jUSt pONdEriNg

I used to think that a person's overall character and demeanour spoke volumes, much more than their dressing or hairstyle.

Then when I started working I began to think that clothes maketh the person. I mean, nothing beats presenting to an auditorium filled with people in your most powerful power suit.

And later it came to me that it was shoes that maketh the man. Imagine the sense of awe that you draw click-clacking down the hallway in your razor-pin sharp stilettos, not to mention the heads that you could turn with your sashaying walk.

Much later it became the bags that complemented your outfit. A black, a brown and a white are the must-haves. Reds are good for making a strong statement on those days you want to make your clients sit up.

Over the years I have become such a vainpot. Now I have clothes in every colour and style, and a galore of bags and shoes to match. And don't even start me on the earrings and the necklaces and the rings and the hair accessories.

Does materialism creep up on you unawares, or do we allow ourselves to be sucked into the commercialism all around us?