Don’t worry; I’m not actually starting a podcast. I just thought it would be nice to find a way for the rest of you to hear some of the readings from the “Shop Rat: Live” event in Brooklyn earlier this month. They were devastatingly hilarious and relatable, so I asked everyone to send me a voice note and pieced them together on GarageBand.
For context: The prompt was to tell a story about a time you went to extreme lengths to get something you wanted.
revealed just how far they went to acquire the perfect 21st-birthday outfit. (of Google spreadsheet fame) told the tale of a dress that got away again and again… And again! And Katherine Lewin of Big Night re-told her story about losing her favorite jeans at the Rachel Comey sample sale—and how she got them back. closed out the night with an incredible story about her couch, but you had to be there for that one. Sorry!I asked subscribers to submit their own stories after the reading and got some fun responses, which I’ve also scanned for you below. I want to make this a regular thing! If you have a submission, please send a brief synopsis to emiliapetrarca@substack.com.
A story of an abandoned Patagonia puffer
“I got this red Patagonia puffer jacket in fifth grade and wore it all through college, etc. Then, when I was 24 or so, I got embarrassed to wear it and sold it to the ‘worn wear’ Patagonia thing! And regretted! I checked every day until it APPEARED two years later. It even has the same Sharpie mark!” — Emma Gregoline
A Depop tragedy
“I had my eye on a party dress (red and white plaid, full skirt, puff sleeve, dirndl bodice) for 27 years. I finally bought it on Depop to arrive in time for Christmas. The seller said she shipped it, but there was no tracking. She ghosted my messages for 27 weeks. As Christmas approached, she finally got back to me after I literally BEGGED, saying she had a family emergency and didn’t ship until that morning. Two-day rush, but it didn’t come in time :( ” —Sarah Isenberg
A tireless hunt for a beloved bag
“This was actually in 2013. I completely fell in love with a dark, inky-blue J. Crew x WANT les essentiels bag. I must have been working retail at Warby Parker then, so it was a splurge. But this was the kind of bag that made me feel like I belonged at Buvette (was cool then), Cafe Minerva (was around then), and Fred’s uptown (RIP.) Fast forward… 8 years! I lived with my (then) boyfriend in Williamsburg on the water; we had an in-building storage unit. Somehow, in the mess of moves and vacations and on-again-off-again breakups, when I went to get my things, I found the bag with a horrible water stain! Traumatic. For months, I looked for a replacement. Somehow, by the grace of God, it popped up on an auction site. The auction wasn’t live yet, but I waited patiently… My first email about it was on September 17, and the auction went live on October 10. And I won! I drove up to Greenwich to pick it up.” — Margot Hanley
Shop Rat Tales: Episode 1