Women 'facing bankruptcy to be like Carrie'

Being in the red appears to be the new black as more and more women are declaring themselves bankrupt after shopping on their credit cards until they drop, research shows.

Figures from the Insolvency and Trustee Service Australia illustrate that almost 11,000 women declared themselves bankrupt during the 2007 fiscal year, up nearly 60 per cent from 7,000 the previous year.

Women have become shopaholics as they hunt down the latest expensive designer outfits and accessories and put bill payments on hold, the Sunday Telegraph has reported.

Kat Hartmann, editor of culture website Kluster, told the newspaper that fashion is a large influence in her life.

"Just recently I got myself a pair of Ksubi biker boots that were definitely out of my budget for that week but that is what I wanted and that is what I ended up spending the money on. That week my phone bill was delayed because of the last pair of boots - I wanted them," she said.

Bernard Salt, a commentator on culture and consumerism, informed the same publication that films such as Sex and the City have "set a standard in clothing and consumption".

Research by Veda Advantage, which studied credit activity over a five-year period, has shown that men are still more likely to default than women.

The findings indicated that six in every ten credit card defaults were by the male gender.

In the study it was also found that men accounted for 62 per cent of personal loans defaults and 56 per cent of mortgage defaults.

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