Three years. According to a recent poll from market research firm OnePoll, that’s how much time women devote to shopping over their lifetime — averaging out to about an hour a day. That figure includes hours purchasing necessities like groceries, but women still spend most of their shop-time buying clothes. Just ask these five hard-core fashionistas who spend at least an hour a day snapping up bargains — both in stores and online.
SEE PHOTOS OF THE SHOP JUNKIES
GALA DARLING
GUILT-FREE SHOPPER
Scored $1,600
stilettos for $900
Darling, 26, is a fashion blogger in the East Village who calls herself an “international playgirl and nomad” and shops 14 hours a week.
* Her routine: “A huge portion of my work involves window shopping,” says Darling, who also has her own podcast. “I’d estimate I spend at least two hours a day shopping, mostly online, and mostly just browsing. It’s usually something I do alone — it’s almost cathartic.”
* The damage: “It varies from week to week! I’m in the incredibly enviable position of being able to shop ‘professionally.’ Going shopping, regardless of whether I buy anything or not, is like research for me. My most extravagant buy has been a pair of Alexander McQueen butterfly stilettos — $1,600 retail, but I got them on sale for $900! They sit on a shelf in my office, because they’re too beautiful to keep in a box.”
* Her secret: Favored hunting grounds include “Betsey Johnson for fun, sparkly dresses and stalking eBay for my one-of-a-kind vintage fix. Patricia Field has incredible accessories. I don’t go above 20th Street for anything except to visit the shoes at Bergdorf Goodman.”
* Her credo: “I don’t feel guilty,” says Darling. “You can get incredible things at a low cost if you’re willing to wait and be smart about it.”
Carol Brodie
THE SEASONED SHOPPER
Shops 7-10 hours/week
Limit: $500 on trend items
Carol Brodie, 47, is a luxury expert and jewelry designer who splits her time between her Midtown apartment, Palm Beach and Connecticut and calls herself “the queen of dot-com shopping.”
* Her routine: “I’m a Gilt Groupe groupie. I buy four out of seven days. Hautelook.com has the best sales. I look every day. I go to Bergdorf once a week — I always buy — and Intermix and Barneys once a week, too. I go to estate and private sales for my jewels (I use them as inspiration for work) and I only buy fine jewelry and extremely rare signed collectibles.”
* The damage: “Let’s put it this way: Louboutin sent me a bottle of champagne last week. American Express Platinum is grateful to me. I don’t care how much I spend. I need to have what I love. I want to get a great value, but that’s not my driver.”
* Her strategy: As the former global director of communications for Harry Winston, Brodie knows what’s worth spending money on. “I never spend more than $500 on a trend item. I always believe in the 24-hour rule, and this applies to men and fashion. When you see something you lust or want, wait 24 hours before you purchase. If it’s no longer there, it wasn’t meant to be.”
* Her credo: “You’ve got to be socially responsible in terms of style, and that means recycling. Things like furs and skins, if you hoard them and don’t wear them, you are making it so that more needs to be produced. Sell it, give it away and get it back out there. That is a big part of being a good consumer.
Never hoard!”
— Raakhee Mirchandani
Liz Franco
stealth desk-shopper
Shops 7 hours/week
Spends: $300-400/week
Liz Franco is a 23-year-old fashion publicist, lives in the West Village and checks out online sample sales every day at noon.
* Her routine: “I have the Gilt Groupe app on my phone. Neiman Marcus has an invite-only two-hour sale called Midday Dash. I also get Daily Candy’s Swirl sample-sale newsletter and Intermix’s sale alerts sent to my phone.”
* The damage: “If I was making more, I’d definitely be spending more!” Even so, Franco has zero debt. “I don’t do stuff I can’t afford. I’m making my own money, and I’m working with what I make.”
* Her strategy: Franco swears by the after-Christmas sale at Saks — she beats the crowds by heading to its Stamford, Conn., store. “Last year I got red patent YSL Tribute sandals for $180 [$800 retail]. The Christmas before that, I got black strappy Louboutin pumps for $170.” Not bad, considering that Louboutins — the gold standard in stilettos — start at $700.
n Her credo: “When I was young, my mom would try to take me shopping for clothes and I’d throw a fit. Now she says I have a shopping problem. I shop absolutely every day,” says Franco. “I’m sure by the time I’m done I’ll have spent much more than three years of my life doing it.”
Natalie Clark
‘accidental’ shopper
Shops 11 hours/week*
Spent: whole paycheck on a bag
Natalie Clark, a 24-year-old graphic designer for a fashion company who lives on the Lower East Side, finds ample opportunities to shop on Ludlow Street on her commute.
* Her routine: “There is always some sale, some friend hooking you up. I also ‘accidentally’ stop into a lot of the stores in the East Village while running errands on weekends.”
* The damage: “Some weeks I might spend $300, then go three weeks and not spend anything . . . I did a freelance job once and bought a Balenciaga bag [with the paycheck].” (They start at $1,200.) “I admit I felt guilty about it for a second . . . but when I remembered all the nights I’d been up till 4 a.m. working on the project, I got over it.”
* Her strategy: Clark rarely pays full price. “I’ve gotten a lot smarter. Now I know if I want to wear a $1,400 Herve Leger dress for my birthday dinner, I can find it for 80 percent off on Gilt.”
* Her credo: “My roommate is my partner in crime . . . I tell her that the McQueen heels [she bought] were an homage [to the recently deceased designer], and she tells me my Missoni dress was a life investment I’ll pass along to my grandchildren.”
Eva Shure
the maxed-out shopper
Shops 7-10 hours/week
Spends: $4,000/month
Eva Shure is a 31-year-old executive assistant who lives on the Upper West Side and shops at least one hour every weekday and “many more” on weekends.
* The damage: $1,000 per week on average. She doesn’t drink or smoke, but says shopping is her “drug of choice.” The idea of spending $75 on dinner with friends is “ridiculous,” she says, but she won’t balk at dropping $800 on a pair of shoes. She recently dropped $1,000 on one pair of jeans and shoes at Intermix. “Twenty minutes later, I came to my senses,” says Shure, but it was too late. There are no returns at Intermix, only exchanges. “I couldn’t pay my rent that month. I had to sell something.”
* Her strategy: Two years ago, Shure and a friend founded Hauteaholics Anonymous, an organization that champions young, emerging and affordable designers and helps them stage alternative fashion shows during Fashion Week. “I’m trying to find a way for other people who like high fashion to find it at affordable prices.”
* Her credo: “When I first got to college, I thought credit cards were like magic plastic, and then the bills came. I screwed up my credit, and to this day it’s still screwed up,” confesses Shure, who once went on “Oprah” to get a scolding from financial guru Suze Orman. It didn’t change her shopping habit, but now Shure feels guilt over her addiction. “You look at your closet, it’s an empty chest of things. Other people go on trips or have a savings, but you have a pair of shoes.”
—Hailey Eber