for me to have fabulous outfit options for the moments when I was going out into the world.

The thing is, there is no going out into the world anymore, at least for the time being. And so I find myself coming to the very improbable realisation that I have not bought an article of clothing, apart from a pair of leggings, in well over a month.

I didn’t even own a pair of leggings, before the World Health Organisation declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Not one.

That doesn’t mean I’m not shopping. But the things I’m buying have changed considerably. I ordered a marble bust of Artemis from Greece. (She lives on top of my piano and I am convinced she is the most beautiful thing I own.) I’m currently waiting for a pair of fuzzy slippers to arrive, along with the aforementionned leggings. A box of additional art supplies, including an easel, is somewhere between the warehouse where it was packed and my apartment right now. My vintage candle sticks haven’t shipped yet, but I’m sure they will soon.

I doubt this change is permanent. In fact, I have an idea of what I want to wear on the first night I can go out again – some things never change. But it’s been interesting to see this shift in what I feel I need as life indoors goes on. Apparently, the answer is beautiful home decor. And an excess of paints.

Of course, I’m lucky to be able to shop at all. Always, but especially now, when many people aren’t able to work and may be without income. (Since I have the privilege of a regular pay cheque, I’ve been doing my best to support smaller retailers when making my purchases. Etsy is my new best friend.) And some people, who are less enthusiastic about shopping than I am, may simply not feel the need to do much right now. (Who are you? How did you learn such self-control?) So I’m curious – are you shopping right now? And if you are, what are you buying?

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