Here’s a confession: I’m calling this post “Spring Theory” because I do a lot of thinking about what will look good on busty women without actually buying or wearing the items I write about.  That great C. Wonder necklace that I fell in love with stayed at the store, and someone else purchased the leopard Emma shoes in my size from Alice Alan. I even returned the purse that I bought for my husband to give me for Christmas! (He had another gift idea.)

As a start-up entrepreneur with no disposable income, I’m ultra-cautious about how I spend our money. It helps that I’m now doing what I love because I’m less tempted to use retail therapy to treat job discontentment, although I’m still very tempted to go shopping when things aren’t going my way. (Whether I purchase anything or not, just entering a department store makes me feel that all is right with the world.)

I’ve also just finished a book called Your Money or Your Life. The author defines money as “something that you trade your life energy for” and says to evaluate your spending with three questions:

  1. Did I receive fulfillment, satisfaction and value in proportion to life energy spent?
  2. Is this expenditure of life energy in alignment with my values and life purpose?
  3. How might this expenditure change if I didn’t have to work for a living?

The first two questions are having a giant impact on how I spend both money and time. They’re also giving me pause about Hourglassy–hence the confession in the first paragraph. I don’t want to promote shopaholism or pretend that our lives will be perfect once we fill the gaps in our wardrobes. After all, if I won’t purchase something because I can’t answer the first question with a “yes”, how much energy do I want to spend writing about it?

Fortunately, it helps for me to remember that Hourglassy is more than a shopping blog. It gives me great “fulfillment, satisfaction and value” to help another woman with large breasts appreciate herself and think about how to dress. When a reader emails me to say that Hourglassy has encouraged her to try something new, to value her body, or to take better care of her appearance, I consider my life energy well-spent.

The fashion magazines have begun broadcasting this year’s spring trends, and I’m going to explore them on this blog as far as time, budget and interest will allow. I’ll also keep asking myself the three questions as I think about dressing for spring. Perhaps you will, too?