This Woman Gave Up Shopping For An Entire Year

Imagine, if you will, that you were unable to satisfy your cravings for impulse buys or cheap thrills — for an entire year. Author Sarah Lazarovic doesn't have to simulate the feeling, as her new book A Bunch of Pretty Things I Did Not Buy details her year without shopping — otherwise known as "purgatory" to us sartorially-inclined humans. The author and artist filled the pages of her book with hand-painted images of items she mooned over, along with written accounts of her consumer history and clothing hankerings.

In a candid interview with The Today Show, Lazarovic describes the hours she spent poring over wares she found on e-tailer sites, many of which were unnecessary in her daily life. Luckily, Lazarovic's innate creativity lent her a solution to her conundrum. By putting pen to paper and drawing the items she wanted to purchase, Lazarovic satisfied her shopping cravings and allowed herself to mentally process what it was she loved about each item, or, as she explained on The Today Show, to look back on certain wares and acknowledge their frivolity. "I find the problem is you feel guilty about all the stuff you want," Lazarovic explained. "But instead of feeling guilty, I wanted to just say, 'It's okay to covet something really beautiful.' and instead of feeling the need to buy it, I would just paint it."

While many consumers would cringe at the mere thought of giving up shopping for a year, the notion of being more mindful about what you buy and why is sheer genius. You may now return to browsing ShopBop for suede booties — or simply illustrating them, if you decide to take after Lazarovic.

Image: A Bunch of Pretty Things I Did Not Buy by Sarah Lazarovic, $11.39, amazon.com