Clothes, shoes and a necklace

Every time she trudges down the mall with enough extra dough in the wallet, Latha Ganes never fails to find a nice outfit for herself.

The Indian expatriate declares she doesn't need jewellery anymore, as her box is already full of it, thanks to the gifts she received at her wedding not too long ago.

"I always buy clothes because there's a never-ending greed for it. Or call it unfulfilled desire. It just makes me feel good. Besides, as you tend to grow older, you feel there's a dire need to groom yourself better," says the housewife, 33.

"As far as gold is concerned, I have a good weight of the precious metal in my pocket, so I don't care for it anymore. But my clothing purchases are not very expensive. A single buy normally costs Dh60 to Dh70," she adds.

Like Ganes, many women in the UAE choose to spend their money on fashion clothing and footwear, because of their affordability, function and ability to express and communicate their identity.

Shanice Mesquita, brand manager for Kurt Geiger, agrees that women are indeed more into clothes and shoes than sparkling jewellery.

She says it is the increasing desire to have the latest key statement pieces and constantly evolving trends that drive women to spend.

"The UAE woman is becoming more style-conscious and while an expensive gold necklace is nice, it is a one-off extravagant purchase, whereas clothes and shoes are a necessity and much more disposable," she explains.

For Bardees Badr from Tanzania, nothing gives her a bigger sense of power and fulfilment than a new pair of shoes. "I just love shoes. It gives me a good feeling. If my feet are happy, I am happy," she says.

However, if her income permits, she's willing to set her shoe fetishism aside to splurge on a modern piece of jewellery that she can wear with anything. "I am not a huge fan of gold. Maybe I'd go for white gold as I'm a sucker for silver-coloured jewellery. I normally go with the flow. If I feel like I am missing a certain accessory, I'd go buy it," she adds.