It’s A Love Thing

I have started doing the trick where you have several documents open simultaneously on side-by-side screens, so that you can efficiently flit between the two things. What I’m seeing on the other side of my screen is my ‘to-do’ list. It’s rather long, and I haven’t dated it, so I’m not sure when it was typed. Yet none of the jobs appear to be ticked off. Oh hang on – I’ve just spotted one that has been. What is open on the other screen are a multitude of fashion articles. So instead of ticking off the ‘sort paperwork’ item, I’m discovering just why head-to-toe beige works so well this season, and what the best trans-seasonal pieces are.

So, as I find myself spending hours scrolling through gazillions of images from the latest catwalk shows, rather than knuckling down to finish my actual paid work, I have to ask myself an important question. Has my ability to be easily distracted reached new disastrous heights, or does fashion actually matter enough to justify this amount of time and attention? Of course the obvious answer is that it matters in hugely different ways to different people. You can want to look lovely and not give a monkeys about the latest trends. Or you can love the latest trends at the expense of all reason, and constantly want to dabble in every new little nuance of fashion that rears its head. The problem starts when, if like me, you love love everything you see and can genuinely see some justification to invest. This only gets worse if, like me, you also struggle to cull your pieces. One word. Hoarding. I know I do it, and it makes me feel a teensy bit sick when I shove aside a hanger to cram something else in the closet. And of course I get rid of things to charity and hand on to friends – just not fast enough to keep up with a healthy level of crop rotation.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bankrolling a designer wardrobe – I can find a new gem quite literally anywhere. I popped into the up-cycle shop to drop off some bits – realized I’d forgotten the box of goodies, but yet still came out with a new-old top. I went to buy some toilet rolls from one of those cut-price places. Came out with new sportswear. I know I shouldn’t be doing it, but in the moment adrenalin takes over. And if someone is clearing out their closet and chucking stuff in my direction I don’t have the will power to JUST SAY NO.

This being the case I have to take another tack, and quantify that yes, fashion is important. It’s not important to me because I think it makes me look better than someone who doesn’t care so much – far from it. But it’s important because it gives me joy. So while Marie Kondo is sparking joy all over the world by getting rid of clothes, I am sparking joy by collecting them. So put that in your super tidy draws.