Want vs. Need
So, I was talking to Brad recently, saying I needed shoes for an event, and he wanted to know what it was with women and shoes. And also said that I did not "need" new shoes, I "wanted" new shoes. Which, okay, he had a point.
Fast forward to yesterday, when I said I was going shopping at lunch, because I needed a belt. And due to the aforementioned conversation, I put in parentheses "in this case "need" actually means "need". I then said "I actually need a bunch of new clothes. Shoes and purses, not so much, but clothes, yeah".
So what did I come out of Target with? A belt, yes. And a sweater, that turns out to be cute on the hanger but not so much on me so it's going back. And some stuff for a swap, and a DVD. And a purse. I did not need a new purse. I don't have a brown purse, but I wasn't hurting for one. But it was brown, and cute, which is what made me even pick it up.
I did the "swing test" which is one of the things I do with every purse that makes it past the "that's not totally fug" stage of shopping. With the exception of my Sak, all the purses I've carried in the last several years have been handbags, and I want a shoulder bag. But most shoulder bags I've seen out right now are, in my opinion, heinous, or the straps are for skinny little arms which I do not have and therefore will not just swing onto my shoulder.
So I picked this one up and swung it onto my shoulder. And not only did it swing up with the greatest of ease, it actually stayed put. That never happens. Because I have sloping shoulders, bags never stay up- I'm constantly adjusting them or sliding them back up after they've fallen. So I decided to leave it on my shoulder as I continued shopping, and it stayed on my shoulder the whole time. (except for when I was trying on belts, but there was a lot of swinging my arms around involved in that process...)
And that is the story of why I bought a new purse that I didn't need, but totally wanted. And it only cost a third of what the shoes for the event cost me, that I didn't even wear to the event, and that are waiting to be picked up by the mailman to be returned.
Fast forward to yesterday, when I said I was going shopping at lunch, because I needed a belt. And due to the aforementioned conversation, I put in parentheses "in this case "need" actually means "need". I then said "I actually need a bunch of new clothes. Shoes and purses, not so much, but clothes, yeah".
So what did I come out of Target with? A belt, yes. And a sweater, that turns out to be cute on the hanger but not so much on me so it's going back. And some stuff for a swap, and a DVD. And a purse. I did not need a new purse. I don't have a brown purse, but I wasn't hurting for one. But it was brown, and cute, which is what made me even pick it up.
I did the "swing test" which is one of the things I do with every purse that makes it past the "that's not totally fug" stage of shopping. With the exception of my Sak, all the purses I've carried in the last several years have been handbags, and I want a shoulder bag. But most shoulder bags I've seen out right now are, in my opinion, heinous, or the straps are for skinny little arms which I do not have and therefore will not just swing onto my shoulder.
So I picked this one up and swung it onto my shoulder. And not only did it swing up with the greatest of ease, it actually stayed put. That never happens. Because I have sloping shoulders, bags never stay up- I'm constantly adjusting them or sliding them back up after they've fallen. So I decided to leave it on my shoulder as I continued shopping, and it stayed on my shoulder the whole time. (except for when I was trying on belts, but there was a lot of swinging my arms around involved in that process...)
And that is the story of why I bought a new purse that I didn't need, but totally wanted. And it only cost a third of what the shoes for the event cost me, that I didn't even wear to the event, and that are waiting to be picked up by the mailman to be returned.
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