I grew up in a culture where we all get sparkling new clothes and shoes for Christmas. We all looked forward to showing up in Church in our new clothes and twirling for everyone at Christmas lunch. This was the highlight of Christmas for me growing up. It was never about the gifts as there was hardly any gift exchange happening. The kids will typically get Christmas money which somehow disappeared into the hands of older siblings or cousins. The Christmas clothes and shoes though, you get to keep and then wear them for most special occasions the next year and until you grow out of them.
I don’t recall what happened to my Christmas clothes. I suspect I either wore them out or gave them to younger cousins as I outgrew them. Joyful times I have to say.
Since I adulted, I have not bought myself a Christmas outfit. I just wear whatever I feel like from the wardrobe and move on. This meant I was underdressed for most Christmas and Christmas started losing its sparkle as well. It was an unconscious descent. For my Child’s first Christmas 3 years ago, I bought a whole wardrobe of Christmas outfits. How wasteful! But I was determined to recapture the Christmas spirit and take loads of Christmas outfits photos. It was a blast for all of us so let me not knock my misbehaviour too hard.
Here I am in 2023 craving a fancy Christmas outfit. I have tried to explore why I want this and I’m hitting a block. I just keep telling myself I want it and should have it. But do I need it? No. Will I get it? Probably as I have been unable to talk myself out of this mini madness. Why do I want a Christmas outfit? Frankly I don’t know. I have just had this overwhelming feeling for weeks that I need to get me a really nice Christmas outfit and I think it’s helping my anxiety peak for no reason. So I’m going to shamefully cave in to this weakness and buy a new to me dress and shoe from Vinted or Vestiaire. I hope I feel good about the purchase when they arrive.
I have a wedding next year where I plan to use the same outfit which will bring down the cost per wear. And probably I can resell afterwards instead of holding on to them. I do want very nice stuff for a fraction of the price which is why I plan to buy from a resale site. I am also giving myself a maximum budget of €150, fingers crossed I stick to it.
I will update the post after my purchase with how much I spent and how I feel about it. So I guess it’s Christmas outfit yeah for me.
Update – I spent a grand total of €29 on a dress from Vinted and made no shoe purchase. The no shoe purchase wasn’t from me controlling my buying urge but rather from getting a decline on an offer I made on Vinted. Nothing else caught my fancy so I was fine to move on.