Confessions of Shopaholic in the Making, Day 15

As I walk around London and continue to observe the amazing fashion sense of the British, it is hard not to get overwhelmed. Surrounded by so many stores filled with amazing clothes that cost more money than I have in my dwindling bank account, I realized today that I have to get practical. I love clothes...like really love clothes...and will admit to buying things on the whim. This not only results in a complete waste of money on things that I wear only once, but a feeling that I don't have one consistent style, instead just a bunch of mix-matched pieces that don't fit well together. Being in London makes me want to change this habit pronto.

I feel that part of me has gotten fed up with things not fitting me right, trying on pants that I know will not fit me, finding beautiful clothes that look disastrous once on. It's not fun going out shopping with very, very low expectations of actually finding anything.

Being in London with a small amount of money has made me approach buying clothes in a very different light. Today I walked around Covent Garden looking for places to work and looking at clothes made out of single pieces of fabric that cost more than I will ever dream of having in my wallet. I was disappointed to say the least, having come with high hopes that I'd leave London wearing clothes that I could for once feel confident in.

Walking into TopShop (my last hope at finding anything remotely nice) I realized that, despite how often I shop, I really had no idea what I was doing. How do those girls do it? The ones who always look stylish, the ones who just seem to pick clothes that suite them? As I walked around, I promised myself that I would stay focused, not pick up anything to try on unless I was absolutely sure that I liked it, and of course not buy something just for the hell of it (not having lots of money to throw away makes this easy).

I ended up being successful. I bought a coat that, unlike many previous impulse buys, will work with lots of stuff I already own.


I also left with these shoes, flats that are unique and stand out but are relatively simple.


I learnt today that patience is key with shopping for clothing. As a result, I've found stuff that suits me and that I'm happy with.

Have I really turned into one of those girls who blogs about shopping? (Just for the record, I have absolutely no intention of turning into Rebecca Bloomwood thank-you-very-much).