READ THIS: SPENT: Memoirs of a Shopping Addict by Avis Cardella
We recommend many products by many brands at Whom You Know, but in no way do we ever recommend becoming a shopping addict, whether consciously or subconsciously this may happen. Spent could be a warning sign for many of you, although we hope not. We would rather hope that than let it get worse though, and if you think you may fall in this category, Spent is a book for you all that much more. Indulge in luxury: the luxury of tears if that pertains to your situation. If this does not apply to you, still you should read Spent as you may recognize signs in others and help them.
It's true, as Cardella says we do live in the candyland of shopping in Manhattan, and believe us, we love it all! But perspective is so important, and so are priorities in life. We love the glitz, glamour and fashion of it all, but we are not confused about who our friends are and what is important in life. In economic times such as this, it is tempting to go on a shopping binge, even in the name of patriotism, but how much better off will you be because of it in the long run? Superficial perfection will not leave you perfect. Stop shopping and you will find yourself. And definitely do not go shopping with strange men...!!! You must read the book to understand parts of what we mean. We are only cryptic when we want you to read a book...
If you have a compulsive disorder, you should address it. Don't put things on hold like Avis once did. The sidelines are only meant for second-stringers, and that is not you, Whom You Know reader! You can have too much of a good thing, even shopping. At the end of the day, relationships are what matter in life, not luxuries. It's not who you know, it's Whom You Know! Though we love the luxury brands we work with, we love the people of them even more. Your character, not your things, define you. Whom You Know highly recommends Spent.
***
Growing up, Avis Cardella devoured her mother’s fashion magazines. She was seduced by the world of glamorous images. She grew up to become part of that world, first as a fashion model and afterward with a career as a fashion editor and writer. Her life was punctuated by lavish parties, travel, and, of course, shopping. What she didn’t realize was how things would spin out of control and her relationship with clothing and shopping would grow into an obsession.
After her mother’s untimely death, Cardella embraced shopping as her drug of choice. She would buy anything she could to fill the void she felt inside. The thrill of shopping soon became addictive, and the remorse she would feel afterward was crushing. Still, she would spend hours a day shopping, every day. She found herself forgoing food for Prada, and credit card debt bloomed like the ever-increasing pile of unworn shoes and clothing in the back of her closet. As Cardella explains, “I was no longer consuming; I was just being consumed.”
SPENT: Memoirs of a Shopping Addict (Little, Brown, May 14, 2010, $23.99 hardcover) is Avis Cardella’s timely, deeply personal, and shockingly dramatic exploration of our cultural need to spend. Cracking open both her own and society’s compulsion to buy, Cardella explores the psychological underpinnings of compulsive shopping and the way society aids shopaholic behavior. Cardella takes us on a wild ride set to the tom-tom beat of NYC and the Hamptons, starting in the late 1970s and running through the booming ’90s. She charts the rise of luxury-goods fever, mall culture, and credit cards.
In SPENT, Cardella includes observations on:
- The pervasive “keeping up with the Joneses” of the late twentieth century and the rise of the American consumer culture
- The advent of easy credit
- The relatively new field of “brain science,” which seeks to explain consumer spending habits via changes in brain chemistry
- The findings of experts and recent surveys that report on the rise of compulsive shopping
- “Madame Bovary Syndrome” and how women in particular may avoid personal financial issues
- The consideration to include shopping addiction as an individually recognized disorder in The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V)
About the author:
Avis Cardella found her calling writing about photography, fashion, and culture after spending her formative years reading fashion magazines voraciously. She has written for British Vogue, American Photo, and Surface,among other publications, and currently lives in Paris with her husband.
www.aviscardella.com
