My 9th grade year I went 180 days (yes, I counted) of never wearing the same thing twice. One-hundred eighty days!! I was proud of myself for the impeccable organization of my closet to insure the perfect rotation. It was the one thing I had going for me in an otherwise uneventful and scary first year at a new school. My wardrobe got me noticed. I'm hoping it was for all of the right reasons, but looking back, there was nothing "right" about the hot pink pleather pants. The cute boy in school called them my "hot pants," so, for the sake of my ego, I'll just pretend that he was indeed interested.
I loved to shop. I'm sure that I went at least once a week, and I never came home empty handed. My obsession was funded by the extra hours I put in at work, and I felt like it was a fair trade. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have worked so hard merely for adding unnecessary clothes to my closet. Live and learn, they say. Learn, I did.

Fast forward ten years later. I still love to shop, but I rarely allow myself the opportunity. In fact, I have acquired some very strange habits to help feed my hunger for shopping. It was just this morning, as I was filling up an online shopping cart at The Gap to later delete everything from said cart (more on that later), that I actually realized I had an entirely different type of problem.
Habit #1: Window Shopping

Okay, so perhaps this habit isn't an abnormal one. Just last night, I walked up to the doors of Coach, but didn't dare go in. I was like Charlie Bucket (from Willy Wonka) staring into a candy store, knowing full well that I couldn't afford what was inside. I don't need a Coach purse, nor do I have a strong desire for one. However, they are pretty and I could just picture myself walking around with one on my shoulder. I felt better for looking.
Habit #2: Try on everything in sight

I often go into a store and become overwhelmed by all of the pretty colors and soft fabrics so meticulously displayed before me. I fall in love with the whole collection, and I must have it! I begin grabbing everything that jumps out at me and walk back to the fitting rooms with more than is allowed in the room at once. I try them all on and keep anything that fits well. As I head back out into the store, something happens: one by one, I begin putting back my pile of must-haves until I'm left empty-handed. The employees, who were excited for all of the commission, are dumbfounded as I leave the store with no bag in hand.
It's like a shopping spree without spending the money. Somehow, it's refreshing.
Habit #3: Buy it all, return later.
Depending on my mood at the time, the above scenario could go very differently. Instead of returning everything to its proper place, I pile it all on the cashier table and whip out my money. At this point, both the employee and I are feeling pretty good about ourselves. She, about all the money I just spent, and I, about my beautiful new things. That is, until I get home and look through it again. Within a week, I return every single thing. Do you think they keep their commission? I sure hope so. If not, they'll probably ban me from their store in the future.
Now, this isn't a weekly occurrence, but it does happen the rare times I do go out to shop. My priorities have shifted to saving, paying off my debt, and Azra; not how good I look. With goals in sight, I can hold off on a new wardrobe. It's not to say that I don't get jealous when Chris comes home with a bag of new clothes for himself, but for now, window shopping will do.