Hello, my name is... and I'm a Shopaholic.

I received some terrifying news this week. My bank statement. 

I'm in trouble. 

I'm not thousands upon thousands of pounds in debt. However, well, it's not that far from thousands upon thousands of pounds in debt. 

And I know the bulk of it is because of my little shopping habit. I work near Oxford Street, the clothes just jump into my hands as I walk home from work! Honest!

Do you know what is depressing about this situation? I don't shop designer. I have never shopped designer. In fact, the only designerish item I own is Karen Millen and according to Gok Wan that's high street. 

Also what is depressing about this situation? Despite my jokes I don't actually have a credit card. I cut it up years ago after spending £90 on bras and then buying a plane ticket to New York in one afternoon. I just knew it was too dangerous. 

I also don't have any store cards, just the worlds largest overdraft - my bank keeps extending it! I don't even ask for extensions, I just get congratulations letters through the post telling me that my overdraft has been extended by xx amount. 

Amazingly, according to the magazines out there, and in fact my bank, my financial position isn't that bad. So what kind of situation is the rest of the world in exactly? 

I have no mortgage, no car loan and I am in virtually thousands of pounds of purely consumer debt. I don't even want to talk about my student loan on top of that. Talk about terrifying.  

And why am I in this debt? 

Because of my love of shoes, handbags, pretty tops, nice skirts and dresses. Because of my addiction to new shiny items I can wear. Clothing I think will change my life and of course never does. 

Don't get me wrong, I love love love fashion. It's such a huge part of my identity, how people define me. How I define me. 

What am I without it? I'm still interesting, funny, clever and sexy without the latest pair of it shoes, aren't I?! 

I have tried to budget for a clothing allowance. It doesn't work, I just go into shops and go mental. 

So I have made a big decision, until I have cleared my ginormous overdraft, I am not allowed to clothes shop. 

No buying shoes, bags, earrings, shirts, shorts, anything I can wear. 

I have some rules to my new challenge. 

1) If I am buying someone else a present, I am allowed to purchase clothes for them. 

2) If an item of clothing that I really need (say I get a huge hole in my ballet pumps, or all my jeans rip) I am allowed to purchase a replacement. However, these replacements can only be bought from budget shops, Primark, New Look, Dorothy Perkins. My housemate Claire is judge as to whether I actually need said item of clothing I am replacing. 

3) I am allowed one final splurge.

4) The only gaping hole in my wardrobe is boots. If I see a pair of boots that I love which are cheap (i.e. less than £50) I am allowed to purchase them.

5) People are allowed to buy me clothes as presents.

So this is no longer going to be a shopping blog... more a non-shopping blog as a chronicle going cold turkey from my addiction. 

From now on I'm going to have to think more Gok Wan's capsule wardrobe. I have to start mixing and matching all the amazing different items I have in my wardrobe, be a bit more creative and stop the colour coordinating obsession. I don't have to wear pink shoes with a pink dress - I have loads of shoes, I'll definitely have something that matches... 

The only thing that's getting me through this is the thought of the final splurge this evening.