Do you shop for immediate gratification or for things you’ll keep for a lifetime? Beth Hitchcock looks at how taking the long view can help you love what you own
For years, Tommy Smythe longed to own a Persian rug. The ideal size for his space was 12 feet by 14 feet, but he knew a well-made carpet that size was out of his budget. He could have compromised with a knockoff, but that’s not Smythe’s style , so Smythe began studying the rugs he admired in order to make an informed purchase down the road.
In an era of instant gratification, understanding quality and waiting for the right thing to come along might seem quaint. But in this mid-pandemic moment of re-evaluating what’s important in the face of mounting insecurities, quick-fix materialism seems out of step. Having the discipline to be patient and invest in something that will last a lifetime may be more sustainable, but retraining yourself to take a more measured and thoughtful approach to purchases isn’t easy.
This kind of void shopping is the practice of buying to satisfy an immediate need, whether practical or emotional, with an “it’ll do for now” mentality. Whether it’s a chair to fill out your living room’s new seating configuration or a spring coat to match the jeans you bought last week, these purchases follow the trajectory of any hasty relationship: We’re committed for the short term but hoping something better comes along.
It’s an impulse made even more tempting in the midst of COVID-19 isolation. “In the academic community, we define it as ‘compensatory consumption,’” Zhu says. “If people perceive themselves as having a deficit, either in their situation or status, they turn to consumption to compensate themselves.”According to Smythe, who founded the Toronto interior design firm Tom, it’s time we practice patience and favour well-crafted pieces over trendy placeholders.
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