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Shopaholics Anonymous

When the new season begins, everyone rushes to the shopping mall to buy the most outrageous and in-style clothes. The old summer gear of T-shirts and faded jeans gets tossed into the closet. There are always old sets of winter clothes hiding in the closet somewhere, but who wants to wear puffy jackets that are two or three years old? Not me.

Like many teenage girls, I like to go shopping with my friends. I don’t want to wear the same clothes over and over again; they’re out of date. Usually, I spend my free time shopping for new clothes. But every time I go, I have to face one fact: I can’t really buy all the trendy clothes out there that I want. They’re so expensive.

Once you buy that glittery tank top that costs around twenty bucks, then you’ll have to buy the pants and jackets to match it, plus there are shoes and accessories needed to put the whole outfit together. It all adds up. There is never enough money to buy everything you want.

No matter how much I make, I’m still just a teenager with a part time job. How can I keep up with the newest trends? Still, I have more than enough. In fact, I have piles and piles of clothes in my closet that are useless, waiting to be donated to the Salvation Army. My mom always screams at me in her loud voice, telling me not to waste my money.

I never listened to her before. But recently, I’m finding the new styles and looks don’t really matter to me anymore. For Winter Ball at my high school, students buy beautiful and expensive dresses or suits just to wear it once. What a waste of money. For everyday wear, as long as I feel comfortable with my clothes, I’m not going to go crazy about shopping. I’ll buy something if I like it. It doesn’t matter if it’s in style or not.

Most teenagers don’t feel this way, though. They keep up with trends because they want to give a good first impression. Some people look at you and determine what kind of a person you are by just glancing at your clothes. Many teens think it’s important to dress the right way in order for others to accept them. If you dress geeky, most likely your group of friends dresses geeky, too. Or if you dress really nice and in style, you’ll probably end up in the popular clique. The way teens dress isolates and separates them from each other.

It seems corporations understand the teen obsession with clothing. With all the magazines and fashionable celebrities, most young people want what they see. Many get part-time jobs in retail stores so they can get discounts. Teenagers may not be able to afford the most expensive items, but they can purchase sale or clearance clothing. It depends. Teenagers are big spenders, too. Once that VISA comes in the mailbox, a lot of people rely on their plastic cards to pay for everything. Some teens even go into major dept.

The fact is we’re only teenagers. While commercials and magazines entice us with their goods, we can’t afford to buy all the clothes out there. We can’t afford to follow the trends. We’re only kids. I’m not going to go bankrupt just over clothing. Besides there are more important things I need to save for like a computer, textbooks and tuition for college.