Lol dat me?
Thanks to Michelle’s post here, I read this article from VOX about one 26 yo New Yorker’s experience of living as a “Fancy Millennial” for one week. And by Fancy Millennial she means one who buys (or in her case gets free from the company in exchange for the article) and uses all the “best” stuff from direct to consumer companies and funnily enough, these are a lot of the brands I have reviewed here.
In some sense, she was making fun of those of us who choose to purchase from internet companies because we want “the best” of everything (according to her I am the target market for these brands by being “a city-dwelling millennial job-haver who cares deeply about stuff” and that buying this stuff “isn’t just a display of wealth; it’s your morality: that you are indeed the Informed Consumer, able to not only afford the best but to know what ‘the best’ even is. It’s a marketing strategy that is not new, of course, but that seems to work particularly well at the present moment.”—lol, not untrue). But at the same time she made a good point that of course having really good stuff doesn’t change who you are as a person nor does it necessarily make your life better. Nor are all of these things really the best (and that’s why I like to do unsponsored reviews of these much hyped about brands). Of course I’m super fortunate to be able to purchase and try these things and can afford to waste money on things that don’t work out.
But I think she also misses the point that by being a well-informed shopper that chooses to purchase from these direct-to-consumer brands we are supporting companies that are trying to do better (like Everlane), are actually making a better product (Away with their ejectable battery), or are giving us better bang for our buck by not taking up shelf-space in a store (like Brooklinen or ThirdLove). I find the quality and value to be infinitely better than products you’ll find at Macys or other such department stores, and they’re usually pretty similar in price. And to me, that’s being frugal and not necessarily a spendthrift who wants to “show-off their morality.”
Also I’m an elder millennial (I barely make the millennial cut-off by being born in ‘83) and am a full decade older than the writer and I think that makes a difference. At this point in my life I can afford these luxuries. I live in a comfortable house in California (soon to be a more minimal but hopefully equally comfortable condo in California) and currently spend little money on booze, eating out, and traveling. So yep I spend more money on stuff and I want it to be “the best”. I don’t think it makes my life better but man oh man do I enjoy my Brooklinen sheets and my quality Everlane clothes, lol.
Anyway here are the products that she mentions in the article that I have tried or reviewed:
Brooklinen sheet set: $178 (reviewed here)
Casper Wave full-size mattress: $1,950 (I haven’t tried their mattress, but I' reviewed their sheets here; also I’ve tried a Lull mattress—a similar concept to Casper, which I haven’t reviewed but will if you guys are interested.)
Away carry-on: $225 (reviewed here)
Lola tampons: $10 and Cora tampons: $33 (both reviewed here, and I came to the same conclusion as the writer: they’re exactly the same)
Glossier Boy Brow: $16 (reviewed here)
Outdoor Voices set: $95 (reviewed here)
Allbirds wool runners: $95 (haven’t reviewed but tried it out. Personally I like my sneakers to have a bit more support in the arch)
ThirdLove Classic T-shirt bra: $68 (reviewed here)
Lively Busty Bralette: $35 (purchased but never got around to reviewing. They did not work for me and I prefer ThirdLove bras over Lively).
Everlane cashmere crew: $100 (lots of cashmere reviews but my fave Everlane cashmere sweater reviewed here)
Everlane Boss bootie: $215 (haven’t tried the bootie since I already have 1 bootie and that’s enough for me, but I love my Boss Mules reviewed here)
Everlane Form bag: $235 (reviewed here)
Everlane clean silk square shirt: $98 (old Everlane silk review here)
P.S. If you’re an older millennial like myself, the stand-up comedy show Elder Millennial by Iliza Shlesinger (on Netflix) has some great moments that hit close to home!