Shopaholic goes on holiday

I have been on a fortnight tour of Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Vienna and Bratislava and thus far, haven´t bought any clothes!
No offence to the Germans and Eastern Europeans but, fashion sense here is rather rubbish. My travelling buddy Beth and I even hunted out a shoe shop that the guide book said is Vienna´s veritable shoe paradise. Well Austrian people have shit taste in shoes. They were all so ugly! The lack of Top Shops, Miss Selfridges, River Islands and Faiths has made not shopping pretty easy for me too.
However, it seems I have supplemented clothes shopping with buying souvenirs for everyone I know. Well, I´m not technically shopping for me, they are presents for other people, so it really is totally guilt free! I get the shopping buzz and a feeling of supreme generosity as I am only really thinking of others. Seriously my dear friends and family, expect a lot of souvenir crap when I get home! (Well, actually some of it is very nice so please be grateful.)
Also, I´m not sure I can hold off on the clothes shopping for much longer. Today Beth and I went to the main shopping street in Vienna and I went into H&M, Mango and Zara. According to Beth the look of delight and relief on my face as we entered H&M was like a dying woman being given a second chance at life. It is just wonderful and also quite worrying how being in a shop can make me feel so happy and content with the world. I just feel like I belong under that strip lighting.
Amazingly I didn´t buy anything but a very cute polka dot umbrella with frills, which I do really need as it´s really raining in Vienna and my brolly had broken.
However, I did spy a very cute little black nightie, some cool converse trainers with tarten lining and an amazing pair of fringed white gladiator sandals in Zara (I really don´t like the ones I currently own.) So tonight I will count how many euros I have left and tomorrow I may purchase one of the above. I figured that´s ok, I´ve budgeted for those euros already, I´m just going to spend them on food, alcohol and souvenirs anyway, it´s technically money I have already spent at the post office and it will be such a pain to change any left over currency back.
And I´m holiday! I´ve been so good, surely I deserve a little reward?

Current Overdraft total: No idea, haven´t looked at it since I left.

One month down, several more to go!

I haven't shopped for a whole month. That's four weeks of no new clothes and shoes. 

And today, I went into Accessorize to buy a present for a friend. I bought her present, I very nearly bought a clutch bag and some cute knickers for myself but then I PUT THEM DOWN. I paid for her present and left, left, left! 

Now I was worried that Primark the other day was a fluke. But being able to leave two shops without buying anything for myself is a much more concrete achievement. I know I'm well on the road to shopping addiction recovery! 

And such is the extensiveness of my wardrobe, friends think I haven't given up shopping. For example, yesterday I wore my red Galaxy rip off dress purchased in the January sales for a mere £30. My friend Hannah commented on its general lovelyness (I agreed) and then made a face as if to say, 'when did you buy that, have you broken the ban?' It took me a couple of minutes to convince her that I bought it ages ago! 

So thus far, I'm doing Gok proud, I'm wearing rather than buying.  

However, methinks it may get harder. This may be a shock to some people but I have in fact gone an entire month without shopping before. Ok, this may not have been recently, but I have done it. The second month is another case entirely. The last time I did that I was that penniless thrifty student. And I still have a long way to go before I get that overdraft paid off. 

Unlike a chemical addiction such as smoking, this shopping ban will only get harder the longer I carry it on for. You see, I do actually need clothes. Maybe not quite as many as I own but I do have to wear something. If I don't, I get arrested/molested.

However, drugs, fags, etc. You don't actually need those things. They don't actually enrich your life in any way. No one says to a smoker, 'wow, that pack of cigarettes is so pretty, where did you buy it from?' No friendships or common interests are established over drugs. There is no artistry in a line of coke as there is in that perfectly cut dress. 

And when the toxins are out of your system it gradually gets easier. 

Shopping addiction is not about toxins, it's a psychological desire. Much harder to kick people! 

But if this ban teaches me anything it's to buy what I need, rather than what I want. I just need to keep it up rather than fall back into the sloths of irresponsible spending. 

Current overdraft total: £1,819.13. Much worse than last week. Eek. 

This week had been hard.

Despite my earlier success, in week three I'm now really starting to feel the pinch. 

At least ten things this week have made me utterly desperate to shop.

1) I looked through Look magazine. Big mistake. 

2) I've realised I don't actually much like the gladiator sandals I bought in my final splurge. I would like to buy new ones. Most specifically a white pair with gold studs from River Island.   

3) My housemate went on a shopping spree in River Island, she not only bought the cutest little floral top, she also got the white gladiator sandals with gold studs. She's so lucky!

4) I have finished the unbelievably absorbing saga of books I was reading. The book I have replaced them with is a bit pants. My mind is no longer occupied with vampire duels and love stories (yes, my taste in books resembles that of a teenage girl) and so it is wandering once more to shops. 

5) The women in my bikram yoga classes are all so trendy. So frustrating, I'm doing sweaty yoga to keep my mind off shopping, not to make me want to shop more! 

6) This morning I pulled a beautiful pair of red heels out of my wardrobe that I haven't worn for ages, as I've said in previous posts, part of this shopping ban is to appreciate the many facets of my wardrobe that have been forgotten. So I decided I would wear them today. As I hobbled off the tube and to work I realised why I haven't worn the beautiful red heels in ages. They fucking hurt! And that's from a woman who can handle heels. Anyway, this hobbling from the tube meant that I wasn't able to walk very fast. This meant I got a very generous look into H&M and at a very cute yellow sundress that is the perfect shape for my figure. This made me want to go inside H&M and buy it. 

7) I had a check up at the dentist this morning. It cost me £70. I could have bought at least two new pairs of gladiator sandals and possibly a floral playsuit (a woman was wearing one at Bikram yoga, she looked so amazing) with that £70 instead of wasting it on my fucking teeth.  

8) I'm bored. When I'm bored I shop. 

9) I'm not feeling particularly sexy at present either. Usually, when I feel a bit dowdy and unsexy, I would just nip to Miss Selfridge, shove on a figure hugging dress and instantly feel better. Currently I am not allowed to do this. Boooooooooo. 

10) The Bravissimo catalogue came in the post. The model on the front looked amazing in a multi-coloured striped bikini. I want to buy the bikini. This world isn't fair. 

My current overdraft position: £1,522.33. Still a long way to go. :(    

I want to go shopping.

I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping. I want to go shopping.

But I'm not allowed so instead I shall go and do yoga in a sauna. Rubbish.