What’s the big deal over overseas retail therapy sessions? Well, it’s just that: big deals.
There’s a reason why I see people toting empty suitcases for Seoul-Hong Kong flights,or onto coach buses to Outlet malls in NY, or at 6am outdoor lines during NYC secret sample sales. For me, it was the 80-percent-off sale at the Garment District by Ralph Lauren this winter.
I ended up weighed down with so many bags my mom and I agreed we might as well open up a shop. Still, it's hard not to justify the shopping when I was thinking about what to wear to the wedding in Cali. Into my suitcase went in my formal, deep blue floor-length evening gown I'd scored previously for $30!
Then there’s the emotional value.
Jill Fairchild, founder and publisher of the “Where to Wear” city shopping guides, told Forbes magazine, “When you buy something in another country or another city, you always have a story to tell about where you got that particular item. You create lasting memories with your purchases.”
Amen.
That’s exactly why it was so hard for me to part with a beloved rope bordered green Amazonite ring, scored during a summer trip to Brazil. Every time I wore it, as tired I get of seeing the distinct crack on the gem, I could still remember the subtropical heat as my sisters and I navigated the homey, steep streets in Liberdade District. We were hungry but too intrigued by all the little shops to waste time eating. We were hungry for adventure. After my purchase, I temporarily stopped admiring my latest purchase to taste that smelly durian a man was selling from his wooden cart off the street.
You see, this is what a beloved purchase does: it crystallizes your memory of a particular time and place. And hopefully, in the future trips, it is these memories that lure you back for more, regardless of the tangible.
I won't mistake quantity for quality. For now, these will have to do.
They give me the same mixed amount of excitement and nostalgia two bags filled with clothes and accessories would have years ago.
