I don't shop. I haven't shopped in about four years.
My mom and I shopped for my 'X Factor' outfits at La Cantera. We went to Forever 21 and Urban Outfitters. I live really close to the mall, so I'd always go there to shop.
I grew up with not a lot of money and I definitely shopped at Goodwill. But even in my most unfortunate state, I was really blessed compared to a lot of the rest of the world. I had a really great chance to follow my dreams and have them actually come true.
My hair was curly, and everyone else's was straight or in micro braids. I didn't have a lot of money, so I shopped at thrift stores. And I'm petite - I never looked shapely. I remember thinking, 'Will I ever have that stereotypical round, full butt that people think most black women have? I had to find another way to feel good about myself.
Comfortably middle-class, I had shopped for years at the likes of Saks outlet Off Fifth, Banana Republic, and Zara. My mom raised me to believe clothes should be comfortable and practical, not frivolous.
In 2013, before the publication of my fourth novel, I met with a stylist at Nordstrom. Since then, I've rarely shopped for 'event clothes' on my own. I usually do it with my sisters or a friend; if I'm alone, I take pictures of myself in the dressing room and text them to my sisters.
I shopped a lot on 1stdibs.com when I first started modelling. Just whenever, I've always been on and bought all my furniture on 1stdibs.com.
I've always shopped at H&M.
With *NSYNC, we shopped our deal for a year in America, sang a capella in everybody's office, then moved to Germany for almost two years and became popular there. A guy representing a rock band came to our show in Budapest, saw 60,000 people get excited for a band from America that nobody in America knew, and told someone at RCA.
Because I sometimes shopped in Waitrose, I thought I was actually quite posh. I've realised that I'm basically a scullery maid. Even the middle-class people who I meet in parliament, people who live in London - which I think is remarkable because how can anybody afford to live there - seem much, much more middle class than me.
