Under the Influence
Bonjour, Mes Amis!
Dame Margaret is flying solo this week, thanks to a less-than-ideally-careful New Jersey driver making Dame Sophie’s life a bit more complicated this week.
As such, this is going to be a discussion thread post. Given that Twitter is collapsing in slow motion, I have been spending less of my time there, and Twitter’s loss has been Instagram’s gain— to the detriment of my bank account balance. Speaking as someone who must sometimes make Reels for work, I can confidently say that Instagram is bad at many things. But it is almost unnervingly good at convincing me I need to buy nonsense no human being could EVER need— some of which I really end up liking.
So far I have resisted these extremely cute fair-trade overalls, ANY of this brand’s unreasonably alluring madras-print clothing, all of this brand’s unconscionably Marimekko-esque print dresses, and these SICKENINGLY good wide-leg pants even though they’re on sale and would be the perfect thing to wear to Taylor Swift’s Eras tour this May. But here are a couple of things that finally wore me down:
Lime Ricki Swimwear: I am— thanks to catching a sample sale at exactly the right moment— a proud owner of three bikinis and one one-piece swimsuit from this brand and they’re real dang cute. They are well-made enough to justify their high price but, given how infrequently I actually need a swimsuit, I would only ever buy this brand on sale. Are the swimsuits unusually modest because the brand was founded by Mormon women for Mormon women? Yes, but they’re cute enough to justify you spending your heathen dollars on them. Can I excuse my weakness for them given that, unbeknownst to me when I made my first purchase, their many adorable floral prints are the handiwork of Michelle Parascandolo, a long-time favorite pattern designer of mine? I like to think so.
Swipies: Can one need little pieces of reusable note paper made from wet-erase plastic? No, one absolutely cannot. Was the $36 + super reasonable shipping fee price tag on Swipies’s starter kit just low enough to be irresistible to me at 1:37 in the morning when I ought to have been asleep? Yes, absolutely it was, I am so sorry to inform you. Since acquiring said starter kit, I have developed a nifty little habit with my to-do list where I transfer undone items from one Swipie to another, and then spray down and wipe away the first, and it feels productive. But I suspect it’s just my brain responding to the novelty of the whole endealment— only time will tell.
Now, Dames Nationals, it’s your turn: What has Instagram tricked you into buying lately? What lures are you manfully resisting? Which purchases would you recommend and which should we know to avoid? Please comment below and give us all a terrible case of the shoppies.
XOXO/ Dame Margaret
p.s. Don’t forget— it’s still 20% off to get a full year of Two Bossy Dames.