The title of an article in the Independent caught my eye the other day: The marketing scam of the century.

I’ve never been the kind of gal to have a “shoe wardrobe” or a “handbag wardrobe”, and although I sometimes peruse articles like 10 must-have fashion essentials for summer, the items in question never seem to be “essential” enough to find their way into my wardrobe. Part of it is an aversion to being told what I “should” be wearing; another part is that I have to really like something in order to spend my spondoolies on it (why yes, I do believe there is some Scottish blood in me, why do you ask?). Weird as this may sound, I actually believe I can live without the likes of this “Nana” dress (a Marie Claire buy-of-the-day):

The gist of the Independent article is that most of us buy way too much stuff. We’ve been seduced into believing that we “need” a whole raft of things in order to find personal fulfillment / happiness / nirvana / etcetera. But it’s all a con game. We don’t need most of the stuff that’s marketed to us, and we only think we want it.

So the lesson for today, kiddies, is think before you buy, and don’t let yourself be manipulated by those ruthless marketers. Heck, you may even realise that you, too, can put that Nana dress back on the rack.