They were perfect. But I had promised myself I wasn't going to buy myself one more pair of shoes this month because I needed to save cash for the new working women’s collection due to be launched next week.

That didn’t stop me from walking past Stone Age several times. And every time I did, those pair of navy blue heels designed by HSY kept beckoning me. I only went inside the shop with the intention of looking at them up close. Curious to see how they looked, I decided to try them on. They were perfect. But I wasn't supposed to buy anything and if I did break that promise, it had to be for something that was perfect. I walked around the shop in those heels just to be sure. I asked everyone — from the salesmen, the manager to even a few visiting customers their opinion about the shoes. They all said they were made for me. So it wasn't technically my fault I bought them. Society pressurised me to.

My mother, aunts, cousins and I have marked on our calendars the dates of the lawn exhibitions of all the major brands we want to buy — Sana Safinaz, Junaid Jamshed, Asim Jofa, etc. We've decided to go together and through her contacts in the fashion industry, one of my cousins has managed to get their catalogues. We know what prints we're going to buy. And so, we're prepared — we're going there all together, several hours in advance with some snacks and refreshments and wait in line. Whoever gets to the counter first has to place the order for all of us.

Last year, I had a tea party to attend in the evening on the day of a lawn exhibition. When I got to the venue, I saw the host wearing a print from the exhibition that very same evening! It turns out she had kept a tub of water in her car in which she popped the fabric the moment she bought it to shrink. And went straight to her tailor's place where he was on standby and he stitched the outfit for her within a couple of hours. Well, this time, I have plans of beating her at her own game. I have not one, but three tubs in another car that will be following us. I'll find a way to wear at least three outfits before anyone else does.

I have a secret to confess. I ordered a fake Gucci bag online. Don't worry, I checked to see if there were any telltale signs of it being a fake brand — the seams were perfect, so was the logo and the shade of red inside. Everyone has seen the original Gucci bag my husband bought from London for me. There is no reason for anyone to suspect the other one might be fake. But I had to tell someone, so I'm telling you.

There was a Sana Safinaz sale at Ensemble last week. I went to the venue two hours early thinking I would have enough time to examine which clothes I wanted to buy. Some of the prices on the clothes had been slashed from Rs80,000 to Rs35,000! Imagine! The sale wasn't to be missed!

But when I got there, I saw a large group of women standing outside the glass doors. The multi-brand store was only going to open the store at exactly 5pm and everyone would get a seemingly ‘equal’ opportunity to get an outfit. I elbowed my way to the front. At 5pm they opened the door and I walked as fast as I could without actually running to the rack and picked up the first outfit I could get my hands on. By the time I extended my other hand to pick up a second one, every single outfit on the rack had been taken. I was glad I got at least one. Allah nay meri izzat bacha li.

One has to learn from their experiences though. Next time there is a sale, there is no point being civil and playing nice. I will definitely run for the rack. And grab as many outfits as I possibly can.