You Eat Turkey, We Buy Pleasing

11/16/2023 

6:00 a.m. 

It is another cold November morning. I stare at my tired reflection in my bathroom mirror. I am never up this early; it is still dark out. My roommate is blasting music from the other side of our Murray Hill apartment. On any other day, I would complain, but today is an exception. I hear the familiar sound of “Music For A Sushi Restaurant,” a song that, in all honesty, gives me PTSD from my craziest fangirl era. Between 2021 and 2022, I used all my scholarship money for Love On Tour shows. I slept outside Madison Square Garden every weekend and bought unnecessary merch. Who needs a $35 16" x 20" poster with Harry’s face on it? Me. The first track of Harry Styles’ junior album, Harry’s House, will play out loud in my apartment twice a year – both for “Pleasing pop-up days,” as I call them. I hear my phone ringing from my bedroom. 

Kaya: “I’m en route!” 7:30 a.m. 

I met Kaya Bernard at 345 Broome St in 2021. My roommate Jurnie and I had made our way there on a bright morning in March to line up for the opening of Harry Styles’ new beauty brand, Pleasing, and there she was, alone on the cold concrete. Kaya had an elegance that was new to me, a college freshman. She was clearly from New York – drinking black coffee, wearing pearls, and exuding the aura of a forty-year-old woman. Once we spoke, however, we knew instantly that she was one of us. 

There is nothing elegant about what we do. 

We all fell down the rabbit hole in our adolescent years. We were and continue to be One Direction fans, and unlike many people, we did not forget about them after they went on hiatus. As far as I know, Kaya has been a fan since 2014, I became a fan in 2018, and Jurnie became a fan around 2019. It just so happened that we were all on the same wavelength when we met: complete and utter obsession. I want to let you know that being a fangirl is not something I am ashamed of. As much as society has tried to make me, I have never been. There are not a lot of people left who are just doing things for fun, for connection. These are the only moments that ever feel light anymore. 

8:00 a.m. 

Today is the fourth time in two years that we all collectively meet somewhere downtown – this time Crosby St in Soho – for our own personal Christmas morning, the Fall 2023 drop of Pleasing. I took the six train downtown with Jurnie after feeling somewhat rushed to get out of the house. It is colder than I thought. Jurnie and I are wearing our matching green Pleasing sweatshirts we bought last November; we always try to be on theme. I should have worn an

actual coat instead of a trench, but it’s too late for that anyway. I feel my phone buzz somewhere between Astor and Union. 

Kaya: “I FUCKED UP I’M COLD.” 

“Amex card holders go in at 10, so we are all good!” 

Jurnie: “I’ll keep you warm, mama.” 

Kaya: “ugh *heart eyes emoji*” 

Jurnie and I get to the line, and to our surprise, there are only about twenty people. I guess we have mastered the line strategy aka. get there three hours early and freeze your ass off. We get to Kaya, and people immediately give us dirty looks for, I guess, “cutting the line.” Whoops! We take a seat on the cold, sad-looking, dirty concrete floor. We look around and immediately greet a couple of people; we know everyone in the line; we have all been doing this for two years. After settling in a little, we hear the voice of our arch-enemy. During the summer Pleasing pop-up last year, this girl sat next to us and kept bringing up all the times she had seen Harry Styles – show off…I mean we have also seen him twelve times, but we keep that to ourselves. It is not a competition. 

We all saw her bracelet as she offered some sunscreen so we wouldn’t burn. It was a green and blue “Larry” bracelet. For those who don’t know, “Larry” is the ship name used for Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles. Back in the One Direction days, they were rumored to be a thing, but now out of the band they have both spoken about how this theory ruined their friendship and harmed the people in their lives. We don’t support “Larries,” or anyone extremely invested in artist's personal lives. 

Sitting on the concrete, legs crossed, we all take a moment to reminisce on what we have done since the last pop-up shop. All in sync, we remember Kaya’s roommate, who she told us last year hated her so much that she started feeding her extra greasy foods to make her fat. That is so cruel! We decide to take a break from the cold and find shelter in the Starbucks around the corner; Jurnie stays behind to keep our spot. 

Walking back we notice the line is now wrapping around the block. Kaya’s lips turn blue, but we all ignore it because there are more important things right now, like getting into this shop. Sitting here, somewhat suffering, I have never felt more at peace. I take in a moment and look at both Kaya and Jurnie, two of my closest friends that I have made through this certainly unhealthy affinity for a curly-headed British pop star.

The pop-up manager walks by, says hello to everyone in line, and asks us how we are doing. I think to myself, “Wow, he looks the same.” It is now 9:30 a.m., and in about thirty minutes, I will be blacking out inside that store and maxing out my credit card. Pleasing is a luxury brand but even I can say their pricing is a bit obnoxious. However, they are sustainable, and it makes me happy, so it all pays off. We all talk with the group of girls next to us about the items in the new collection; there are new nail polishes for $20, perfumes for $150 and loungewear for $90 a piece. Somehow we all start talking about our careers; if there’s one thing about fangirls, it’s that we all have to work to afford to be irresponsible. 

I talk with Aneesha for a bit; she is a writer, and we have seen each other in passing several times but have never spoken. She tells me that she has a cat, and I tell her that I need to meet him. 

Aneesha: “You can come meet him anytime, I’m on 33rd and 3rd!” 

Turns out Aneesha and I are neighbors. I never stop being surprised by this city and the way we are all connected, if not by choice, definitely by the overpriced rent…and Harry Styles. 

10 a.m. 

It is finally time for them to let us in. We get our cards scanned, and next thing we know, we are in complete and utter wonderland. Kaya doesn’t even wait for us and goes straight to the loungewear section and snatches a pair of red and purple pajamas for $160. Jurnie and I take our sweet time taking everything in; there is a fountain in the middle of the shop; they have certainly elevated the experience this time around. I try on some scents and a plumping lip balm called BigRed, which made my lips numb for the rest of the time in the shop. Jurnie and I almost gag at the sight of green psychedelic-looking bathrobes. We need them. They also go for $160, but our bathroom is green; so this is justified. Kaya, whose lips are still blue, also grabs one. Soon enough, we are all in line to pay about $600 collectively.