FASHION
I
have to admit that I
have experienced a certain sense of happiness
after going shopping. The
last time it happened was
when my girlfriend and I
decided to take one afternoon off our hectic
work schedule to go to
out outlet mall. For those
few hours, we laughed,
engaged in girl-talk, and
of course, we tried on a
lot of clothes. It was so fun
because it’s not something that we both normally do.
When I came home, I noticed that as I unpacked,
I had a certain sense of
fulfillment. The colours of
the clothing items I purchased made me smile.
The fact that we were
shopping at an outlet
mall and managed to get
amazing deals, made me
smile even more.
It made me wonder if
there was any evidence
to show that shopping
brings about a feeling
of delight. My research
proved that it did.
Although it’s true that the
evidence points in both
directions, meaning that
too much shopping can
be a sign of depression,
I found some interesting
facts. In a paper entitled “The Benefits for Retail Therapy: Making Purchase Decisions Reduces
Residual Sadness” in the
Journal of Consumer Psychology, professors from
the University of Michigan
explain that shopping can
actually reduce sadness.
Sadness is strongly associated with a sense of not
being in control. Thus,
shopping, by restoring
control over one’s personal situation can reduce sadness and actually make us feel happy.
This does not include the
type of shopping that occurs on the week before
Christmas, where everyone is running around
frantically in a mall. That’s
totally stressful. This is the
type of shopping where
one chooses where and
when to go and has a
fantastic time.
So, when you’re feeling a
bit down, and if you can
afford it, maybe change
up your routine by shopping for some fun fashion
clothing, home decor,
or whatever you fancy!
Wishing you delight in
whatever you do.
In the study’s experiment,
two groups of shoppers
were formed: the “browsers” and the “choosers”.
The result was that 79
percent of the choosers
felt more in control while
choosing, compared with
2 percent of the “browsers.” The “choosers” were
also three times less sad.
Renia Pruchnicki lives in Toronto, Canada and is a vegan fashion designer.
In 2001 she started a company called Truth, which is a line of vegan belts
made in Canada. She has a passion for sustainability, healthy living and
fashion. She loves to express her creativity wherever she can.
For more information on Renia, please visit www.truth