Such scenes are being played out all over the land as a growing number of women fall victim to debilitating fashion syndrome (DFS). Sufferers allow their fashion choices to hamper their ability to lead a normal life. A tendency to wear jeans so tight that they prohibit movement, or heels so high that walking becomes impossible, is the primary symptom.

One high-powered fashion insider has such an extreme wardrobe that it requires an entourage: one helper to carry the three designer handbags she routinely totes, and another to cling on to for support when she totters around in impossible heels. “She threads her arm through mine, and we’re off. Well, she hobbles and I drag her,” says her appointed walker. “She’s not interested in living a normal life; it’s all about the clothes and shoes.”