More than half of Danish women questioned for a survey admitted they tell the odd white lie to hide the true price of how much they spent.
According to Trendsales, the online fashion retailer, women find it particularly difficult to tell their partners and often hide their purchases to avoid uncomfortable questioning.
Secrets and white lies
Some women use white lies such as “it was a gift” or “it was on sale” to fool their partners, while others use a reverse shock tactic and state a much higher price at first, just to jokingly add that the item ‘only’ cost half the amount.
A 22-year-old nurse, Louise Ransborg, admitted she lied about the cost of her new boots, saying she got them for 900 kroner, when they in fact cost 2,400.
Similarly, Lærke Nielsen, 29, who is currently on maternity leave, lied to her partner about an all-inclusive trip. It cost 3,000 kroner, but she reduced the price by 1,000.
Raised to look good
“Women are pressured by society and also raised to make themselves look good. They can be totally crazy about some clothes and not care how much they cost. Only afterwards, they think: ‘Oh shit’,” Kenneth Reinicke, a gender researcher at Roskilde University, told Metroxpress.
Josephine Knudsen, a student of psychology at the Aarhus University, can relate to that. “In my head it makes sense to spend money on clothes,” she said. “But when I am confronted, I can see that it’s not so good.”
Friends just laugh
The Trendsales survey shows most women tend to ‘adjust’ the price when they spend more than 1,000 kroner on something.
“I bought a brush from Mason Pearson for 1,000 kroner, which is of course an absurd price for a brush,” Knudsen admitted.
“Nevertheless, I bought it. Then I lied about it and said it only cost 500 kroner.”
In general, women do not have a problem being honest about the true costs with their friends and colleagues.
“Friends and colleagues would at most laugh at it, whereas they may get a much more bitter reaction from their boyfriends,” said Reinicke.
Men have no clue
The survey also shows that only one in five of the women, who lied about the real cost of their shopping trip, were caught out.
“It’s easier to lie about prices to men because they don’t get why clothes have to be so expensive. They can’t imagine what the correct price may be,” Knudsen pointed out.
