What sought-after items are you jonesing for this Black Friday? A new TV? A well-priced kitchen gadget to help with your next holiday feast? Or how about a fashion haul? Whether or not you embark on a post-Thanksgiving purchase frenzy, the characters in these movies and series on Netflix can teach you a few things about the art of shopping — and provide a cautionary tale or two: A journalist who personifies “shop ’til you drop,” a vintage clothing lover with a booming new business idea, and one of America’s most iconic designers.

Confessions of a Shopaholic

Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher) is a journalist who dreams of working for top fashion magazine Alette. She’s got the reporting skills and fashion expertise — she’s just missing an opportunity. Oh, and she’s drowning in credit card debt. Raised by frugal parents (Joan Cusack and John Goodman), Rebecca now goes on regular shopping sprees that rival any Black Friday splurge, and the bills are piling up. So when she gets a chance to work for the same publisher as Alette — by taking a job at the finance-focused Successful Saving — she jumps at the chance. As she climbs the corporate ladder, her friends and loved ones view it as an ironic twist of fate. But her new boss, Luke Brandon (Hugh Dancy), sees greatness in her. This romantic comedy is based on author Sophie Kinsella’s books and also stars John Lithgow (3rd Rock From the Sun), Kristin Scott Thomas (The English Patient), Leslie Bibb (About My Father), Fred Armisen (Wednesday), and Krysten Ritter (Orphan Black: Echoes).

Confessions of a Shopaholic

1h 44m   PG   2009

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Girlboss

Pitch Perfect producer Kay Cannon created this series based on Sophia Amoruso’s 2014 autobiography #Girlboss. Britt Robertson stars as 23-year-old aspiring business mogul Sophia Marlowe, who’s already behind on her rent when she’s fired from her job at a shoe store in San Francisco. After finding a vintage ’70s motorcycle jacket at a local shop and upselling it on eBay for $600, she co-founds her own retail enterprise with her best friend, Annie (Ellie Reed). Dean Norris (Breaking Bad), RuPaul Charles (RuPaul’s Drag Race), Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets), Jim Rash (Community), and One Piece Season 3’s Cole Escola co-star.

Girlboss

13 Episodes   TV-MA   2017

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Halston

Executive produced by Ryan Murphy and based on the 1991 book Simply Halston by Steven Gaines, Halston stars Ewan McGregor (Moulin Rouge!) as the eponymous fashion designer. The five-episode miniseries follows his rise to fame in the ’70s as a women’s wear titan after his initial success as a milliner, as well as his eventual downfall, including how he lost control of his fashion house in the ’80s. Bill Pullman (The Sinner), Rebecca Dayan (Tesla), Krysta Rodriguez (Smash), Kelly Bishop (Gilmore Girls), and Vera Farmiga (Boots) also star.

Halston

Limited Series   TV-MA   2021

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