The Man Who Captured Sunshine
An exercise in impulse control
Apologies for the late post – I was originally planning to hold off on publishing a piece this past week, but had a moment of inspiration Friday on the plane back to NYC.
I’ve been busy running around Fort Lauderdale for a work event. Majorly Florida’d out between the wedding I went to last week and this most recent work trip. At least I got to put my Nuuly to use.
Anyways… I recently came across the brand The Man Who Captured Sunshine via a promoted post on IG. They’re an indie designer with western-inspired graphic tees, hats, and sweaters. Their hero product caught my eye: the Lasso sweater, made up of a mohair/acrylic/wool blend, featuring a motif of a cowboy lassoing a horse. It’s an incredible piece reminiscent of some of Paloma Wool’s older sweater designs.
When I first came across the ad a few weeks ago, I immediately sent it to my roommate, as I knew it was a style we’d both appreciate. At the time, the site noted ‘coming soon’ and mentioned that the next drop would take place on February 23rd.
Conveniently, the drop landed at noon PT this past Friday, striking as I was moody and overstimulated by the chaos of Miami International Airport, exacerbated by my mild hangover from late work dinner the night before.
In my moment of weakness, I began to hyperfixate. If I don’t buy it now, will it sell out? Will it ever restock? If I change my mind about wanting this, will I be destined to a daily Sisyphean checking game on Grailed/Depop/the greater resale app rotation?
The boarding process put a halt to my spiral. But a couple hours later, just moments before the attendants announced our descent, another ad graced my IG feed, and I decided to do some internet window shopping.
When I clicked onto the site, I was surprised the sweater was only $160. It looked like it would be much more expensive. I follow other indie designers and have seen pieces with similar vibes go for $400+. Of course, when I saw the piece was in the acceptable price range, my dopamine cravings went wild.
But I love an impulse control moment, which I graciously credit to my newfound mindset from adopting the Rule of 5 and limiting myself to adding only five new clothing items to my closet this year.
Rather than immediately clicking purchase (as I may have in the olden days), I spent a few moments imagining the piece on my body, reflecting on what bottoms and accessories I’d pair the sweater with. After pausing, I realized I was attracted to the way the sweater was styled more so than the sweater itself. I loved how the stylist paired it with biker boots, a brown cowprint belt, and gaucho style jeans. Even if I owned the sweater itself, I wouldn’t be able to fully emulate the vibe they were putting across.
Now that I’m hitting the brakes on impulse shopping, I find I have an easier time discerning whether a piece actually has a place in my wardrobe. This was a perfect case of an item I appreciated aesthetically, but not practically.
In actuality, I felt the piece aligned more closely with my roommate’s personal style, and would have made for a great gift for her (if only we were closer to a special occasion/birthday)....
So here we are now. The weekend has passed, and so has my interest in the item. I successfully navigated an artificial sense of urgency, and spared myself $160 in the process.
Appreciate you taking the time to read my reflection and celebrate this moment of growth with me. I’d love to hear if you’ve recently navigated an impulse purchase, and whether you pressed purchase or opted to pass.
Back to regularly scheduled programming this Friday. In the meantime, hope you have a wonderful week!
Xo, Bri
WE NEED MORE OF THESE STORIES!! Truly, imagine the encouragement we could all offer by sharing our moments of self-control and revelation in a world full of people saying we absolutely need to buy something!
That’s a long way of saying; thanks for sharing! I love learning how other people shop. I think the idea of barriers is so helpful in shopping (in your case a physical/mental barrier) and makes me want to put more guardrails up for me to prevent buyers remorse.
As an intentional shopper, I really love seeing these posts!! Lately, I’ve been keep my shopping at a curb by creating wishlists and noteworthy lists. Sometimes I find adding the item to a list gives me the same feeling as adding to cart.