Selling My (Red) Sole

Just thought I'd share a recent intersection of consumption, femininity, and e-commerce.

I'm selling my prized but woefully under-worn Christian Louboutins on ebay, and even though I won't come close to breaking even (they retailed for around $700), I'm hoping that someone will be lured by the siren song of scarlet-hued soles.

I love the powerful iconography of Louboutins--that red sole has become such a recognizable cultural signifier, connoting access to high style and luxe living. A crimson flash indicates both a certain socio-economic standing (a total pretense on my part) since the cost is so exorbitant, and the fanciful designs suggest conversance with high fashion.

Check out my listing below (I tried to incorporate some of that haptic fashion rhetoric of apparel being a sensual purchase with the capacity to love you back); wish me luck in the bidding!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180640480488&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT#ht_500wt_1156

Oh, and as a side-note-cum-plea-for-intervention, I just lost my damn mind on forever21.com. I'm fully aware that I'm addicted, and have been for some time--my closet is over-bourgeoning with sequined and embellished scores all with their tags on. It's bordering on disturbing, obsessional, dragon-like hoarding (I'd tried to convince myself I was simply archiving beautiful things). The hook is their diabolic and insidious "Free Shipping over $50" ploy, which I know is the tool of a capitalist devil--I peruse the site and a $10 item strikes my fancy, but I'll be damned if I'm going to pay superfluous shipping, so I rack up the items to get the freebie, just as the designers and marketers intended.

I can't stop, and even though the prices are individually minimal, the sheer volume is damaging--I could have paid off my student loan with what I've spent on this website. Sooo, in the spirit of frugality, self-control, and asceticism, this week I signed a promissory note to myself that I won't buy any clothes or accessories for the rest of the semester. I felt righteous and at peace, until 20 minutes ago.....Forever21.com was having the most outrageous sale....$50 items for $5, every dreamy creation from their couture-inspired line Twelve by Twelve, including that feathered cape I'd been lusting after for $11!!!!! How could I resist?

However, euphoria devolved into insanity: the steep discounts turned this into a fire-sale--a race against the clock and other invisible but somehow personified competing shoppers--just as you put something in your cart, the site would update and inform you that size or color is out of stock. My heart raced and I literally got panicked and sweaty as I grabbed every iteration I could and raced my virtual cart to the checkout. Some items fell through my grasp, causing an actual sense of loss. Others were a triumph. And still others I don't even know if I wanted in the first place, but I was mesmerized by a consumptive frenzy.

Now, reflecting upon those crazed minutes, I just feel kind of sick and satiated. Normally shopping gives me a sense of exhilaration and (illusory) fulfillment, but now I just feel like I've binged and didn't enjoy it. To quote Cher Horowitz "I felt impotent and out of control, which I really hate." I'm done. Seriously, I swear, and I look to you all as sponsors to keep me on the wagon. I will NOT shop again.....but there are these gorgeous military-chic boots on cutesygirl.com.....No, seriously, I'm done.