Look. At. These. Boots.
Look at them!
Couldn't resist.
The temptation was too great.
Never did jump on the boots bandwagon. I rarely follow any of the latest trends, really. My wardrobe basically consists of my little sisters hand me downs, things I've picked up from consignment/second hand stores, and stuff I find on super duper clearance - I'm talking $6 or less! If they can come down that far in price, there's no reason it should have been "full price" in the first place. Plus, the feeling of wanting or needing something material (trivial, non-necessities), especially when I didn't even know it existed prior to me entering the store, disgusts me. But, I'm human and we all get sucked in from time to time.
My daughter and I only stopped at the mall in this case because it was across from the grocery store and we needed a gift for her friends birthday party that night, generally I avoid it like the plague. We parked outside of Nordstrom's, happening upon the shoe department on our way through. I noticed these bad boys out of the corner of my eye but just kept walking with my blinders up. Then I swear I heard them call my name so I did a double take; talking shoes would be quite impressive, especially psychic ones!
The trouble with having an almost 12 year old daughter is not only does she have a mind of her own, but she fearlessly expresses her opinion at every opportunity available. "Let's go in here! Can we look at that? Ooh, those are pretty! FEEL THIS! Mom, wait, this is the BEST!" I realize this is a time for her to learn about herself and what she does/doesn't like, what's important or not, etc. As impatient as I'm feeling lately, I usually suck it up and give her space to discover. So, we end up at H&M, Forever 21 and similar stores. Feels like I'm suffocating. She tries on EVERYTHING, jokes about being a high end fashion model, then struts through the fitting room with a Zoolander look on her face. That part was actually pretty funny.
Here comes the, "...but I NEED it!" Well, no, you don't. You won't die if it stays on the hanger, right here in the store. "But, but, but!" And then she makes quite the compelling case, to me at least. "Nana [my grandmother] buys all my clothes, I don't get to pick them out, I hate them all, and I just don't feel like ME when I wear them. So, yes, a little of me is dying." Huh. If you've read my earlier posts you'd know how I feel about my controlling grandmother. While I'm not big on material possessions, what I wear absolutely affects my mood and confidence level, and I'm becoming more aware of this the further I dig into myself. Why would that not be true of her as well? Especially in middle school, with her hormones changing and all that other not fun puberty crap. Ok, ok. I bought her the plaid button up shirt dress and cream faux fur vest; she was ecstatic.
As we were making our exit, I foolishly decide to check out those boots I eyed up earlier. Swoon! And then I look at the price tag. They're only about, oohhh 4500% more than I typically spend on clothing. OY. Instant heart attack! To make a long story short: As I'm in la la land checking myself out in the mirror, Bre tries to convince me NOT to get them because they're ugly and I have no style (translation = they're totally me!), and because I can't afford them. I CAN afford them, I just typically DON'T afford stupid shit like this. UGH. She sounded like an adult from the Charlie Brown cartoons. How dare she after that whole speech on why she needed that outfit earlier, anyway. It was complete reverse psychology. I never treat myself and am so in love with these boots! Within ten minutes I was practically begging the woman to take my money.
I wore them around my house all afternoon, to the brewpub that evening, and around my house again doing chores on Sunday. Then I put them back in the box, back in the bag and hid them in my closet. Total buyers remorse. I went back and forth trying to decide if I should keep them, trying to justify this outrageous purchase and even asked a couple friends for advice who all essentially said I deserve it and to enjoy them. But after talking to my sister, who has zero income right now (it's her own damn fault and I'm pissed over this, but that's another story) and is depending solely on her boyfriends parents for food, housing and diapers for her baby, there's no way I can keep these boots. I may not be Mother Theresa but I do have a conscience; I would feel so guilty every time I put them on. Sorry, boots. Nothing personal, but back to the store you go.
The money I originally spent on those beauties is now in the form of a Whole Foods gift card on it's way to Georgia. Helping others is what truly makes my heart happy; there are no material items in this world that could trump that.
No comments:
Post a Comment