do you collect or do you consume?
this is accidentally a Labubu takedown
a few weeks ago, i was trying not to sweat while trudging through the streets of soho attempting to complete my sunday errands. i walked past a mom and daughter who were unboxing a paper bag exploding with fuzzy little creatures i now know are called Labubus. my initial reaction to seeing the first Labubu out of the bag was, “cute!” …. then i saw them multiply. the little girl barely felt any excitement for one before requesting to see the others. it was the same acidic feeling i had while i watching the video of people charging a display at Target to get their hands on a pink Stanley water bottle or when i hear that a friend’s sister’s sorority house has an entire room dedicated to storing their Jelly Cat stuffed animals. now, my dear sweet readers whom i love so much, i am NOT saying it is wrong to like these things or that they are uncool, they aren’t! what i stiffen at has nothing to do with aesthetics and everything to do with the attitude toward mindless consumption. (i do find the stuffed animal-ification of everything to be infantilizing in a way that worries me but that is a different newsletter that i do not have the energy to write right now).
i was talking through my Labubu fears with a friend over a sweating martini on a sidewalk last week, he stopped me mid-sentence and pointed to the leather snoopy bag charm dangling from my purse. again, I AM PROUDLY PRO-WHIMSICAL TRINKET! my snoopy charm was a sample from one of the first collections i worked on in my entry-level fashion job, he has dangled from my bag over the past five years and has been with me to dj sets, birthday parties, dmv appointments, exceptional dates, horrible dates, etc. that is my BOY, i know i will keep him forever as a memento of my twenties, and i have never felt the need to purchase a different stuffed bag charm despite how oppressively trendy they have become.
i initially felt at odds with my annoyance for the rapid consumption of things like Labubus and Stanley water bottles and Jelly Cats because i have always felt deeply endeared by collectors. i once made out with a random boy in a crowded bar when i was 24 just because he told me he collected bookmarks from everywhere he has traveled (the actual collection left little to be desired….) my heart swells when i hear of people who have actively been collecting Beanie Babies since the 90s, i love watching youtube videos of vintage Barbie doll collections in their pristine cases, and there is nothing i enjoy more than going through a friend’s vinyl record collection. the difference is that there is a sanctity to these collections built over time, they are handled with so much care in an effort to keep them restored for eternity. THAT IS SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!! joy is palpable and intrinsic to a collector’s being, i deeply worry about the lack of individuality laid in the virality of “cute” items under $30. a purchase decision is a personal one, when you decide to spend money on an item it should expose a little part of yourself… why would you want it to unearth something hollow?
i realize that i am writing this on the perch of my high horse*, and i want to be clear that i EASILY fall prey to an impulse purchase. this year i have been trying to work on my patience, i have an insatiable appetite for my life which at times i admire and at other times i feel paralyzed by my need to get everything i want NOW! but in my opinion, there is nothing sexier than approaching your life with the calmness that comes from simply knowing and trusting yourself. a true collection is built over time, it should grow as you grow yourself, and just because you can immediately buy an excess of something does not mean you should. if you feel a gnawing need to compulsively add tangible newness into your life in the form of an object, it is probably because you are trying to distract yourself from the uncontrollable with something you can touch. when you do find something you resonate with and want to buy, i want you to savor the experience of finding it, i want you to feel a responsibility towards it, and i want you to expand upon the elation you feel when it is in your life. i am on my knees begging you to raise children to feel a deep connection to a small amount of things as opposed to an intangible relationship to a heap of anonymous plastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i will end this by reiterating that i absolutely do not want this to come off as judgmental to anyone who loves Labubus, that goes against my personal ethos and i genuinely do think they are quite cute; however if you own more than one, i better see those little freaks dangling off your bag in 20 years.
*still writing in idioms…. i don’t know what is going on with me…..
also if you are a genuine and enthusiastic true collector of Labubus or Jelly Cats- I LOVE THAT! hopefully my point came across that i am deeply endeared by collectors and encourage everyone to be mindful with the things they purchase.
i love you all and i hope everyone is having a fabulous summer!!!!!!!! i have a really hard time writing in the summer for obvious reasons, apologies and bear with me while i try to do a million things at once and still HAVE FUN!
xoxoxoxoxo
I was picturing a much more discreet Snoopy. Wow, massive. Clean. And secured by what looks like a hoop earring. I want to heart that photo.
beautifully said