Confessions of a Shopaholic

Forgive Me, Father, For I Have Sinned.

It’s been many years since my last confession—and even longer since I last paid full price…

Picture it: Houston, 1990s. A scrappy young girl prepares for her senior pictures. These photos will last a lifetime, they say. And yet… she has nothing to wear. Not nothing nothing—just nothing worthy of permanence. So she does what she has always done. She goes to her best friend and asks to borrow a few outfits.

That girl was me. You see, I grew up without much spending money. Style was aspirational, not accessible. Clothing was borrowed, shared, handed down. It wasn’t until college—when I got a part-time job and shed a little baby weight—that I began to see myself differently. And once I saw it, I couldn’t unsee it.

What I learned was this: what you wear matters. How you wear it matters. Clothing speaks before you do. It confesses your intentions—sometimes louder than words ever could.

And so I began to shop. At first, innocently. Then intentionally. Then… excessively. Shopping became my vice. My thrill. There was no greater high than finding the perfect piece—especially if it was a steal. I shopped so much that when I renovated my loft years later, I asked for a walk-in closet larger than my bedroom. I wish I were exaggerating. I am not.

Eventually, I ran out of room. So I started shopping for others. Friends. Family. Anyone who would let me style them. I told myself it was generosity. It may have also been denial. But here’s the grace in all this: none of it was wasted.

All those hours digging through racks, hunting for hidden gems, learning fabrics, understanding eras—it was preparation. For a pipe dream I barely allowed myself to name: one day, I’ll open a resale shop. I assumed that day would come in retirement, if at all.

But the universe had other plans. And now here I am… a consignment shop owner. A former shopping addict turned professional reseller. Still deeply in love with the hunt—but now doing it for others. With very little retail experience and a whole lot of opinions, I’ve spent the last three years learning, listening, and realizing that my customers are just as passionate about resale as I am.

Which brings me to this confession. I’m launching the Resale Revelations blog to tell the truth about this industry, this business, and this calling. The good. The messy. The lessons learned the hard way. I invite you to reflect with me on this journey.

Thank you for listening. I feel lighter already.