A small ceremony
I said buy less...
I wrote a few months ago about trying to buy less. About listing things on Vestiaire and Depop and willing someone to take them off my hands. And how restraint can feel like a small act of self-knowledge.
I sold my first bag on Vestiaire Collective (!!!). And not only that, two of my pieces made the We Love list. I’m choosing to take this as a sign from the universe that the philosophy is working, that the things I release find the people who actually want them.
So yes, I also bought a few things this month. Six, to be exact. Here is my honest case for each.
A ring, as a completion acknowledgment
I bought myself a Monica Vinader sterling silver heirloom stacking ring as a little gift for having completed a project. I wear it on my index finger. It is slim and quiet and the right price point (~$80)
An Olivia Dean vinyl, to get ready to upbeat tunes!
Two of my closest friends gave us a record player. A gift like that comes with a responsibility. I have a lot of vintage music, things collected over years, sounds that feel like they belong to another era. But lately I’ve been thinking about what it means to bring something contemporary into that collection. Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving Tour Edition felt right.
Rhode Pocket Blush in Freckle, for summer
This one. After seeing Gigi Hadid’s Met Gala glam I have been chasing that “walked through the garden” look. A peachy-terracotta tone, warm and easy and very much what I wanted as the season shifts. I’ve been wearing cooler tones for months and something in me was ready for sun. It is also amazing to carry on the go.
La Roche-Posay LIPIKAR Balm AP+Max and Anthelios UVAIR Vitamin Sun Stick SPF50+
Cosmetics are on the allowed list, they were always on the allowed list. And the best shopping I have done lately has been at drugstores. Lipikar Balm AP+M is rich and exactly what I need for the summer. And the Anthelios UVAir Vitamin Sun Stick SPF50+ is the best to carry everywhere in my bag. It is tiny and so cute!!!
Vintage Dolce & Gabbana shoes, $70
I went to a vintage fair looking for a bag for a wedding I have this month. My budget was around $100. I did not find the bag, but these sexy pumps found me. I have nothing more to say except that sometimes the universe presents you with a perfect vintage find at a price that makes you feel like you’ve gotten away with something.
A little mesh bag that may or may not be Paco Rabanne, $100
I needed something to carry approximately three things in for the wedding I mentioned above. I found a vintage mesh bag, in my mind it is Paco Rabanne. It might as well be. There is a version of ownership that is entirely about conviction, and I am committed to mine.
I still believe that restraint is information, that wanting something and not buying it can teach you more than buying it sometimes does. But I also believe in making your life a ceremony, and that selected objects can be a celebration of that.
There is also something useful in writing it all down. This list is a small act of accountability. If I look back at it next month and think this is too much, then I know to pull back. And if it feels right, then I know I am buying with intention rather than impulse. Either way, the writing keeps me honest.
I invite you to try it out!
On the list for next month:
Peonies, before the season ends. My analog camera, which needs fixing. A massage, which I have been putting off for too long.
None of these are things. They are, in their own way, the point.
