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Original poster

The obsessing, purchasing and discarding cycle

61 replies

splendidisolation · 30/09/2017 14:42

Does anyone get this? So I'll focus on a thing that I will then obsess over for ages, admiring it, looking at photos, reading reviews, obsessing over how much I need and want it.

Then, I'll buy it - how exciting!

When it comes, the feeling evaporates: sometimes almost as soon as I have it, sometimes a few days later.

OP posts:
Gah81 · 30/09/2017 15:35

I used to. Retail therapy was definitely my thing. Then I read something about only buying things you a) adore b) can already with at least 2 other things and c) is basically perfect (bar some tailoring).

I do the same as you re thinking about my purchases and getting excited (but then making absolutely sure they pass the 3 tests above) but the "I love it" feeling lasts every time I put the item on and even when I see it hanging up.

Unfortunately, I adore vintage clothes where if you see something, it's the only one of its kind available so you have to do the thinking about it pretty rapidly at times.

HappenstanceMarmite · 30/09/2017 15:38

Yes. I completely relate. But my cycle relates to every item you can think of. Latest is paint for decorating. Will it be Farrow and Ball or...? You get the picture. It's like I need a project all the time 🙄

Piratesandpants · 30/09/2017 16:26

Yes, you've hit the nail on the head. My wardrobe is full of clothes like that...

Singap0reSling · 30/09/2017 16:52

I go through that cycle except that I rarely regret my purchases.

Like Gah81 "I... only buying things you a) adore b) can already with at least 2 other things and c) is basically perfect (bar some tailoring)"

So I often continue to enjoy my wardrobe for many years (a bit of a hoarder). Unfornately my desire for clothes never seems to abate, although I have begun questioning myself more along the lines of "do I really want this?" Often, the answer is yes Blush

CremeDeSudo · 30/09/2017 16:54

Yep that's me too. And also with anything else too. We recently moved house and have lost count of the number of things I've searched the entire internet for. I'm not sure the feeling wears off though. Maybe for some clothes. Current obsession is a new mirror for my landing!

Timefortea99 · 30/09/2017 16:57

Yes, but thank God for 28 days returns policy! My cycle is obsess, acquire, return.

Maudlinmaud · 30/09/2017 16:58

My thing at the moment is knee high slouch suede boots, I am literally obsessed. Once I finally hunt them down I'll completely lose interest and they will sit there with all the other identical boots. It's a sickness.

Housewife2010 · 30/09/2017 18:34

I have the same cycle. Usually for makeup, but it can be for anything.

Butterfly1975 · 30/09/2017 18:35

I do this with perfume - obsess, buy, use a few times then go off it. I then Ebay it and buy more Blush

hiccupgirl · 30/09/2017 18:36

Hand up here too. Thank god for free returns as at least I can think about it and then return things that turn out to not be as amazing as expected.

I do buy a lot but I am slowly getting better at thinking about if I really love things. I have reworn lots of things from last autumn already which is good.

neveradullmoment99 · 30/09/2017 18:41

Yes. And strangely it is the things that i thought i would absolutely adore and wear to death that I have still sitting with tags on in the wardrobe and other things i have bought that i thought i wouldnt wear as much that i have worn to death.
I think it is a high you get from purchasing it and when it comes, its over for most things. I do have things in my wardrobe that i really love though. I have a gorgeous long pair of knee boots that i thought i would wear and wear but have just also sat in my wardrobe for about a year.

MorrisZapp · 30/09/2017 18:44

It helps to picture the item chucked in your wardrobe along with all the shite.

It's seeing it in a shop that makes it desirable. Once you've got it home, it's just a t-shirt.

But I still do it.

MorrisZapp · 30/09/2017 18:47

I was cured of Boden by attending a Boden clearance sale. Big cardboard boxes full of clothes in a smelly scout hall. Without the pictures in the catalogue, it lost its sheen.

silkpyjamasallday · 30/09/2017 19:52

I do this, I have to research every minute detail about whatever it is, and like a pp said it doesn't have to be clothes, it might be a chopping board or cushion or rug... I love trying to find a cheaper version of something or get something second hand and that can take time sometimes they end up being epic quests. I recently bought a top that I have been obsessed with since 2009, and I mean obsessed, I checked eBay daily weekly until I found it for a reasonable price, I haven't even worn it (admittedly it's a summery ish top) I buy things and they just sit there. I still like them, I just prefer the hunt and just having something than actually utilising it.

I need to break the habit, Instagram is bad for starting these quests especially when you keep seeing the same things over and over on different bloggers and it somehow convinces you that you want it too, usually I stop myself and the things I have bought are nice but often they don't really fit my lifestyle anymore, as a SAHM I need comfy stuff that can take crawling around on the floor after a toddler all day, and that can allow for breastfeeding, and crucially be washed at home, and they don't tend to be the beautiful covetable things you are drawn to.

BusterGonad · 30/09/2017 20:58

Make up and dresses. I'm obsessed with lipstick and cute lace dresses. If I buy one lipstick and I like it I just have to buy more in different shades. I get obsessed with certain make up brands too. At the moment it's Bourjois and Benefit! Blush

bitchpleaase · 30/09/2017 21:08

I’ll join. I’ve lost 3+ stone and have re-discovered my love of fashion. It’s costing me a fucking fortune but I look good Grin

Huzzah for free delivery and returns.

Ponks · 30/09/2017 22:04

Glad it's not just me. I do this a lot, not just clothes/ beauty but house stuff too.

LunaTheCat · 30/09/2017 22:15

Botch please you absolutely deserve your gorgeousness!

HappenstanceMarmite · 30/09/2017 22:30

silkpyjamas were we separated at birth?! My last research/obsessive hunt was for the perfect hooded cat litter tray. I kid you not 😱

ilovecherries · 30/09/2017 23:04

I'm the same, Bitch. Recently lost 3 stone, and going crazy thinking about clothes, looking at clothes, talking about clothes, buying clothes. As I'm still steadily losing weight with another two stone to go, I'm also spending s lot of time returning clothes. It's such a novelty though, to go into a shop and see lots of thing I could buy that it's hard to resist.

PNGirl · 30/09/2017 23:55

I'm about 70/30. 70% of my obsessions I buy, love, and will wear til they die (Topshop Mooch jeans in the early 2000s, last year's Dr Martens, AllSaints leather jacket) but the other 30 end up on eBay! I'm terrible for multiples as well. I ended up with 3 identical sized Rebecca Minkoffs this way!

ReallyConvolutedCareerHistory · 01/10/2017 00:13

Yes this is me.

ReallyConvolutedCareerHistory · 01/10/2017 00:15

I'm also terrible or multiples like PNGirl. Exact same, other colours, a bit different (like the Topshop Amy boots - I have multiples - identicals and a bit diff!), BLK DNM leather jackets.

I think this might be veering towards obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Titsywoo · 01/10/2017 00:27
Wink
MorrisZapp · 01/10/2017 10:30

The peak of this syndrome is when you read about a hyped beauty product and rush out to buy it. You discover that actually it's pretty meh and soon lose interest.

Two years later, a different guru Sali Hughes waxes lyrical about that product and you BUY IT AGAIN.

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