I'll Shop, You Drop!

What could possibly be more gratifying than going shopping? What could possibly be more satisfying than being able to peruse the vast array of colourful items of clothing; each row softly whispering your name as you urge your legs to keep moving, to ignore the pink suede that would look perfect with your tan bag…

…you walk past the aisles of clothes, neatly hung up together, colour coordinated and according to style – each soft ripple in the material begging to be touched. Just the once. It whispers your name and your hand reaches out, your fingers grasp the tip of the garment and as its delicate material caresses your skin, your bank balance flashes before your eyes, but before you know it, you’ve promised to eat lettuce for the next week so long as you can have that top – pleasthankyouandohmygod!

Seem familiar? It is this scenario no doubt millions of us go through when faced with the thought/need/urge/itch to shop. Sales or no sales, financial crisis or no financial crisis – retail therapy is the cure for the majority of things. Clearly not a broken leg, as anybody with half a nose for fashion will kick the crutches from beneath you if it means getting the last top in the last size.

So with my head full of all the fashion bursting through the market right now and the knowledge that Spain has extended their winter sales by two weeks – yes, two whole weeks (!!), when my aunt said she was planning on visiting Madrid for the weekend and would like to shop, well, I nearly hyperventilated with joy.

She wanted to revamp her wardrobe. All her things were fashionable in the 80’s and she wants new. I did tell her that the old is in fashion now; the big shoulders, the oversized knit wear etc But I also understand the need to feel a new item of clothing bumping against your leg through the shopping bag, as you take it home like the prized possession it is. I understood the yearning in her heart and so agreed to be her personal shopper.

It. Was. Fantastic. Shopping without spending money is amazing. I waltzed through the sections of clothing turning my nose up until I landed on a gem. Gem found, hand raised, pile increased and finally we would flounce off to the changing rooms.
Don’t think I am a complete saint-of-a-shopaholic-niece who has her consumerist itch scratched by watching others shop! No, no, I shopped earlier in the week and have managed to spend more money than the monthly recommended amount in just a few hours. Therefore watching my aunt spend money and shopping through her was surprisingly enjoyable! My bank balance also loves me more.

I already had a sense that Spain’s newest fashion scene was wanting to slink back to the 80’s – to the post-Franco years of the “Movida Madrileña”, translated as The Madrilenian Movement – which saw the birth of a new identity for Spain. From it rose many talented artists gracing many different fields, one of them being expression of oneself through ones clothes.

But it has been completely confirmed this weekend: Spain is working the ‘manufactured rebel’ – trying to be like those in the 80’s, but with none of the ‘pazazz’ that comes with the originality. The ‘in thing’ right now is to push the socially acceptable Spanish boundaries in the most pitiful manner.

This fake expression of the wealthy rebel advertises the whole ankle swinging, tight fitting, high waisted jeans teamed with flat, thin laced, pointed shoes and big black square rimmed glasses – and frankly, it is horrific. It is an asexual look and just screams copycat.

Primarily, why oh why would you tempt your ankles with chill blaines? Make your bum look bad in this day and age where we have jeans to fix all posterior issues and heavens above, I’ve very little that is not awful to say about the shoes. We are not in the 50’s 60’s, 70’s, 80’s or about to enter a jazz get together and apparently, we also, have no personality!

One thing is mixing today’s fashion trends with yesteryears and another to smack on a copied version of what used to be, on a very modern, well bred child who is clearly trying to rebel in the most mapped out way possible. Ummm…?!

The rebels of Spain’s 80’s had a cause, the cause was freedom. The rebel’s of today are without cause and so just look silly, for want of a better, stronger word.

All wannabe rebels without a cause aside, it is my duty as a fellow shopper to recommend that you do not die without experiencing shopping without spending money!! I can assure you, it is one of the most rewarding things a shopaholic suffering withdrawal symptoms could possibly live through.