A Different Kind of Fast.

Despite the fact that I’m not Catholic I always try to give up something for Lent. No matter what your religion, it strikes me as a good idea to part with something for 6 weeks or so. Good for the mind, the soul, keeps us humble and all that.

Some years, this imposed “fasting” works well. My freshman year of college I gave up soda and to this day (ahem, 13 years later) I’m not that much of a soda drinker. Sure, I still love a Diet Coke or Dr. Pepper as much as the next girl but I imbibe much less than I did before those 6 weeks without carbonated sugar. Other years, I fail – utterly and miserably. A few years ago, I decided I’d give up my alarm clock snooze button for Lent. That worked for exactly one day…right up until the first Monday morning after Lent began that I had to get up for work. (And let’s be honest. Once I’d hit that snooze button and realized I’d ruined my Lent track record so early on in the game, I didn’t exactly force myself to get back on the no snooze bandwagon either. Hey – we all have our vices.)

This weekend, when I glanced at the calendar and shockingly realized Ash Wednesday was only a few days away, I started thinking about what I might give up this year. On the whole, I don’t necessarily eat that much terrible food so I couldn’t quite think of any edible item I should give up. I thought about letting go of coffee - gasp, shudder - but nearly had a heart attack picturing myself trudging into my office without my large cup of Dunkin’ Donuts for weeks on end. Shamed by this sudden reaction (oh, poor Kelli can’t have coffee for 6 weeks!) I hinged on something else I adore.

Shopping.

Yes, dear readers, I’ve decided. I’m going to give up shopping for Lent. As I ordered my large Dunkin’ coffee this morning (thank heavens that luxury didn’t go!) I mentally came up with a few stipulations. By shopping, I’m referring to the purchase of any and all clothes, shoes, jewelry, purses, etc, etc, that I make for myself. Things like groceries, birthday, shower, or wedding gifts, and sundry supplies are still allowed. I’ll even let myself make the necessary Target run but – and oh, here’s the kicker – there will be no “let’s just do a quick walk through of Target’s shoe/jewelry/women’s clothing department” while in the store. I realize most of you have never been on an actual Target run with me, but please trust me when I tell you that this will be a very difficult for me to do.

The thing about me and shopping is this - I’m good at it. I don’t like to brag, but I’m quite proud of my ability to find deals, to know when a trend is coming and snatch it up the minute it lands on shelves, to have in my head a certain color something or other and then, eventually, finally, stumble upon it. It absolutely kills me to find I’ve overpaid for something and I watch for sales, discounts, and coupons like a hawk. I get a thrill every time I look at the bottom of a store receipt and it tells me how much I’ve saved. (Once upon a time I even took a photo of a receipt, it made me so happy. I mean, I’d saved $300 on a pair of Michael Kors shoes. Wouldn’t you?)

At times I think admitting you like to shop and follow fashion automatically makes you appear superficial. I find this frustrating. I’m fully aware that beauty is more than skin-deep and I work hard to live a good, honest life with an open heart. I also happen to like clothes. I like dressing up, I adore pulling together new outfits. I’ve been that way almost all of my life (just ask my parents about the infamous “dinner gloves” I used to wear as a kid). I’m not saying I’m always dressed to the nines and I certainly have my “off” days but most of the time I like mixing and matching items in my closet, I love deciding what jewelry I’ll wear, and pulling the whole ensemble together. Call me dorky but if I can’t be an artist or a designer as my day job, I like to use my clothes as a canvas. I’m a firm believer in first impressions and projecting your best self…and like it or not, clothes do that.

(Think about it. Who would you take more seriously if you were, say, in line getting coffee – a man in a track suit on his phone or a man in a business suit on his phone? Even if they were having the exact same conversation? See. That’s what I mean.)

So anyway. Even after my recent closet purge – or perhaps because of it - I know I have plenty of clothes and outfit combinations to last me for quite some time. (It’s actually slightly embarrassing how long I could probably go without doing laundry.) So a six week break it is. My wallet will certainly appreciate it, even if the slumping economy doesn’t.

And, when the shopping fast is over? It will be the beginning of April. And you know what that means?

Time to check out all the new spring lines that have just hit the stores.

Perfect timing indeed.