#060 ✰ You're bad at shopping

A shopping skill • SoaO: Kev's leather jacket

Feb 23, 2023

Hey there 👋 I’m Mathilde. We are Objet. We explore the intersection of consumerism, myth, satisfaction, desire, taste, joy, meaning and pride. Not specifically in that order. To brag at your next dinner, Objet is the french word for 'object' and should be pronounced 'OB-JEH'.

I hope you’re great! If you’re new here, welcome 👋
Here’s what we are going to cover today:

Our mission 👉 Wait, what are they onto again?
This week 👉 You’re Bad At Shopping
Soul of an Objet 👉 Kevin’s Leather Jacket
What’s up on the app 👉 A more straight-forward onboarding
Cool reads 👉 Cause you know, it’s always cool to read cool stuff

Our mission

Our mission is to help people thrive at not regretting their purchases anymore, to be at peace with their surroundings. We are here to bring back friction and empowerment at a time they almost disappeared.

The whole relationship with our objects is rotten: from hijacked desires, to suspicious recommendations, from insipid binge-buying to disposable ‘stuff’ and a get-rid-off paralysis.

We want to bring back joy and pride. And liberate you from all the noise.

This week | You’re Bad At Shopping

Oh shit… you did not know?

One can claim to be good at maths, at running, even at meeting new people. We all picture what it means to be successful in these areas: how fast you can solve an equation, your running pace on Strava, your connections on LinkedIn.

But have you ever heard anyone claiming “damn, he is SO good at shopping!” or “she’s become a real badass at shopping this year”? It’s interesting though, given the time we spend wanting, hunting, saving up, trying on, returning articles, sometimes waiting in line at night, to acquire new stuff (compared to like, doing maths equations).

What does ‘being good at shopping” even mean?

Yeah, right? No one ever told us, taught us, the skill to navigate the ocean of temptations with our sole inner peace as a North Star.

We want to redefine this and help you go from terrible to muh, from muh to fine, from fine to expert. How so? That’s what we are experimenting every day, so join us on our adventure if you feel like playing the guinea pig with weird but sympathetic entrepreneurs.

Meanwhile, let’s try these definitions so you can take the survey (anonymous, my friend):

Terrible 😩 : have no idea what I spend on shopping each month, buy mostly on impulse, am easily triggered, can’t recall the last time I bought something I truly enjoyed, often feel remorse having spent money on an object, feel overwhelmed when I look at my home.

Muh 😕 : kinda have a shopping budget but ain’t really committing to it, buy often on impulse, am aware that I am being triggered but can’t help but fall for things anyway, feel that I am often envying what other people have and still have a hard time being content with my existing possessions.

Fine 😏 : have a pretty good idea of how much I am okay to spend every month on shopping, make list of things I wanna buy, enjoy most of my objects, pause before buying, still fall for unexpected stuff but not too overwhelmed with remorse.

Expert 😎 : on top of my budget, have found my style, my go-to brands, (can) enjoy fashion but rarely fall for the hype, am proud of most of the thing I own, cultivate the existing, value stories, regularly get rid off the junk that inevitably comes in.

What is she even talking about? 😳: … the f***?!

Want two good news?!

No matter your starting point, as long as you are willing to get better. Remember the 1% rule?
If you get 1% better each day for one year, you'll end up 37 times better by the time you’re done. - Atomic Habits by James Clear
I know a bunch of folks developing a framework to help you master that skill. Really cool dudes.

Soul of an Objet | Kevin Straszburger

Our own co-founder Kev shares a backstory of his Cuir [leather in french] jacket:

Tell us, what's the backstory of this object?

I inherited this jacket from my stepfather when I was a teen. He himself received it at a time he was a professional Formula3 race driver - like back in the early 80's. I’m writing this during the winter 2023, and I used to wearing it everyday - each year - for the past 20 years. This jacket is like 40+ years old, which is pretty insane when I think about it. My stepfather left home when I was 19 y/o, this is one of the few things I kept from him.
The design and look is so special. Only few people recognized the M series rainbow lines, and even fewer people spotted the BMW logo at the bottom, which makes the jacket itself even better, even more special. I haven't seen many labels stamped 'Made in West Germany'.
Now the colors have faded away and it got holes pretty much everywhere. The zip is broken too.
A few months ago, I started to think that it might be time to get a new one, even though a part of me just wanted to find ways to fix it and continue to wear it. While I was with Mathilde and the kids, randomly, we passed by a store downtown where I spotted what looked like a great duckskin type jacket, with flowers embroidered everywhere — which is something I truly like. We went in, I tried it on, phew, during few seconds, it felt great to picture myself in a totally new jacket. The kids started to run everywhere in the store — yelling as part of their game — moreover, the price wasn’t trivial. Lastly I know too well now how impulsive purchases are the most straight forward path towards regrets. So we came back home and I started to dig into this jacket and brand more specifically.
A few days later, I took time to document my relationship with my ‘Cuir’ and posted it on reddit. After just a few hours, it got bombarded with love and extremely thoughtful advice about how to repair it and make it last an extra 20 years. I now can’t wait to wear it again. I’m just psyched.

What object’s been your best investment?

I received this pair of slippers from Mathilde as a Christmas gift back in 2020. Slippers are very important to me. I mean, I love walking barefoot at home but truth be told, winter times in some parts of the world didn’t make this really enjoyable let’s say. In Lisbon, we were living in an old building with no heating system. Which might be fine for such a city - you’re probably thinking - but ask anyone who spent a whole winter there, temperatures inside feel like 10x worse than outside. And since most of our floor was made of tiles, slippers felt mandatory — at least if cosy was a desired feeling while at home.
I tried many slippers over the years and every time, I destroyed them in one season. Very frustrating. I need slippers which take hold on your feet cause I want to be able to run, jump in a flash. Plus I want slippers which look elegant, like you could go down the stairs and welcome the postman without looking like you just got out of bed.
2 years in, I still have this pair on. They’re definitely the best slippers I ever wore. Shoutout to the brand.

Is there any other type of things you truly like to dig into?

Urgh, so many things. I feel like I fall in love instantly with stories behind the objects, how they’re made, by whom, where the materials come from and so on. I love to just dig into these rabbit holes. When I was a kid, one of my mother’s best friend worked in a Hermès factory — or an ‘atelier’ as they said — and spending a fair amount of time with her overthere I think it kinda influenced me a lot towards appreciating the know-how, time and love one can put into making beautiful things. Growing up as a skateboarder also probably influenced me a ton here and I ended up spending a big amount of time digging clothing and fashion in general.
On that note, shout out to Clayton and what he’s doing with
Sprezza
; one of the best ressource out there exploring menswear.

What's the next purchase you're currently contemplating?

As much as I love my current pair of slippers they are now falling apart. Fortunately the brand offers a way to send them back so they can take care of recycling them — which should be mandatory for any company that makes and sells physical stuff nowadays. Not surprisingly, I’ll just buy another pair of Angarde. I’ll just change colors.
I’m also on the hunt for a pair of running shorts: light, stylish, durable. I’ve my first official triathlon race at the end of April in the south of France and I’d love to experience it inside a wonderful pair of shorts.

Thank you!

👀 Did you know? Once you onboard on the app, you can respond to and engage with guest contributors like Kevin Straszburger in one click.

What’s up in the app

🌸🛼 New onboarding, folks! Open your app. Lighter. Better. Faster. Stronger. 🤖

Also:

Kev’s looking for a pair of running shorts that lasts a lifetime, looks beautiful and feels extra light 👀
Max’s looking for a sideboard low to the ground, wooden materials with doors and drawers 👀
Mat’s looking for a Rains commuter backpack except not from Rains 👀

Think you can help?
Could take original insights on your coming purchases?

Try us:

Get the app

Cool reads

📰 The World Is On Fire But We’re Still Buying Shoes

I have devoured this book in just two hours. The author, Alec Leach, led the production of fashion content for Highsnobiety for a couple years, and well, knows a great deal about the backstages of Big Fashion. I like that he’s not sweeping away fashion, moralizing the whole industry but that instead he’s digging into why fashion is so important to us (statuuuus). I enjoyed reading about the role of streatwear, the drops, the hype and how the whole Big Fashion industry, inspired by this juicy model, turned the world upside down. Here’s how the book starts:

I think about clothes a lot.
(…)
You know what else I think about a lot? The climate emergency.
(…)
The thing is, despite how scary and heart-breaking the climate emergency is, I think about clothes just as much.

His conclusions are crystal clear:

By taking ownership over our shopping habits, we can say no to this culture of non-stop newness, the relentless cycle of trends that keeps us buying way more than we really need, the war on our self-esteem that makes us feel like we’re never enough - and all the environmental destruction that comes with it.
(…)
Slowly but surely assembling a collection of things that we truly love. Hunting down that perfect piece, cherishing it for years to come, embracing the flaws it picks up along the way. It’s a win-win situation. Better for the planet, but better for us too.

And here comes… 🥁Objet, voilà 🙃

If you got all the way here and have been seeking a better way to experience shopping & enjoy your possessions, alongside enthusiastic, not-so-serious souls, try Objet: