Buying clothes lacks the pure pleasure of a few years ago. The recession comes into play, of course, but only in indirect ways. My personal income is the same, and I don't fear losing my job any more than at any other time, but it feels unseemly to carry on in the same blithe way.

The real loss of pleasure comes more from an awareness of why I buy things--to fill a void. It's not a tremendous revelation, but only so when applied personally.

The more things I have, the more aware I am of the emptiness that all these things cannot stem.

Still, I buy far less often now but with a great deal more care and thought. And that is where the pleasure derives, these days. Now when I acquire something, there's greater knowledge of myself involved, that I know what I like and don't like.