Girls just wanna have fun, men just wanna get out.

I have the unfortunate condition of being married to a man that absolutely hates shopping. Well, that's not entirely true - he abhors shopping for anything other than golf equipment, golf accessories, and electronics. He gets edgy and jumpy and visibly uncomfortable; put him in a mall and he will break out into a cold sweat, begin hyperventilating, and run for the nearest exit. I consider shopping as necessary to my spirit as breathing, so after 12 years of marriage we have reached a point where I have taken over nearly all shopping excursions. Husband has no black socks? Kids are growing out of their sneakers? It's time for a teacher appreciation gift? I'm your girl.

However, in the course of my life I've met plenty of guys who loved to go shopping. In high school I dated a man who enjoyed hanging out at the Ralph Lauren store, trying on bespoke shirts and tailored blazers. My college boyfriend loved browsing through Barney's, ogling sharply tailored suits and polished black shoes. And I have friends whose husbands absolutely relish any kind of shopping, whether for cologne or Merino wool sweaters or cashmere overcoats.

A recent article by Christina Brinkley in the Wall Street Journal explores the differences in shopping styles between the sexes. Based on interviews with designers, salesmen and shop owners, Brinkley argues why she believes men are the superior shoppers. Women, she argues, have been encouraged to favor "fast fashion" by the faddish womenswear clothing industry, which has "trained generations to seek out throwaway styles" of clothing that are of lesser quality. Many women I know bypass the opportunity to try on a garment in the store before buying, assuming that because the brand is established, the fit will be flattering. Sophisticated men, on the other hand, are meticulous when considering a purchase, and deathly focused on tailoring and comfort. According to Brinkley, when they go shopping, they peer inside the garment inspecting for loose stitching and soft seams. They are patient and thorough when trying on clothes, stretching and moving to check for puckering and gaping buttons. And they put much less focus on the brand. Men will not compromise tailoring and utility for trendy uncomfortable clothing. Unfortunately, most women will.

I must agree with the theory that men shop differently than women, though not necessarily for the reasons Brinkley mentions. I believe most men shop like they're smartbombs dropped from F-22's. They're tactical. They have lists. If they walk into a mall, they usually know exactly where they're going and what they're buying. They are concerned with durability and comfort because if the item lasts, they can shop less often. They don't pay attention to what's trendy. They don't go from store to store to store. They don't wander aimlessly. They want to get in, buy what they need, and get out. That's it.

While men might be more utilitarian and focused when shopping, there is no doubt that women have much, much more fun. We enjoy buying, owning, exchanging, and trying on dozens of items before making a decision. We love the thrill of locating the perfect shoe and the greatest bargain. We research, we consult our friends, we spend afternoon reading fashion magazines - all for the glory of feeling attractive.

I suppose my shopping style utilizes techniques from both sexes. While I enjoy browsing from store to store, and keeping up on fashion trends, I also put much more weight on how a garment fits and whether it's something that reflects my individual sense of style than its popularity or brand. I believe in trying things on and taking the time to examine for defects. And if it's too tight, it stays in the store, no matter what the price. 

What's your shopping style? Do you believe women have been trained to compromise fit and quality for "fast fashion" and throwaway styles?

Why Alexa Chung's thrifting endeavor is problematic

Alexa Chung, It-Girl, is launching a reality show where she goes to different thrift stores. This has left me far more conflicted than anything concerning a reality TV show should.

I'm trying to figure out what exactly being an "it-girl" means. I think the meaning depends on the tone - whether you crow "she's an IT girl" like someone out of an angst-filled yet vaguely quirky teenage flick, or whether the person in question has a resume containing any one of the following abilities: Modeling, working as an MTV VJ, serving as a muse to a big-time snotty designer like Karl Lagerfeld, dating an emo alternative singer, being big in a foreign country, and dressing well. It appears that Alexa Chung fulfills every one of these qualities. She's from England, enjoyed a brief career as a model, is close friends with Uncle Karl, and worked for MTV in 2009. She also serves as a guest designer for Madewell, looks coltishly adorable, and dates a dude from the Arctic Monkeys. And even though — or perhaps because — she kind of dresses like a lot of tomboyish hipsterish girls her age, she's also something of a style icon.

None of which really explains her bona-fides as a thrift-shopper. Her thrifting getup — described in a Sunday profile in the NY Times as "a dark skirt from J. W. Anderson, an Isabel Marant cardigan and Russell & Bromley flats" — invites raised eyebrows from those of us thrift store hoarders who would see proof of this alleged conterfeit. Although for all I know she's one of those wunderkins who can identify vintage Missoni at 20 paces, her show has the same air as the recent glamorization of eBay: an attempt to elevate second-hand shopping in order to convert the sort of person who'd normally find used clothes icky. Here's how the Times describes the program, which will run on PBS next summer.

On the show, she and Maya Singer, the series creator and the editor of special projects for Style.com, will comb the country's consignment shops, garage sales and flea markets for old clothing, furniture, music equipment and other potential treasures to use in various creative endeavors. A few of the places they plan to visit include Orlando, Detroit, Nashville, Alabama and Brooklyn and, on a less populist note, fashion capitals like Paris and London as well. In the first episode, Ms. Chung helps Pamela Love, a gothic jewelry designer, create a pop-up shop in London during Fashion Week.

I briefly justified my self-righteous indignation with the thought that such spot-blowing-up would be detrimental to struggling eBay sellers competing with each other for a decent profit. Or those families who really need used clothes at good prices. But let's be real: a show like Alexa Chung's isn't going to focus on utilizing Goodwill's racks of moth-chewed mismatched suits or men's pleated Dockers. She's not shopping for essentials. She's going to focus on excavating high-end designer and uniquely vintage pieces. The only ones who'd possibly be negatively effected by some hypothetical rush on America's Goodwills are those of us who love to thrift.

Although I don't need to thrift out of necessity, I still relish the opportunity to do so. I thrift earnestly and for self-expression. I've thrifted since I discovered secondhand stores for my clothes while a high school student and am a vintage addict. Shopping vintage and used and learning how to alter it if you needed to was an awesome skill set as a student, especially one enrolled in a performing arts school where individuality was prized and could elevate one into the "cool" set. Once I found my first designer piece of clothing in a Goodwill it was love at first sight.

Thrifting will never be for everyone. It takes patience and perseverance and a good eye and a willingness to sift through an amazing amount of crap. I do worry that Ms. Chung will popularize this activity, and make thrift-store shopping way more popular resulting in my going to a thrift store and not be able to find anything because it had been all picked over.  That would suck.

That said, I'll watch Alexa Chung's show with interest. I want to know if she'll talk about how to remove thrift store stench, or the reality that preworn shoes are not supportive nor comfortable, or the fact that trying on used wigs is a really, really bad idea. Because that could be highly educational. And would really justify the title of It Girl.