Recently, I have found that most days I take the long way home from work, with clear intent to enter and "browse" my favorite stores. Although this would not be an issue if I could manage to budget wisely, therefore having a designated amount of money to spend on excess clothes each months, I tend to omit this necessity from my routine, and justify each new piece I enter into my wardrobe, as something that I just NEED.

But the reoccurring issue I've found, is differentiating between a need and something I just don't have at the moment.

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When I go online, the social medias I review with the highest degree of interest, such as Instagram, VSCO, and Pinterest, are flooded with outfit inspiration, and favorable images, that market fashion toward my general age range. With the tremendous amount of marketing of certain styles and ideas of what someone "like me" should be wearing, it subconsciously creates the idea that the products are essential to obtain certain look, and to be who I'm supposed to be.

Unfortunately, marketing that engulfs and infatuates my mind in such a manner, creates an uncounscious fashion sense of what is "in", that may contradict what I want to be wearing. And when several mental facets are tugging every which way at my wallet, my shopping addiction reaches new heights when I must compensate to satisfy all these inner fashion proposals swirling throughout my mind.

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I fully stand by the concept of living your young life to it's fullest, and to not just hoard yourself and your resources away until your final life goal is achieved. Yet, this comes with restrictions to allot money for pleasure spending, as well as creating a fiscal safety net to prevent any major disruptions amidst the falls and bumps in life as you're finding your purpose. Wary of the marketing constantly drilled into me, my new goal, is to structure my appreciation for fashion and the arts, and entirely separate the concept of clothes I need on a daily basis, and clothes I love to view and appreciated, but are not necessities.

The new enlightened and controlled version of myself, will be able to walk down Chestnut without a Uniqlo bag in hand, and understand why limiting myself will facilitate my life in the future.

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