The movie is a run of the mill romantic comedy, with funny fashion twist. Slightly less dramatic and moralistic than the Devil Wears Prada, and definitely inspired by Sex in the City. All in all it's a nice ride for someone who relates to Rebecca Bloomwood's main predicaments, which are being in thousands of dollars of debt, and obviously, being addicted to shopping.I won't give anything else away, but I will tell you my favorite part: A scene where Rebecca's internal shopping monologue is exposed. At this time we are privy to the secret world of rationalizing as she lusts after something in a shop, while also having totally maxed out her credit...
“You do not need a scarf”
“Then again, who needs a scarf? Just wrap some old jeans around your neck…That'll keep you warm...That's what your mother would do"
“The point about this scarf is that it would become part of a definition of you…of your psyche..You’d wear it with everything”
“It would be an investment”
“You’d walk into that interview confident and poised”
The film is written comically, but it really shows how our emotions, past and present self worth can be wrapped up in style and fashion. Really, most of what we buy when we are giving in to shopping impulse is just more stuff that we don't need, but feel in the moment is somehow imperative to our happiness. And then, withing a week (or even an hour), the purchase is forgotten, and we do the same thing over again. And truthfully, an addiction to shopping has nothing to do with fashion or style. They can be symbiotic, but each can live just fine without the other, too. (Think of all the other crap that is cluttering up our lives and emptying our wallets!)
I do a fair amount of window shopping, and there is this insane monologue happening all the time...
"Just looking for inspiration. You know you are not going to buy anything. And who else is paying for this? Who made this? What about you handmade pledge? It's so cute. Do I have to feel bad if I buy something here? Go to the Ethical Shop. That's even less affordable. Make it at home. When? And this fabric is so cute! Aren't you just being a victim of current trends? So what. Is that bad? I like it. Do I really? I don't need it. I don't need anything. Do I need anything?"
And on and on. A lot of it is me trying to analyze the impulse to acquire new pretty things. How it makes us feel better about ourselves. And how it depends on this low feeling that comes from not having, which means not "being" somehthing, or someone, special. Playing fashion plates at a very high cost, giving way precious parts of our body, mind, spirit connection. It all seems utterly unproductive to humanity.
Yet I have a hard time pursuing the argument fully because it seems so anti-fashion, which I am not. I love fashion. There is so much art to it and it is soo important. The culture of dressing the body obviously has a distinct relationship to the psyche, just look at how we do it all differently across the world. I think this part is VERY productive to humanity.
In the video The Story of Stuff, Annie Leonard addresses the subject of how we can be manipulated into feeling inadequate by not participating in the shopping and style engines. Our feelings of (perceived) inadequacy stem mainly from the advertising gears of the engines, and connect to our value as economic contributors. It's totally fascinating, and simple enough for a child to understand.
When I do my window shopping I also challenge myself to confront feelings of inadequacy that may arise when I see something I want. "Wouldn't I look more beautiful if I had that dress? Wouldn't it be helpful to my life to change my style?" Would it?
I truly think that sometimes the answer is yes. We need to remember to use style as a tool for self expression and inspiration. To not let ourselves be used, by fashion.
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