Bonjour mes amies! If you’re a mes amies over on Instagram (where I post daily) you can attest that j’adore “unboxing.”
On social media (specifically Instagram in my case) “unboxings” refers is the act of recording oneself literally unboxing a recent purchase to post online.
My unboxings typically includes luxury purses, shoes, scarves, coffeemakers, and steamware. To cultivate more of an aesthetically pleasing experience, versus just taking my purchase out of the box, I began adding special effects, transitions and lighting.
As I continued to share my (many) luxury gifts avec mes amies, I started to take count of just how many messages I received that sort of bothered moi.
“OMG! I’m saving for a ________ (new car/house/student loans) but after seeing your _______(insert designer item) I’m going to take a little from my savings to get that.”
“I had to return/sell the _______ I purchased. I knew I shouldn’t have purchased it but you made it look so good.”
These are just two of the many messages that I have received.
So much of the platform that I am building is based on finance. I want people, especially women, but especially, especially BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) to not only earn but understand money.
This understanding surpasses earning enough money to pay your bills. I want people to understand the importance of having multiple savings accounts, reap the benefits of having credit scores above 750, make investments and more. I understand wholeheartedly how difficult gaining and repairing ones financial standing can be.
I often say:
I’m glad that i was poor in peace, before social media
Truly mes amies, I could not imagine the constant peer pressure (et oui whether its admitted or not peer pressure has been replaced with the term “influenced”) to collect the most passport stamps, have the latest purse, etc. on/for social media.
No longer are we keeping up with the Joneses (a familiar saying used in the US when a family is trying to achieve the same outward level of success as ones neighbor) because of social media we are trying to keep up with the Joneses around the world.
There was a time when I earned well below the poverty line and had to choose between buying juice or crackers because I couldn’t afford both. I lived frugally and only felt momentarily saddened when a friend could do or purchase something that I couldn’t afford.
I didn’t have access to hundreds of thousands of people “living their best life” because social media was not yet a common and constant fixture in our lives.
It wasn’t a mean message that made me question my constant unboxing; it was the thought that my normal (to me) luxurious behavior was counterintuitive to the message I seek to spread.
In addition to my previous reservations, frankly, unboxings are exhausting. Trying to think of innovative ways to create wow factors, searching for appropriate songs and the staging process began to take away from my joy of my gift.
As I type, I am looking at three Fendi, four Tiffanys, five Louis Vuitton, two Chanel’s (about to be three), and Hermes boxes that I have yet to “unbox” for social media.
Lastly, the saddest of the unboxing saga…
I can remember vividly when The Husband (who has zero interest in social media) returned home from working almost seventy-two hours straight surprised me (as he often does, he’s truly the sweetest) with an orange box (Hermes.) The moment he gave it to me I sat the box down. He asked why didn’t I open it and I told him that I needed to grab my phone because I wanted to “unbox” it for Instagram.
Oui mes amies, after working seventy-two hours, I asked The Husband to not only “hold that thought” but to hold my phone so that I could unwrap my gift for an audience who many times don’t even engage avec moi.
By no means does this blog serve as my official resignation from the “unboxing” culture; it’s merely an “I don’t know who needed to hear this” sentiment. It’s okay to enjoy your gifts, big or small, in peace. It’s ok not to want to share every purchase you make.
For anyone who has succumb to the pressure of wanting to “unbox” for the sake of social media, take a mental note s’il vous. Very few people scroll past the first nine photos on your grid.
So the charge you may have made on your credit card, or the money you may have taken from a bigger savings goal will be out of sight and out of mind to many of the people you recorded the unboxing for.
Are you apart of the unboxing culture? How do you feel about them?
Here’s a few of my unboxings from Instagram:
Ciao for now 💋
You know I never really got into the unboxing maybe because I don’t own any luxury items, 😂🤣! I just bought a house so that has been my focus the last year or so. Not that I don’t want luxury items but I know I would be one of those people robbing Peter to pay Paul. Do I have my vices, of course. Do some of my shopping sprees equal a luxury item, of course. For me it’s simple economics will I be as content with one item as I would with 5 or 10 items that equates to the first items price 🤔 – it’s the same reason I can’t gamble, the money I loose could be a pair of shoes that I can enjoy over and over again. But what is the value of the money, I don’t win 🤷🏽♀️. I don’t know so for me there is no gain to compare it to. I don’t know anyone that can unbox all day everyday not do I covet those items. I simply say one day and move on. I don’t even think about those items again. That is unless I can get it via thrift but even then I ain’t pressed to pull the trigger. LoL! Girl UNBOX when you want to. Sit naked in the middle of your bed with coffee and mini me and roll around in your luxuries. You earned and desire to enjoy the fruit of your labor. 💙
I absolutely LOVE you!!! I don’t gamble either, actually, I have a $5 limit. After $5 I am OUT of the game, I can’t risk throwing away 👠 💰. And OHH EMMMM GEEEEE!!! You’re a HOMEOWNER CONGRATULATIONS! It’s time to unbox all of the home furnishings 🙌🏾
I don’t unbox when I get items. I do enjoy some of the unboxing videos that the people I follow does but as I am slowly going thru a shopping/purchasing detox 😦 and they are not helpful to my detox cause. So I make an effort to stop watching them. Although its hard especially if I just purchased from the same store (This Nordstrom Sale is killing me).
Did you get anything from Nordies?!? Can you believe I’ve never shopped their sale? I do love unboxings but there certainly becomes a point where too much is too much. Since reaching this realization, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my luxuries in peace, offline.
I enjoy luxury unboxing videos but from certain channels. These are people I feel truly enjoy have worked the $ to shop and will use or wear their goodies. Some accounts do these unboxings that are so unrealistic you never see them wear their items and you wonder if it’s just for show and the gram!
I love true genuine unboxing
Yes!!! You’d be shocked just how many pieces are returned after they film unboxing. It is sad the pressure and lengths some people feel they must go for social media.
I luv unboxing videos. Didn’t we do the same thing before social media? With our family or besties in person. You’re just sharing the excitement with a bigger audience. All we do is work. The simplest thing can be exhilarating!
You know I never thought about it like that! You’re absolutely right; it’s like opening Xmas or birthday gifts as a kid in front of everyone.
Thank you so much for this blog! I thoroughly enjoyed this read. I enjoy watching unboxings but for me it’s way too much that goes into it to make the perfect video to upload to social media. I mostly enjoy my luxury purchases in private. It’s also pretty sad the lengths that some take try to “look” the part.
I completely understand! Thank you so much for your time 🙌🏾
I’M GLAD THAT I WAS POOR IN PEACE, BEFORE SOCIAL MEDIA
A word there! Me too! What we lack in finances, my family made up in experiences. With our monies pooled together, we had very rich experiences. So much so my peers thought I “had money.” Ha! The irony.
In regards to unboxings, I don’t want to play into consumerism and capitalism but I LOVE LOVE that so many Black and POC designers out here are doing their thing and I want to share it! I also want to promote to Black women especially that we deserve. Many of us were conditioned to burn ourselves with a smile on our faces and we have to do or be something special to obtain nice things and experiences.
Also, the flex is real in this industry. Stores have had to change return polices because people will buy hundreds dollars worth of goods , do a haul, and return. Even in a personal level, when I worked retail. A lady came in on the weekend and shopped with her friend and that Monday on her lunch she returned what she bought.
Great post!
Oh yes, that shop, haul, return ordeal is REAL! I wrote a blog about that, and it’s so sad because many people are buying all the things influencers buy, not knowing if they will return them or not. I thank you so much for your message ❤️🙌🏾