The response, comments, and interest in my post, Finance & the Fashion Blogger: Ignore-ance has been overwhelming and incredible. Though I haven’t responded, please know that I’ve read them all.
Money– It’s Important to talk about.
And I don’t mean how much we make.
In the U.S., the Horatio Algiers, rags-to-riches ideology is still an active part of the American Dream. Unfortunately, the mentality of living outside our means began with the Baby Boomers, and that, coupled with our inability to talk candidly about finances (and how to use them), has left the American economy in crumbles.
Recently I received an email from Daily Worth the other day about a new book coming out: Spent: Memoirs of a Shopping Addict
That’s 15.3 MILLION PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES ALONE.
Dudes. That’s a LOT of people with shopping addictions.
Curious to know what makes up shopping addictions? 58 Warning Signs of Shopping Addiction.
A recent post on NYPost.com called Shop Junkies featured 5 New York women and their shopping habits. Among the quotes:
The damage: “Let’s put it this way: Louboutin sent me a bottle of champagne last week. American Express Platinum is grateful to me. I don’t care how much I spend. I need to have what I love. I want to get a great value, but that’s not my driver.” – Carol Brodie
Her credo: “When I first got to college, I thought credit cards were like magic plastic, and then the bills came. I screwed up my credit, and to this day it’s still screwed up,” confesses Shure, who once went on “Oprah” to get a scolding from financial guru Suze Orman. It didn’t change her shopping habit, but now Shure feels guilt over her addiction. “You look at your closet, it’s an empty chest of things. Other people go on trips or have a savings, but you have a pair of shoes.” – Eva Shure
Fashion Bloggers: An At Risk Group
I opened up this discussion because I see fashion bloggers as an at-risk group. I know that I myself am and can be capable of addictive shopping patterns and habits. It’s similar to being more at risk of developing alcoholism because it runs in your family; it doesn’t mean that the habit or addiction WILL form, but certain characteristics make it possible.
Many people brought up the alternatives of shopping at thrift stores– and in discussing the topic, Miss Malaprop and I came to one conclusion– that can be just as addictive. It’s easy to think that shopping at a thrift store can automatically make you more frugal and less likely to put yourself in financial burden. But what’s the difference between spending $25 on something you really love at the Gap or $25 on pieces you love at the thrift store?
There was a popular blogger a few years back, who was well known for her thrifting and fantastic wardrobe. She had done a series on cleaning out your wardrobe…. at the end of it, I recall seeing a full-to-the-brim wardrobe, and a dozen bags of clothes to be donated. Piles of shoes to be sorted through. I was appalled and confused by the massive consumption of it all– because in our minds, shopping secondhand or at thrift stores isn’t about that.
Thrifting can be just as addictive and just as costly in the end as buying new clothes from a mass retailer. Like Birdiee said in a tweet, “It’s all about moderation.” Whether you’re buying new, used, swapping, or sharing, consumption is consumption– and the excessive need to consume can lead to financial burden.
Leaving a Different Legacy
One thing, that I realized was incredibly important after reading through so many comments– we need to talk about money. So many of us weren’t raised knowing how bills were paid, how credit cards worked; our parents shielded us from it. Many of us grew up making the same mistakes as our parents or struggling and fighting not to make the same mistakes.
The “thank you”s from teenage women in that post though, really reiterated to my WHY it’s important for us to have this conversation. Many of us have teenage readers, and if their parents aren’t having this discussion with them (like our own mothers and fathers may not have), who will?
I learned the mistakes of my parents by repeating them. But if we can speak up, and some young man or woman can turn 18 and turn down those credit card offers (or better, take one of them and learn to use it responsibly?)– then we’ve just done something awesome.
Edit: An interesting article from the New York Times on Video Bloggers & Showcasing their “hauls” online.
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I love these posts so much. This issue really does need to be talked about. Sometimes I find myself wondering how a blogger can spend so much, and what kind of financial backing they have to afford their lifestyles. I see now that many of them (though not all) are probably in debt to their eyeballs. One way that I try to limit my consumption is by putting myself on ‘no-buy time.’ I will be the first person to admit that I have a problem with buying makeup. I love the stuff, and can’t seem to have enough. To counteract this, I will consciously make the decision to not buy any makeup for one entire month. So far, this has worked for me. All of February I did not buy one stitch of makeup, and actually used up some of the stuff that I had bought in the past. I think that if bloggers can put themselves on spending holds for certain periods of time, they will be able to appreciate what they have previously bought, and can better analyze their shopping habits.
i’m definitely in the at risk category, but then i was when i started. it’s crazy that way. and you’re right it’s important to talk about money. very important. i don’t know how that got lost when we moved online, but it seems like there are so many people working so hard for little return.
i don’t know, it’s all crazy, but we’re certianly in need of a good old fashioned reality check.
jennine´s last blog ..Eat, Sleep, Denim
We really do! It’s funny, for a lot of my more “at risk” behaviors & mentalities, I’m lucky to be back in New Orleans when I am– because it provides me that reality check. But coming online can be like a fantasy work at times…
Thank you Ashe. Being a newcomer in this country I did not know about using credit cards and was afraid of them in the beginning and then after getting a job and earning a much higher income than I have ever dreamed of at that age I got my first credit card with a 2500 dollar limit, At first I was really good and then I don’t know how suddenly it went all out of control. Now I have a 2000 dollar debt on me, which is not much compared to many but I am proud to say that I am slowly getting out of it. Once I do, I’ll cut off the card and never get one again. It’s just a dangerous temptation I do not need. :)
Trishna´s last blog ..Cherry Blossom Girl
Oh Trishna, I’m glad you learned, in my eyes, pretty quickly about credit cards! I have no doubt you can’t get that debt paid off…. if you’re interested in learning more about credit & using it in the States, I’d recommend check out Suze Orman. I’ve learned so much from her over the years…
I gotta tell you, people aren’t consuming like they used to and I wish they would before everyone I know, including myself, goes out of business.
WendyB´s last blog ..I’m Not Here, I’m There
I’ll admit Wendy, I have mixed feelings— on one hand, you know I’m a HUGE, HUGE supporter of independent businesses and designers. I really DON’T want to see those people go out of business (or for anyone to lose their jobs). On the other hand, I am glad that they economy has shifted people’s attitudes about spending, so that we’re not consuming so much blindly and that we are thinking more about what we are buying and buying more we love.
I know you know this, but it really means a LOT to me to know that I have my list of pieces I want to get from you, and to know that I’ll have to save up to get them. (And that the first will be a reward for getting a good chunk of my credit card debt paid off!)
Very well thought out and interesting. I always do my best to live within my means, but sometimes it’s hard to stick to a budget when there are such cute things to buy!
Kaye´s last blog ..Out of Print
Yes, thrifting can become an addiction too, but the whole point is that you don’t HAVE to spend that $25 to get the same wardrobe refreshment you do when buying retail. I think it is indeed a significantly better thing to be able to have a new-to-you blouse for anywhere from $.99 to $4 and still have $21-24 left over. There are lots of us who are perfectly capable of not spending the whole $25, in fact there is a certain rewarding feeling in NOT doing so, while still having a fabulous “new” (in some cases *actually* new) blouse or whatnot. And, I disagree that thrifting is just as consumerist. Buying second-hand is absolutely less so than buying retail, and less wasteful as well. It enacts all 3 R’s of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle at different points.
Second – there is a gendered component to financial illiteracy, not just because women are relentlessly marketed to around heightening their appearance (which in our society is far too highly prioritized IMO), but because in previous generations it was believed that we shouldn’t know how money works. It was thought that not only should we not be working for a living, but that our input wasn’t wanted on household finance. We were “ideally” supposed to be kept by a well-off man who ran everything. (This philosophy is what my own mother intended for her daughters, even though following it was a disaster in her own life.) Therefore we end up with a lot of women who are ill prepared for the real world.
The men generally grow up with a different financial disaster waiting to happen – the “playboy” ideal. This is where men act like 17 year olds for decades, amassing the usual list of stupid, expensive toys including cars, music systems, foosball and pool tables, the basement bar with the dumb beer advertisements, porn mags and DVDs, and nights out with “the guys.” (Did I miss anything?) And this is all bought on loans/credit cards, naturally.
Anyway, this is a good conversation, even if I disagree with you about thrifting not being any different from retail buying. :)
First, I wish you’d used a name– afterall, I feel kind of stupid to talk back to “Someone.”
Don’t get me wrong– I do completely agree with you regarding thrifting– but the point of this is to make people think, and by the number of comments I saw about thrifting, I thought there was a side of that needed to be addressed.
Yes, it’s absolutely less wasteful, and yes, you can absolutely update your wardrobe for less. But on the same hand, there are many thrift stores that don’t cost .99-1.99 for a blouse– the Salvation Army’s near me regularly charge anywhere from $4.99-9.99 for a new blouse. Or who buy from eBay sellers who just scour thrift stores, and then mark things up substantially.
Yes, you don’t HAVE to spend that entire $25– but I am sure there are just as many men and women CHOOSING to spend that entire amount because they get more. Buying because you can IS consumption, regardless of where you’ve gotten it from. I’m not saying that everyone who thrifts is like that–I’m saying don’t use it as an excuse to really evaluate what your spending and shopping habits are like.
Ashe, I have been commenting on blogs as “Someone” for a while, it isn’t meant to be not-a-name…anyway, I didn’t say thrifting wasn’t consumption at all, I said it wasn’t very consumerist. I agree it’s not an excuse and it can be misused if you don’t do it right, but generally thrifters are of a quite different mindset from retail fashion victims and I think we do agree, it’s a better one – more conscious, less mindless, easier on the planet and one’s own personal economy.
Yes, there sure ARE thrift stores that are taking advantage of the current interest in thrifting by jacking up prices, and those of us who have noticed this don’t just lie down and take it, we vote with our small dollar too. So just because they make it harder for us to save money doesn’t mean we just simply start spending more. A lot of us thrifters are pissed off at the opportunism of these particular stores and personally I don’t shop at the ones who are trying to take advantage of us.
And, buying something second hand off an eBay seller who marks it up is not the same as thrifting oneself at the charity shop source – not all second-hand buying is thrift shopping, it can be more like antiquing where nicer items are “curated” and sold at a premium because of what they are. It is the same model used by antique sellers (I know, I used to be one. It is also what ALL retailers do, buy wholesale and sell retail.). The point of that is generally to add value by knowing what someone else would like to have and picking it for them out of a sea of things they would otherwise not be able to choose from. This way, a vintage Diane Von Furstenburg dress picked from a thrift store in Kansas finds its way to an appreciative collector in New York. But I wouldn’t call that New York buyer a thrifter. She’s not buying something used to save money, she’s buying something special regardless that it is used, because the old prints are collectible and maybe the new ones made in China aren’t where she wants to invest.
Why shouldn’t that Kansan gal make a living from thrifting if she has a market for what she’s doing? It’s actually a pretty cool way of being self-employed if you can do enough of it well enough, which is always the trick.
I am really glad you raised this subject. So often, class is the elephant in the fashion blogging parlor.
Consumerism and the seeds of my material desires are subjects I struggle with often. And in many ways I think blogging can contribute to or spur consumer addictions by driving a need for new “content.” The quickest, easiest, dirtiest way to come up with an entry is to post about recent buys. I’ve been too busy with dissertation writing to spend a lot of intellectual energy on my blog so I’ve definitely devolved into posting about outfits, purchases, and habits without being very reflective or reflexive. So I feel as though I contribute to the problem, despite having spent a lot of time contemplating and struggling with these subjects. I think many bloggers likely subsidize their shopping by selling what they don’t want anymore. I rarely purchase anything significant without implementing a “x in, y out” rule. But while that might alleviate the financial burden held by an individual that doesn’t change the relationship and drive to consume more, new, better. In fact it only fuels it by obfuscating the methods of acquisition or making it seem through critical mass (or the sum total of our entries) that everything on the blog is currently in the person’s life.
I transitioned pretty seamlessly from a thrifting obsession to striving to declutter my closet. I would buy thrifted items just because they were cheap thrills. Even if something didn’t fit. It was preposterous and perhaps a more addictive experience for me, because of “the hunt” aspect, than seeking out a higher quality, versatile, long-lasting piece is now. I would come home from my parents’ house with bags and bags of what I basically would eventually realize to be garbage. It would get re-recycled, heading to another thrift or charity shop within months. I’ve thankfully never allowed myself the closet space to really be a vintage hoarder but there are so many out there. And my shopping has absolutely ventured into compulsive territory whenever sales are stellar (which connects to the thrift goggles that fueled my love for thrift shopping). I am so glad you raised the red thread connecting these two fiscally disparate but emotionally and analytically similar categories of shop behaviors.
jesspgh´s last blog ..Engagement photos and outtakes
Doll, I appreciate your candor and honesty regarding the thrifting component! It’s something I speculated a lot about, and I can see how that thrill is enticing and exciting…. much like eBay auctions or member only shopping sites. It’s really intriguing how emotional and chemical shopping can become for us…
I know that I’ve been more conscious about trying to subsidize my own shopping (and credit debt payoff) by selling things I don’t wear anymore… mostly because I’m also trying to declutter my life and make it filled with beautiful things I’m absolutely crazy about…. so it’s a good way to kind of fuel that fire…. more healthily than some ways!
These are great posts, and you’re right, it is important to talk about money.
I suppose thrift shopping can be just as addictive. But I think it can be harder to get into financial trouble because you don’t always know you’ll find something to buy. Anything can be addictive in the end I suppose!
I’ve already been in that financial trouble and it’ll be a long time before anyone ever gives me credit again, so any shopping I do is self limited as there’s just no way I can buy things without money!
One of the problems with over consumption is that as Women we want to look good, and we’re constantly marketed at to convince us that the only way to look good is to spend spend spend!
I was stood outside a shoe shop today and it occured to me that we’re convinced that we “need” lots of different pairs of shoes to “go” with different outfits, that one pair won’t possibly do. At £55 a pair that’s a hell of a lot of money gone just on accessories!
Retro Chick´s last blog ..I Want To Be a Head & Shoulders Girl
That’s so true about the role marketing plays in all of this! Marketing is a wicked and amazing, terrifying beast… I’m not sure I want to know the things it has convinced me of over the years….
Thanks for the link to the 58 Warning Signs of Shopping Addiction. Just yesterday I wrote in my LJ that I think I may have a shopping addiction… Looking at the warning signs, they tell you if you have 15 or more to get professional help – I have 21. So it’s not so much a suspicion that I have a problem anymore; now I’m almost positive I have a problem. It’s not a nice realization to have but at least now I can work on it.
Amy´s last blog ..Things I Love Thursday
Amy, I’m glad the link helped! That’s why I included it…. thinking it would help give many of us a mental framework to watch ourselves, guide ourselves….
What an incredible post! It is so vitally important for fashion lovers to be wary and take care of their finances first. Thank you for this! Self-love includes responsible money management. The environment also wants less stuff!
Laura Connell´s last blog ..Nicole Bridger Wins Eco Award
I’m with you 100% Ashe. We need to talk about this so that this crisis never happens again.
And yes, thrifting can be just as bad if not kept in check. Consumerism is consumerism and THAT is what needs to be curbed. If you haven’t already, you should check out the mnmlist.com blog run by Leo of Zen Habits. He’s dealing with this very subject and how we’d be more content if we were happy with what we already have.
And I am a firm believer that never having a credit card is the best decision someone can make. SAY NO! =D
This financial crisis is like a big old wake-up call and lesson from our parents…. like they’d ever stop doling them out though.
I’ll have to check out mnmlist–though I’m not sure I’d WANT to be a minimalist, I think there are some really intriguing ideas and values within the system that everyone should reflect on….
I’ve read both your articles on this subject and they were both very interesting. I’ve always been quite a responsible person with money (I save to travel, my true love, but I do spend a fair bit on clothes). I did notice that before I started blogging but when I was toying with the idea of starting a blog I started to feel like I had to stock up on clothes… like I needed cooler shoes or more dresses to blog. How ridiculous.
One thing that annoys me with many fashion blogs is that the girls hardly seem to wear the same thing twice. Or if they do, they have to mix it up so much that it’s hardly recognizable any more. I feel this is a strange attitude: one of my friends who I always considered to have the best style had very few clothes, and wore the same outfits over and over again, and always looked just great. But the blogging world seems to foster a fear of boredom in repetition, which I think also drives people to buy more.
With regards to thrifting, I think spending money is spending money. Often it’s easier to spend money thrifting, because you know it may well be gone if you go off and think about it for awhile. Or, the shoes may not fit well, but they’re only $2, so… I don’t think it’s any less consumerist to thrift than it is to go to the mall. At the end of the day, you are consuming something. That doesn’t mean I think thrifting is bad, only that it is not the solution to our social malaise, it’s just another form of the same illness.
Well, now I wonder why I’m fashion blogging at all! But there are so many contradictions inherent within fashion that I just wanted to air some of my own feelings about it!
Emily´s last blog ..£s to Stuff!
‘One thing that annoys me with many fashion blogs is that the girls hardly seem to wear the same thing twice.’
Good point; however I kind of get why they do it. Sure I wear the same things twice, and when I love a garment combination, why not? But I don’t particularly think I want my readers to have to see it over and over. That said, outfit posts are only a small part of my blog and when bloggers use outfits every day I understand the motivation to keep up variety.
Florrie x
Intrinsically Florrie´s last blog ..2 friends- 2 outfits
18 years old here without the money to go on huge sprees, but I am lucky that I still have my parents to pay the bills etc so what money I do have can go on pretty things for my wardrobe.
I love shopping, however every purchase is carefully considered. Of course I sometimes know straight away that something is perfect both in style and price (though of course this only applies so accessories other than shoes which alas don’t always make it through the trying on test). I really do mull things over though, it’s just the way I am. So the only unwanted things in my wardrobe are those which no longer fit or are getting too worn out. And I’m getting better at it too- OK a few years back Iwas awful at emotional spending for something to do, but I was also very unhappy and like comfort eatting, shopping is a temporary distraction and something to do as are new purchases.
My parents have also brought me up not to use credit cards (they don’t own a single one). I always use cash, which is also a helpful alarm bell when it visibly goes down too much, though I do feel silly when buying something a little more expensive! Still now I’m 18 an option of a debit card is open to me.
I’ve no doubt that when I’ve got a regular income I will spend more because more expensive items will be an option. Sometimes I do think when I’m feeling down that a lipstick, a magazine or even a handbag will cheer me up, but I’m grateful for the knowledge that it’s needless clutter I don’t genuinely want long term.
Anyway, a really good, and evidently inspiring blog post!
Florrie x
Intrinsically Florrie´s last blog ..2 friends- 2 outfits
Great post & comments, it only just starts to address the insidious marketing / brainwashing as well as the shift to manufacturing overseas that has made things less expensive (often ridiculously, inexpensive) and more accessible. But here we are 30 years down the road we are absolutely glutted with stuff that a season down the road, becomes garbage. What is that worth, besides satisfying an immediate urge? There are far greater ramifications to out-of-control consumerism beyond individual debt & hopefully a better awareness of the one will eventually affect the other. Buy better and buy less.
cdbehrle´s last blog ..Lucy Punch in Behrle NYC Leather
Great post!
I was almost scared to look at the 58 warning signs link but phew I needn’t have worried. Having scored low 7 (6 if I am being pedantic), I am somewhat amused that I would look to an online questionnaire to re-assure myself that I do not have a shopping addiction! Yes, I buy, I buy often but I would never put myself in debt nor spend money that I do not have. That to me would be reckless behaviour and I am not such a person.
I think people have to consume responsibly. I berate myself at times because just because I can afford to spend does not mean I need to. I am blessed to have a lifestyle that affords me the luxury of positive purchasing power but that does not mean I must exploit this at every opportunity. I am conscious of this and if there is anything I try and be is to be a mindful consumer.
Milly´s last blog ..High Jinks