Secrets of a Secondhand Shopaholic

I came, I saw, I  bought.  And bought.  And bought, bought, bought.  OK, one too many ‘boughts’ there, but you get the idea.

My last post documented my struggle of  “should I or shouldn’t I? ” purchase a pair of equestrian-style riding boots.  The “yes you should” won  (surprise, surprise) and that night I found myself in the lion’s den – DSW Shoe Warehouse.   $10 coupon in hand, mind you.

And, as many of my shopping excursions start out, my purchasing intentions were very minimal. And I did all the right things to prevent excessive spending:

1.  I was on my way to meet some friends at 6:30 that evening, and I arrived at the store at 6:00.  How much damage could I do in less than a half an hour?  Ok, don’t answer that..

2.  When I entered the store, I did not pick up one of those huge shopping bags they give you.  I was only there to buy one pair of boots, remember?

3.  Prior to arriving at the store, I checked my bank account one last time, to mentally imprint on my brain just how much I could spend.

4. I put my imaginary blinders on and I walked directly to the tall boot section, passing all other temptations…

Side note here – I am not a typical Sex in the City shoe-aholic type person.  I consider myself very practical and conservative when it comes to  buying footwear.  Comfort always trumps style  for me, and I easily pass flashy shoes or boots,, no matter how cute they are.  It just doesn’t make sense to purchase a pair of shoes you may only where once with one outfit.    I don’t oogle over 4-inch strappy buckled gold-plated Jimmy Choos or anything like that.   There is a practical side to me….

That being said, Practical Brenda found the pair of Madden Girl Zarah Riding Boots immediately.  Almost too quickly, because a quick look at my watch told me I still had about 10 minutes to spare before I had to meet my friends.

So I decided to take just a quick look at their sale racks, in the back of the store.  Anyone who has been to DSW knows about those racks….that’s where you find incredible sales if you’re out shopping for shoes and boots.  That’s where you need those big  bags to fill up, if you’re ready to get serious…

But I wasn’t out shopping for shoes and boots, remember?  I was just there to pick up one pair of  riding boots……

And actually, my trip to the sale rack was very successful.  Practical Brenda was in complete control as I tried on a few pairs and easily discarded them because I really didn’t need any shoes.  Then I saw these:

They were only $15 (on sale for 70% off).   And yes, they were kind of impractical and goes against everything I just wrote about Pratical Brenda.  But what’s $15 – and I could totally see these with a pair of jeans. So I decided to delay my manicure a week to make up the cost of these shoes.  See?  It’s all about choices..

So I was on my way to the checkout line, feeling pretty good about myself when suddenly it hit me.  You know, I really didn’t have a pair of casual (what I call “knockaround”) short-heeledt boots.  In that split second, I realized that I had thrown out my both of my short-heeled boots (black and brown) last year because they were about 6 years old and looked the part.  And I was planning on purchasing new pairs……..this season!

Let’s just say Practical Brenda left my body and Shopaholic Brenda took over.  And in less then 10 minutes, I  left the store with these:

Liz Claiborne Taylor - Dark Brown

Nine West Dende - Black

Madden Girl Zahar Riding Boot

Chinese Laundrey Sandals

I don’t regret any of the purchases except for the sandals.  I may take those back.