Thread: THE SHOPPING CHRONICLES: Accessorising- to infinity and beyond!

Hey all,

Just wrote this one, had the idea in my file for a while now. It's the first draft so it's not perfect but it will have to do. For now.

xoxoxo


If you think fashion is confusing, join the club.

One season we’re wearing high-waist skinny jeans, tulip skirts and voluminous dresses while being continuously reminded of the importance of “proportion”. The next it’s all about “body-con” and androgynous chic. When ‘getting it right’ comes down to a few extra inches of gathering, tapering or general puffing, the average shopper can face quite a challenge when stocking up for the season, evidently needing either a shrewd aesthetic eye or a protractor and a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

For many years, however, a fail-safe option was available for those wanting to bypass the many fashion landmines that scatter the runway, whilst still looking hip and trendy: accessories.
It was possible to update last season, last year and in rare cases, last decade’s shapes and styles with the simple addition of the “newest It Bag” or the “daring new take on headwear”.
But as our lives become increasingly littered with “stuff”, is the simple and beautiful world of accessories being, dare I say it, corrupted?

In 2008, what is considered an accessory and where does the boundary of accessorising now lie?

It started innocently enough with mobile phones as grandparents across the globe marvelling at how mere “telephone” could morph itself into a must-have accessory costing the consumer hundreds, if not thousands to own. Then came iPods and iPOd covers. Following this, a buffet of new stationary options exploded onto the market urging us to throw out our old Filofaxes and dish out hundreds on stylised storage boxes, diaries, labellers, notepads, mouse pads, sticky tape dispensers, and paperclip dispensers. Then the PDA emerged, adding fuel to the already blazing ‘peripheral accessory’ market.

And now it seems the accessorising beast has its sights set on our finances.
Yes, that's right. I am talking about personalised credit cards.
Here’s the deal: you pay $15 (that’s right, on top of the interest you already pay to have the credit in the first place) and in return, your credit card can display a photo of your choice, from you and your dog to you on your last holiday at the beach.

And that, my friends, is where I firmly draw the line.

I’m a patient fashionista. They took away my neutrals and I complied (within reason), venturing well out of my comfort zone to purchase a pair of neon yellow pumps. They took away my bootcut and straight leg jeans and I did not rebel, instead choosing to get my hands on a pair of navy skinny leg jeans. Hell, they even took away my waist and for several weeks I obediently swamped my figure in a sack dress- a dress that is a sack.

Clearly, I will put up with a lot, but mess with my accessories and you’ve got another thing coming!

Now, where did I put that Filofax?

Hey cabbage-patcher

What’s this free street press caper? Do contributors not get paid? Forgive my ignorance but a) I’m an old fart and b) I live out in the sticks. I Googled it (for example, http://www.ripitup.com.au/contact/ ) and my results were inconclusive as far as money is concerned.

Imnsho, you’re good enough, with maybe just a teensy little bit of polishing, to be published in mags that pay $.

For example, Woman’s Day, New Idea, That’s Life (1800 020 874; linda@pacificmags.com.au ), Take 5 (www.magshop.com.au ), amongst others.

I could even see a regular weekly column in a metropolitan daily. Who do you know at The Age or The Herald Sun?

Of course it may be that money doesn’t do it for you, in which case I apologise for sticking my oar in.

And you and I can just get back to fighting like a pair of Cill Chainnigh felines.

XO

You contradict yourself.

If I am clearly a Melbourne Girls' Girl or a PLC girl (I am neither), why on EARTH would money "not do it for me"?

No, but really, you are very kind. I guess I assumed a reachable goal was to get published in a free street publication, rather than prematurely set my sights on getting published at a national newspaper.

Perhaps I should scour the weekend liftouts for writing similiar to The Shopping Chronicles, because I know there is a column in 'M', a Sunday liftout in The Age that focuses on emerging trends entitled "On the radar".

Thanks again for your encouragement.

DING!

Oh! There's the bell for the next round! Bring it on!

Hey missmia,

I liked this - I thought it was fun, sharp and I'm sure will appeal to women of all ages. Send it, and perhaps several others in the same vein, to any local or free newspaper, and who knows? I write a column (about family life) that started in a free paper. Now it's in a bigger one and I get paid, and funny enough I'm covering a 'retail therapy' column for six weeks in February. So yours was an inspiration to me. Good luck!

Thank you, Loulou!

That is great encouragement.

I think I will.

Thanks again for taking the time to read this.

Missmia

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