When Will You Stop Looking?

 
There have been many guides to shopping, articles and books dedicated to good decision making and getting the most for your money. I have read them all.

There have been plenty of rules to avoid mistakes that end up unloved and unworn in your closet. I have broken every one:

> Don't buy it just because it's on sale.
> Don't buy the size you might be some day.
> Don't buy something last minute for a special occasion.
> Ask yourself if you would pay twice for it.
> Shop only with a list and stick to it. 
> Figure in how many times you will wear it to justify the cost.
> Don't buy something because it looks good on a celebrity or friend.
> Don't go shopping with friends.
> Take your friends shopping to give you advice.
> Don't shop when you're depressed.
> Don't shop when you're happy.
> Don't shop online at midnight or if you're bored at work.
> Don't shop when you have no money.
> Don't shop when you're feeling flush.
> Don't be afraid to return it.

No one has ever suggested one question to ask yourself while shopping: Will I stop looking for it?

I can go shopping with no real purpose. This is called "product research". I am shopping to be wowed, to be lured by an incredible find, to find the incredible, to get inspired to put things together in a new way or unearth something I'd forgotten I had.

By now I've bought a cartload of black turtleneck sweaters, at least two dozen pairs of black pants, jeans too numerous to count, a small trash can full of black handbags, myriad pairs of hoop earrings, 4 or 5 trench coats and more than too many bathing suits—all in search of the "perfect" one that means I will never have to shop for it again. Your tally may be different, but I bet you have one.

While shopping for nothing I may run across one of those things I'm always looking for. I now ask myself, Will this be "the perfect _ _ _ _ _ _ _  (fill in the blanks). Will I now stop looking for it??? Put that way, the answer is usually "no".  

There are still things I haven’t found yet:
> The perfect pussy-cat bow silky white shirt
> The perfect little black dress
> The perfect black evening bag
> The perfect black casual shoes
> The perfect travel umbrella

Oh, the list is long. Which is why I’m still shopping.