This time last year, I made a promise to not buy clothing for 12 months. With two exceptions, I stuck to that oath. And heading into 2025, this detox has rewired the way I think about shopping.

It used to be fun and escapist, a recreational activity that offered respite from it all. Adding to cart was a dopamine hit. But after 12 months during which my biggest retail thrills came from my weekly grocery shop (I also turn 40 this year), I’ve come to see shopping – at least the way I did it, magpie-like, without much forethought – as burdensome and mind-numbing. Like an addiction, in that I didn’t know when to stop.