There has been a war inside my head for the last couple of weeks. The anti-consumerist, born-again frugal nut has been valiantly battling the “need some new clothes” voice.
Let me explain - since becoming a parent, going down to one income, and thinking at a much deeper level about values and priorities, I have embraced frugality! I now make do, hang my clothes on the line (as opposed to using the dryer) and stay away from shopping as much as I can. This lifestyle is part necessity but mostly a choice to expose my family to values which are about not wasting resources, thinking about the environment and learning real self esteem, not basing your sense of self or achievement on things that you own. I want my kids to grow up free, not shackled into the roles of “erstwhile consumer” by the time they are teenagers!
The problem is that I am now pregnant, and not yet gloriously, spectacularly pregnant but thick waisted, looking tubby, feeling a bit frumpy 15 weeks pregnant! I’m quite self conscious about people looking at me, with my expanding girth and 2 little kids and thinking - “Goodness, she’s a daggy old housewife!”. Somehow being radiantly good humored with clean, happy kids doesn’t seem to be cutting it for me!
I came to a decision that frugality aside, the only way to deal with this crisis of self esteem was through the purchase of new clothes. I figure once I’m gloriously outfitted in new clothes the hostile stranger’s reasoning will go along the lines of - ” Look at that woman having another baby, goodness, but her shoes are so fantastic! Motherhood is sexy after all!”.
Today I turned my back on the voice of frugality and went shopping! I thought, I’ll keep things to a modest limit by just visiting discount shops - how tempted can you be in Target? Well, as fate would have it, just as I walked in the staff were unloading racks and racks of Stella McCartney, and guess what - her whole range is blousey jumpers and tunics worn with funky leggings. Perfect glamorous maternity wear - plus the kids were at my wonderful mother in laws so I had 2 arms to fill!
I didn’t even try and control myself, I shopped until you could practically hear the plastic squealing from my handbag! The irony wasn’t lost on me, the Target Stella McCartney range was, a couple of weeks ago, the protagonist for near riots in shops in Australia - a consumerist frenzy of desperation and bad behavior! Which I might add, I pontificated long and hard about over coffee and cake!
The funny thing was that as I shopped the number of woman around me started to increase and then people started making mobile phone calls - and I knew things could be getting ugly! A couple of women even started to talk to me about what they had on lay-buy and what they had managed to get in the bloodbath a couple of week ago! I felt like yelling at them - “I’m not like you people, I’m frugal dammit!” But with arms overflowing with blousey tunics and aline cashmere jackets I knew I’d lost the high ground!
So, how do I feel now I have spent way too much money and got the stuff home? The truthful answer is - wonderful! Thank-you Stella for making a 15 week, 3rd time gestating woman feel like gamine yummy mummy! It’s not totally empty, I mean Stella cares about issues doesn’t she? Maybe some of that rubs off with the clothes?
consumerism, frugality, maternity clothes, shopping, Stella McCartney, Target
