My girlfriend couldn't believe it so she counted the pile of shoes sitting in the middle my lounge room again. "I can't believe you are throwing out 14 pairs of shoes," she howled, making me sink lower into my chair. "How did you ever own that many pairs in the first place? And how many do you have left not to care you are losing 14 bloody pairs? Why did you buy them in the first place if you didn't want them?"

These are all valid questions that I find hard to answer, my shame so red hot no reasoning can dampen the reality of my folly. Because the answer would be that I am a selfish and self-entitled idiot, someone who bought the marketing bull that is fashion when I should have known better.

The first Topshop store in Australia, on Melborne's Chapel Street, has suffered as the area has struggled to maintain its identity as a luxury shopping destination. Credit:Sebastian Costanzo

But my evening was only to get worse. Because beside the 14 pairs of shoes my more frugal friend was now trying on her feet were five garbage bags chockers with clothes I no longer want or need. It is an obscene amount of wasted money and labour that shows no respect for the efforts that went into their creation, a reality that leaves me feeling vain and vulgar. Especially as the friend I am exposing all this excess to is someone who proudly never buys retail.

Now I should explain that I am culling my wardrobe because I have seen the error of my ways. I was disgusted with how much I owned and cognisant that for every coat I might one day feel like wearing there is someone who dreams of any coat, with that goal of keeping warm eclipsing that of looking good. And so, I decided to be severe and reckon I have at least halved my wardrobe in the past week or so and plan to downsize and recycle even more.