Never leave a woman alone in a......

……shopping mall! Especially one with danger signs—“SALE”, “30 % - 50 % OFF” and “DISCOUNTS” posters—lurking in every corner.

If you really have no choice but to leave her alone in a mall, take away all her cash. Better still, strip her of her cards, be it credit card, cash card, POSB card, Master card, Visa card or whatever card that may lead to a “disaster”.

By “disaster” I mean, buying on impulse and buying more than necessary. The temptations are simply too great to resist in a shopping mall, especially if one is alone in a mall.

“There is no one else around to chat with, so why not window shop? Oh, there is a sale going on here! This pretty skirt is at 50 % discount, such a good buy! I don’t really need a new skirt, but if I buy it, I will wear it. I think I should just get this!”

Well, girls out there, don’t whine and grumble that I am making an ill statement. We have all been there and done that, at one time or another.

For many girls, shopping is their favourite past time and what better way to cheer up a gloomy day than retail therapy?

Disregarding the money factor for the moment, no girls will really say that they have enough clothes. Even if they do think they have enough, they would hardly say no to a new blouse or pants or skirt, especially one that they look good in. For shoes, bags, accessories and clothes, one is never enough. That is an absolute statement for most girls.

I am not a shopaholic, in fact, I would not even label myself as a frequent shopper. But, when the shopping mood comes along, like many girls, nothing can stop in our way. Especially so if we have the money to spare at that moment, and of course, big sales give us all the more the perfect excuse to shop .

At times when the shopping mood hits home, everything I see and try looks good on me, and I feel like sweeping everything home! That’s when the red light starts blinking. Every time something like this happens, there will be a tussle inside me.

The rational voice in me will say, “You already have something similar to this top, don’t buy it.” The other voice will say, “What’s wrong with adding something new to your wardrobe? Anyway, you don’t get the chance to shop that often and sales do not come by all the time, buy it now or else you will regret it!”

But of course, it is seldom true that girls do not get to shop often, even if work is busy and tiring, girls can always find time to shop. “It is to distress and to kill time,” we often defend ourselves and make our spending more justified. Furthermore, it is hardly true that sales are rare. Sales seem to take place the whole year round. Pre New Year Sale, New Year Sale, Post New Year Sale, Pre Christmas Sale, Christmas Sale, Post Christmas Sale. You get the idea. It seems that malls will never run out of reasons to have sales. And which is why, girls will never run out of reasons to shop too.

Well, it is certainly not true that only girls like to shop, some guys enjoy shopping too. But I guess before most guys embark on a shopping trip, they would have in their minds what they want to get and they shop only to fulfill that particular goal. Whereas for girls, a seemingly “innocent” window shopping trip may well evolve unexpectedly into a fruitful one. And that also means ending up with a thicker wallet, not with money, but with shopping receipts.

I have noticed some guys who accompany their girlfriends on shopping trips before. While the girls enthusiastically try on clothes, tirelessly one after another, the guys stand around looking disinterested, or they would fidget and look as if they cannot wait to drag the girls out of the shop. When girls ask them for their opinion, they mostly just say, “it looks okay” or “not bad”, and then continue to look listless.

My question to the guys is, if it is such a dreary affair to accompany girls to shop, then why don’t you let them go shopping alone or with their girlfriends? Why insist on tagging alone and making yourself unhappy?

Now I know.

Perhaps they are aware of the dangers of leaving a woman alone in a shopping mall, and they are there to provide the physical resistance.

But if the ladies are spending their own money, why should the guys stand in their way?