The curse of the bridesmaid dress

Summary

Style-ish Podcast – Episode Summary

Episode: The curse of the bridesmaid dress
Date: July 28, 2026
Host: Shameless Media
Main Theme: Dissecting viral fashion and lifestyle drama – from a bridesmaid dress controversy on TikTok to the disruptive impact of Kmart’s new homewares concept, K Home. The trio also explores swaps (product picks), social media influence, and audience stories about the universal stress of bridesmaid dress choices.

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Episode Overview

This episode puts a fashion lens on internet uproar over a controversial bridesmaid dress, examines the often-fraught world of bridal parties, and analyzes how Kmart is transforming homewares retail in Australia. The hosts (Rhiannon, Jo, and Annika) blend personal anecdotes with industry insight, humor, and audience engagement.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Bravo Gossip & Bethenny Frankel Partnership Drama

(00:44-06:29)

• Annika's Weekly Bravo Segment: Annika opens with a Bravo TV update, focusing on Bethenny Frankel’s recent controversy involving uncredited gifted jewelry from the small brand Candy Lace.
• Allegations: Bethenny wore Candy Lace Jewelry in her content but tagged a different brand, leading to tension and even requests for payment for continued usage.
• Industry Insight: The group debates the current landscape of influencer gifting, the blurry expectations around crediting small businesses, and how chaotic personalities like Frankel blur those lines.
• Quote (Annika, 02:49): “Bethany has not been crediting the Candy Lace Jewelry...the designer believes Bethany is intentionally not crediting the correct jewelry brand.”
• Quote (Jo, 04:36): “If you gift a massive celebrity something like that, you cannot expect guaranteed tag or guaranteed deliverables. That’s just how the world works.”
• Theme: The tension between organic gifting, influencer obligations, and small brand vulnerability.

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2. The Swap – Latest Lifestyle & Fashion Recommendations

(07:02-16:49)

• Annika’s Picks (07:25–11:30):
  • Statement Jewelry Trend: Draws inspiration from Phoebe Philo’s styling.
  • Brands: Julietta’s resin cuffs (Modo Operandi), European brand Pankonesi for both objects and jewelry, and a shout to Australian jeweler Anna Rossi.
  • Design Talk: Love for arm cuffs (“full arm look”) and combining silver accents with warmth in interiors.
• Jo’s Picks (11:42–15:18):
  • Dog Photo Booth Fails: Attempts to take her large dog to a photo booth; recommends photo strip frames (chrome options discussed).
  • Bissell Spot Cleaner: After a slapstick coffee spill from tripping over a foam roller, Jo hails the Bissell spot cleaner as a household essential (“I have a lot of falls for someone in their 30s.” – Jo, 15:18).
• Rhiannon’s Pick (15:34–16:49):
  • Creator Spotlight: Obsessed with the styling content of Sarah Stasi (Instagram handle: Sarah Brezel), who excels in accessories and statement jewelry.
  • Quote (Rhiannon, 16:41): “I am obsessed...If Instagram had that feature where you could see people go on your page, I’m going on her page like, two, three times a day.”

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3. The Curse of the Bridesmaid Dress: Viral Trolling on TikTok

(18:26–32:21)

Story Setup

• Rhiannon Trolled Online: Rhiannon recounts being trolled after a TikTok featuring her and other bridesmaids at a destination wedding in Italy goes viral (nearly 600k views, thousands of comments).
• Description of the Dress: The dress, from international brand Delavali, is described as lace, fashion-forward, and divisive.

Highlights & Memorable Quotes

• Quote (Rhiannon, 19:13): “The internet has decided that the bridesmaid’s dress I wore...was apparently the ugliest dress they have ever seen.”
• Jo (21:47): “I was going to ask, that could very easily offend [the bride]…she obviously loved the dress.”
• Xanthi’s Role: The bride’s sister, Xanthi, fans the flames by reposting and replying with clapbacks, increasing engagement and making the controversy balloon.
• Notable Comments Read Aloud:
  • “Does the bride hate you?”
  • “They looked like old band-aids.”
  • “These are genuinely some of the ugliest bridesmaid dresses I’ve ever seen.”
  • “Don’t listen to the comments, girls. They’re right, but don’t listen.”

Dissecting the Drama and Internet Judgment

• Online Disinhibition: The group notes people online are shockingly opinionated about bridesmaid dresses, projecting personal grievances or insecurities.
• Quote (Rhiannon, 28:12): “It almost is like anger or like misrepresented frustration about the dress.”
• Jo (29:12): “Why do people get so up in arms about it?”
• Annika’s Theory (29:17): “Do we think when someone else is making your style choice for you, people feel it’s not offensive commenting because you didn’t pick it yourself?”

Listener Stories

• DMs from listeners reveal common grievances:
  • Unflattering fits (bias-cut satin),
  • No underwear allowed,
  • High prices for unwanted styles,
  • Selective inspiration by the bride.

Core Reflection

• Bridesmaid dresses are uniquely contentious, often causing more drama than the wedding dress itself.
• The group commends both the bride for her unbothered confidence and Xanthi’s good-natured defense (“She’s got the gusto!” – Rhiannon, 32:10).
• Takeaway: “If you see this video come up in your alg[orithm], maybe leave a nice comment.” – Jo (32:14).

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4. Kmart’s Homewares Disruption: The Rise of ‘K Home’ & The Ethics of Dupes

(32:21–41:52)

Segment Launch

• Recap of Zane Oss’s viral TikTok analyzing how Kmart has erased the ‘aesthetic gap’ between cheap and premium homewares (33:17).

K Home Rollout

• First K Home store opened in Box Hill, Melbourne (mid-June 2026), expanding Kmart’s direct-to-consumer home offerings, rivaling Ikea.
• Impact: Massive, with social media abuzz over store openings and the accessibility of the “Kmart aesthetic”.

Ethical Debate: Designer Dupes vs. Accessibility

• Two Sides in Comments:
  • “Buy it nice or buy it twice. You can’t ethically make a marble lamp for $19.”
  • “Kmart has democratized access to stylish homewares.”
• Personal Experiences:
  • Jo shared her swap for an expensive label lamp, only for Kmart to release a near-identical product soon after (“I spent like $300...then it came out for $19, and I was like, fuck.” – 36:28).
  • Annika raises concerns for small businesses like Pinchy Products facing undercutting from major retailers.

Societal Context, Values & Consumer Choice

• Cost of Living Crisis: Affordability trumps brand origin for many (Rhiannon, 37:16: “Cost of living crisis...It’s not a priority for them to be thinking about the original designer.”)
• Markdown Culture: Prevalence of sales/events means consumers often wait for discounts, shaping perceived value.
  • “There are 39 eCommerce sale event opportunities between July 1 and December 31.” – Annika (39:13)
• Sustainability Tension:
  • Growing awareness of overconsumption and ethics, but options like Kmart remain essential for many.
  • Kmart’s efforts at transparency are acknowledged, but hosts encourage personal agency in choosing how and where to spend.

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Notable Quotes & Moments (w/ Timestamps)

• On Bethenny Frankel gifting drama:
  • Annika (02:49): “Bethenny has not been crediting the candy lace jewelry. And it’s gone to the point, allegedly, that the designer believes Bethenny is intentionally not crediting the correct jewelry brand...”
• On viral bridesmaid TikTok:
  • Rhiannon (19:13): “The internet has decided that the bridesmaid’s dress that I wore...was apparently the ugliest dress they have ever seen.”
  • Annika (23:13): “People are very, very focused and, like, on the dress. It’s not about us.”
  • Rhiannon (28:12): “I just don’t know that it warrants that level of, like, it almost is like anger or like misrepresented frustration about the dress.”
• On affordability vs. designer ethics:
  • Rhiannon (37:16): “We are in a cost of living crisis. It’s not a priority for them to be thinking about the original designer. I know that sounds savage, but that is the reality that a lot of people are living.”
• On the tension in homewares shopping:
  • Jo (40:58): “There are concerns around Kmart’s quality and the over consumption that that affordability allows for. But we're also in a cost of living crisis, and it's possible for someone to furnish an entire house with Kmart for not $20,000.”
  • Annika (41:22): “It would be irresponsible for us not to point out or question the ethics and the sustainability around how quickly these pieces are coming out into the market.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Bravo Drama & Bethenny Frankel: 00:44–06:29
• Fashion/Lifestyle Swaps: 07:02–16:49
• Bridesmaid Dress TikTok & Viral Analysis: 18:26–32:21
• Kmart/K Home & Ethical Dupes: 32:21–41:52

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Tone & Takeaways

The hosts are candid, playful, often self-mocking, and notably empathetic to internet drama, audience stories, and the nuances of modern consumption. They maintain a critical yet open stance on fashion ethics, influencer culture, and retail democratization.

Core Message:
Bridesmaid dresses may forever be cursed by controversy, but the only “fashion rule” is how you feel when you wear it. And in an era where home trends are accessible to more people than ever, knowing your values and understanding your motivations as a consumer is key.

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For Those Who Haven’t Listened

This episode blends relatable wedding horror stories, humorous self-reflection, and timely commentary on fashion and retail trends. It’s equal parts entertaining and thoughtful, ideal for anyone grappling with style choices, group dynamics, and the ever-shifting line between inspiration and imitation.

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Skip: Sponsor segments, general intros/outros, non-content banter.

Transcript

[Rhiannon]

Shameless Media.

[Sponsor Voice]

This episode of Stylish is brought to you by l' Oreal Paris. Flat hair. Need a lift? The new l' Oreal Paris LV collagen lifter gives fine hair an instant volume lift that lasts 72 hours.

[Jo]

Rae just had a little jump scare in the studio with a snake plant right next to it.

[Annika]

Had a meltdown. But to be fair, it actually looked like you were an aquarium. And I did not take it seriously. Whatsoever.

[Jo]

Whatsoever.

[Rhiannon]

Honestly, it's quite an ugly plan as well, so I'm happy to get it away from me.

[Sponsor Voice]

It all freaked me out.

[Annika]

It's a choice. It's a real choice. I reckon Shu came in and she's pranked you.

[Rhiannon]

Guess what? I didn't pick that. I just want to clear my door.

[Jo]

Doesn't surprise me. Anyway, Annika, you've got something to bring to our intro chat today.

[Annika]

All I want to do, you guys, is start a segment where we talk about Bravo and we bring in the Bravo space to stylish somehow. And, like, I'm going to die on this hill because every single week I'm now, oh, I'm stitching myself up. I'm going to bring something from the Bravo speech. I'm doing it.

[Rhiannon]

Have you done this, like, the last three times you've been on the pod, though?

[Annika]

Yep. Good pickup. That's what we're doing here.

[Rhiannon]

So you've already done it.

[Annika]

I know, and I am doing it. Like, I'm committed.

[Rhiannon]

Okay, what's this week's Bravo feature?

[Annika]

Bethany Frankel. Do we follow? Do we, like, do we have feelings and thoughts?

[Jo]

I'm familiar with Bethenny Frankel, but I'm personally not a Bravo watcher. I have never watched the Real House.

[Annika]

You just dropped a notch on my belt.

[Jo]

Like, sorry, how can I make it back to you?

[Rhiannon]

Watch.

[Annika]

Watch the show. Watch Summer House. Summer House. Like, please watch Summer House. Okay, okay. Anyway, Bethany Frankkill, she has gotten herself in some hot water. She is not unfamiliar with hot water. Like, she's boiling the kettle. Actually, do you guys call it a kettle or a jug?

[Jo]

A kettle.

[Sponsor Voice]

Kettle.

[Annika]

Okay. Kiwis, New Zealanders. Jug. Really boil the jug. Turn the jug on.

[Jo]

Oh, okay.

[Annika]

Yeah, okay.

[Rhiannon]

So she's boiling the jug.

[Annika]

She's boiling the jug. Jug is brewing hot spicy tea. Anyway, Bethany, so she actually, she likes to claim. Allegedly, I'm looking at you here. To partnerships, allegedly. That she supports the underdog. Like, you know, she's all about supporting women in business, which I actually think to an extent, she is very true. However, there is a super cute little Etsy brand and they are very small. Like, very, very small. Who has been kindly gifting her beautiful pieces from their collection. This actually ties into my swap a little. So the candy lace. Candy lace jewelry is their tag.

[Sponsor Voice]

And.

[Annika]

And they've made these beautiful handmade Etsy necklaces for her, and she's been wearing them in all of her videos, all of her content. So that in itself, I think is a big achievement because you've got your brand on this name, like Bethany Frankel, everybody. Huge name. But dun, dun, dun. Bethany has not been crediting the candy lace jewelry.

[Sponsor Voice]

Right.

[Annika]

And it's gone to the point, allegedly, that the designer believes Bethany is actually intentionally not crediting the correct jewellery brand.

[Jo]

Is she tagging the wrong brand?

[Rhiannon]

She's tagging another brand, yes. Oh, I don't.

[Jo]

I don't know.

[Rhiannon]

Why would you do that?

[Jo]

Fully think that she's not realized what she's doing.

[Annika]

And then. So now it gets like the water is piping now the designers come in and she's got receipts, facts, proof, and she's like sending or posting, sorry, screenshots of. Okay, well, if Bethany is going to do this with you, it's a paid partnership, and then there's usage fee. So now it's $30,000, yada, yada, yada. And so it's kind of like, what is the standpoint between gifting and then now bringing into the conversation a partnership which was never a great. It was all like, gifted products. Yeah.

[Rhiannon]

First of all, Beth, the Frankel, I. I think she's in my past basket. I, I know she's chaotic and a lot of people don't like her. Like, she's quite polarizing. I find her so funny same.

[Annika]

I find her so entertaining. Like, I'm here for the chaotic.

[Rhiannon]

Like, the CHA account, like, sends me into an absolute tizzy of joy. But the part that I want to really nut out here. Why is she tagging another brand? If you've been gifted something, you know that it is from that specific brand that's gifted. When you've been gifted something, it's pretty rare that you would accidentally tag another brand. Yeah, that feel, that does feel a little intentional. Like, why is she doing. Is she getting kickback? Is she getting, I don't know, some other benefit? But that's weird.

[Jo]

But if the other brand doesn't sell the product that she's tagging, that would make more sense that it's accidental and she just keeps tagging the same brand because she's tagged it a few times. So it's the first thing to come up as she goes to tag it. That's what I'm thinking in my head.

[Rhiannon]

So you genuinely just think it's an awesome.

[Jo]

I genuinely think it's an awesome sake. But also when you say like about the gifting thing and I don't know this full story, I'm hearing it straight from you. I don't know the background of this. But also if you gift a massive celebrity something like that, you cannot expect guaranteed tag or guaranteed deliverables. I'm sorry, that's just how the world world works.

[Rhiannon]

But to be to challenge. Wasn't she already tagging the brand originally and then she stopped tagging and tagged another brand?

[Annika]

Correct.

[Rhiannon]

So that's weird.

[Jo]

Oh, wait, she started tagging.

[Rhiannon]

Yeah. That's where I'm confused. Are you in the room,

[Jo]

people screaming like in their cars right now? Being like, are you stupid?

[Rhiannon]

That's okay, we got that. You're not stupid. But I was like, I think we're missing a key detail.

[Jo]

We are. I'm just going to shut the fuck up.

[Rhiannon]

I don't know. She's chaotic.

[Annika]

She's chaotic.

[Rhiannon]

That is rogue. And I'm really. I. I think it's. I think it's weird.

[Annika]

I think it's strange too. And I think it's also strange because if it was like a one off, maybe perhaps you'd be like, okay, benefit of the doubt. But again, there's been numerous posts. There's been so many posts of her content and it's like, okay, you're actually getting actively called out. Your team have engaged with this brand.

[Rhiannon]

Yeah, the doubling down.

[Annika]

That's where I feel like, ooh, this is getting a little bit like allegedly murky now. Allegedly. Allegedly. Allegedly.

[Guest or Additional Voice]

Yeah.

[Rhiannon]

I think for face value, if I agree with you, Joe, even though she did tag the brand originally for. I do think you can't expect celebrities or like large influencers to post your product and, you know, give credit. It's a really nice thing when that happens and it does happen. But yeah, it just gets weirder and weirder as you kept telling that story and the way it rounded out, then requesting $30,000 in payment for you to continue posting, that feels like a little. It's almost like alleged extortion.

[Jo]

Anyway, before we get in more hot water and legal trouble, this is Stylish, the podcast for all things fashion, lifestyle, brand and beauty. What are we talking about today?

[Rhiannon]

We are alleged. No, I'm kidding. Oh, well, this one's a bit of a personal one. We're actually going to be talking about a recent experience I've had on TikTok regarding bridesmaids dresses, which apparently very, very divisive. Then we're going to be getting into how Kmart broke Australian retail on purpose with the launch of K Home. But before we do that, obviously, every week we've got to bring the good stuff, the swap. Who's going first?

[Annika]

Sometimes I feel like people just come to us for the swap. Probably, like, exit stage left.

[Jo]

Yeah, we could probably find that out.

[Rhiannon]

Yeah, Please don't do that. That hurts me.

[Annika]

I'm being very generous today, you guys. I've got quite a few. Come with me on the journey.

[Rhiannon]

Is that allowed?

[Jo]

No, I'm kidding.

[Rhiannon]

We're breaking all the rules today.

[Sponsor Voice]

We've already.

[Annika]

We've been here for five minutes and we've broken so many rules.

[Sponsor Voice]

So many.

[Annika]

But anyway, so I'm just gonna say what I think and I'm gonna say it with my chest. And Madison Sullivan thought, be so proud. Right now, it's just peak winter. It's freezing. I'm online way too much. Like, way too much. I'm getting inspiration from the algorithm, I really am. I'm like, watching everybody's stories. I'm heavily invested in European summer right now. I. I'm envisioning me and pee on a yacht in matching Keenies. Not happening anytime. So, my God, I can't imagine her in a king.

[Rhiannon]

She'd be so cute. Oh, my God, I love little kids in kinies. Little pot bellies.

[Jo]

They're just like.

[Annika]

I know. And her belly is just so cute and pudgy right now. Anyway, I'm really into just statement pieces at the moment. And so this is where my hybrid swap comes in. I'm going to bring two love. I am seeing a lot of fun statement jewelry, just like complimenting or really bringing outfitting to life on my socials. And in Phoebe Filo We Trust, I just, you know, peruse for a little bit of inspiration every now and then, you know, some peruse on the site. She styled a really beautiful, simplistic dress with tousled hair, really undone, and it was a simple slip dress, but then there was a super cool silver cuff which was on the bicep and I loved that. And then what else I'm seeing is a lot of beautiful natural stones just bringing a polish pop of colour to outfitting. So merging the two, I have discovered this super cool brand called Julietta. And I found them over on Modo Operandi, where I Actually always go. If I want, like something new, something fresh, they have this super cool resin cuff with a black onyx feature on it, which I thought was so stunning. And what I want to invest in is like a cuff that can go on my wrist, on my forearm and then on this big juicy bicep.

[Rhiannon]

Like,

[Annika]

I want the full arm look

[Jo]

and feel at all times. Or you want the versatility of being able to wear it.

[Annika]

The versatility. I want a three in one.

[Rhiannon]

I also think for evening wear, it would be really cool to have a black long dress, kind of like what I have on right now, but in a dress. I'm wearing a long sleeved black top because you can't see me. And like, have the cuffs on either side, like, as a statement, like in winter. To a black tie wedding gown. Oof. Yeah, that would be really chic.

[Annika]

That's a bit of me. I'm all over it. And I am redoing our showroom space at Sage and I'm loving just silver accents, chrome accents, stainless steel. But I feel like it can be quite cold, so you need to bring a warmth, like, anchor into the space. And I have found this super cool European brand, Pankonesi. I'm saying that.

[Rhiannon]

Oh, you nailed that, did it, guys? I feel like you did. You've been nailing the accents lately. The German last week.

[Annika]

I know it's because I'm multicultural. Like, honestly, like, there's a bit of me everywhere. Anyway, I'm obsessed with this brand because they do objects, not homewares objects.

[Sponsor Voice]

Chic.

[Annika]

And they also do really cool jewellery and they merge the two as well. So really beautiful statement pieces with the beading coming through, those natural stones. And there's a stunning timepiece. It's like a big clock and it's like a silver stainless steel canvas. Just a rectangle. And then the stones are actually the time marks.

[Jo]

Oh, cool.

[Rhiannon]

I am obsessed with this brand. I'm just online. Live Google. We love Live Google.

[Annika]

Stunning. And then they've got candelabras. They've got these really beautiful candlesticks as well.

[Rhiannon]

Candlesticks are absolutely stunning. Like, really eclectic. A mix of stones, like, lots of color. I should we do a bulk order?

[Annika]

Yeah, let's do it on it.

[Rhiannon]

I need stuff for the office and I really want to find. We've just moved offices at Shameless Media and I really want to find unique pieces.

[Annika]

Yes.

[Rhiannon]

Arnica influence.

[Annika]

Welcome. Before you just drop some things in your cart, you might want to wait for like a discount code or an afterpay date or something coming up because it's quite expensive, but we'll do a group order and maybe, you know, we'll. We'll get our tax back or something. I don't.

[Rhiannon]

That's why I was like, why don't we just do a group one?

[Annika]

Let's do that. But again, I wanted to shop something as well and swap in something a bit more affordable. So. Anna Rossi, always. We love her pieces. She's also doing so many beautiful statement jewelry pieces with the jewels, the stones and all of that coming through. So there you go, 25 swaps of the year. I'm done. I'm not swapping in ever again.

[Rhiannon]

Should have saved them. Just stripped them out over the next three weeks.

[Annika]

I can't do that. You know me, one last day. But such loose lips.

[Rhiannon]

You're so generous with your swaps. Do you want to go, Jo?

[Jo]

Yeah. Mine are from this past weekend. Some. Some things that I did and Slash used. So I actually had the intention of taking Axel, our dog, to a photo booth to get some photos with us and our dog. Except he's massive. He's like 45 kilos and he couldn't fit in the photograph. I do recommend doing this with a smaller dog because it is so cute to have these little photos. And you could get these frames that are exactly the size of. Have you seen them?

[Rhiannon]

No, I haven't.

[Jo]

They're like little wooden frames that you can get and like you can put them on the wall, but they're the perfect size for a pole.

[Rhiannon]

Like a photo strip?

[Jo]

Yeah, like a photo strip.

[Annika]

And you can actually do them with a chrome base as well. So instead of like standard, like canvas or white base around. What is the. The border.

[Rhiannon]

The border.

[Annika]

The border. That's what I'm after. You can do it with chrome.

[Rhiannon]

That's cool.

[Jo]

Very cool. So anyway, I wanted these photos with Axel. He couldn't come into the photo booth because he was too big. So I just took them with Adrian.

[Annika]

I think I influen you might have, you know, because that was our pregnancy announcement. It was a strip.

[Sponsor Voice]

That's chic.

[Annika]

And then we did the follow up when P was born. Yes. And so there's photos of me, James, Poppy and Miso in the photo booth together.

[Jo]

Wait, so you might have influenced me and I just didn't realise it?

[Annika]

I'm literally in your subconscious?

[Jo]

Yeah.

[Rhiannon]

Your subconscious.

[Annika]

Okay. My one stuff up for the day. I'll give it to you. I love your stuff.

[Rhiannon]

She gave it to me. Guys. My one floor also says the girl that literally mispronounces everything sometimes.

[Annika]

Honestly, I mispronounce so many things, and I love to blame it on my accent, but my husband looks at me and he's like, waiting for the pickup. He's like, you're gonna check yourself and you're gonna pick yourself up. Never do.

[Rhiannon]

It's like part of my brand now. It's deep.

[Annika]

Same. I might roll with it. You know what I mean? Come on.

[Jo]

I also have a second swap for you.

[Rhiannon]

Okay, Cheetahs. Why didn't you guys tell me you were bringing two swaps? Now I look like I'm being selfish,

[Jo]

but I have to because it's a cleaning one. I always get damn people. Like a lovely cleaning swaps.

[Annika]

So I stay true to the personal brand. JoJo.

[Jo]

Exactly. Now, I'm only 33 years old, but I've had a number of falls, and I had a fall on Saturday morning. So Adrian had made me my coffee, and I'm sipping it in the. In the living room, and then I go to walk into our kitchen to eat breakfast, and I trip over his foam roller and I like. I like, roll on it like a cartoon and fall literally all the way back. Give myself whiplash. I've got like, my neck is all jarred.

[Rhiannon]

It's going to the Cairo, babe.

[Jo]

I might have to. But I spilt my coffee all over the carpet. Like, it was everywhere. So I had to get out the Bissell spot cleaner.

[Rhiannon]

And everyone knows Jo wasn't worried about her neck. She was worried about the carpet. Like, 100%. Was like, no.

[Jo]

I literally. It was like I was in slow motion being like, oh, my God, the carpet.

[Annika]

Oh, my God. I literally have just stopped laughing because I'm just envisioning this, like, ballerina so graceful, like, falling chaotically around me.

[Jo]

Annika. I had coffee all over my hair, my face. It was all over my dressing gown. I was absolutely not the dressing gown coffee. It was like, it was crazy. And Adrian came in and I was just on the floor with a coffee

[Rhiannon]

cup on the floor, like, like dead in a cartoon where there's a white wine around you. Jo's just like, but there's coffee instead of the.

[Jo]

It was exactly like that. But then I posted him cleaning it up because obviously sore neck. So he was cleaning up the spot cleaner and heaps of people were like, what is that machine that you've got? So I just had to bring it as the Bissell spot cleaner. I did borrow my mother in law's one that I've swapped In previously. But I do also have the spot cleaner because, you know, I'm into cleaning tools, guys.

[Rhiannon]

And you fall over a lot, and

[Jo]

I have a lot of falls for someone in their 30s.

[Annika]

I literally thought you were gonna swap in, like, a supplement brand or something for your joints. And I was like, where the hell is Jo going? But nope. Thank you for staying true to the P Ray Ray.

[Jo]

It's really good that you only brought one swap. Really.

[Rhiannon]

No, that's okay. That's okay. I'm bringing in a swap for a creator, so an account. And, guys, after this, I'm banned for creators. But I have to say, I'm like you, Annika. I'm, like, very online at the moment. I'm also. Joe, we're saying this off Mike. We're not buying a lot at the moment.

[Annika]

Yeah.

[Rhiannon]

But I'm looking at my wardrobe, and I'm looking for inspiration, so I'm turning to other people to be like, how are you styling what you're wearing? And, guys, major girl crash loading. Like, I am obsessed with this girl. Her name, I believe her actual name is Sarah Stassi. Because that's, you know, Instagram, it has, like, your bio.

[Annika]

Yes.

[Rhiannon]

So her name in her bio is Sarah Stasi, but her handle is Sarah Brezel.

[Jo]

Okay.

[Rhiannon]

B R E Z E L. Sarah Brezel. I believe I'm pronouncing that right. She is so cool. Annika, I know you're getting her up. You already follow her.

[Annika]

Okay.

[Rhiannon]

Which means, you know she's really cool.

[Jo]

Yeah.

[Rhiannon]

She does the best pose. Like, the way she does her outfit of the day pose. She's really good at accessories, accessorizing. Lots of chrome, lots of jewelry, statement, like, pieces. And then, like, more she. Not that they're plain looks, but I think she's just really good at pulling an outfit together. I cannot stop looking at her post. Like, if Instagram had that feature where you could see people go on your page. I think I'm going on a page like, two, three times a day. Oh, well, I'm, like, obsessed with her.

[Annika]

I feel like you're gonna be so hooked on Sarah because one of her captions, apparently, I love brown, and she looks chic. Honey. She's got my swap going on. She's got the beads, she's got show the color popping.

[Rhiannon]

She's just unbelievable. Guys, you must.

[Annika]

She's fun.

[Rhiannon]

All right, we need to wrap it up, so an absolute must follow. It's close to home. Our next story, but I'm really excited to get into it. Yes, I am being trolled on Tik Tok. But we'll get into that right after a word from today's sponsor.

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[Rhiannon]

it for a special occasion.

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[Jo]

When you told us the other day that you were basically being trolled on TikTok, I did not believe you. But then when we opened up the video, I was like, wow, okay, you're not joking. You actually are being trolled.

[Annika]

Yeah, I thought you did something, like, really illegal. I was like, what did riri do to go and get herself absolutely trolled like that?

[Rhiannon]

Yeah. I did nothing but wear a bridesmaid's dress. And apparently that was enough to go.

[Jo]

Apparently.

[Rhiannon]

Apparently that was enough. No, guys, just for a bit of background, I'm absolutely on the wrong side of the algorithm and have been for, honestly, almost over a month because the original video keeps surging, which Tick Tock loves to do. But I'm gonna take you back a few steps. The Internet has decided that the bridesmaid's dress that I wore to my best friend's wedding in Italy was apparently the ugliest dress they have ever seen.

[Sponsor Voice]

Apparently.

[Jo]

And I don't believe that.

[Rhiannon]

I don't believe it either. I mean, I wore it, so obviously I don't believe.

[Jo]

Well,

[Rhiannon]

yeah, we'll get into that. No, for context, why this is blown up because the bride's sister Xanthi posted a TikTok of us, the bridesmaids. There were five of us in total wearing our dresses. Cute little outfit of the day. Like really quick snapshot.

[Jo]

I remember seeing that when she posted. It came up in my algorithm.

[Rhiannon]

Okay, great. So it came up, what, like four or so weeks ago, ages ago. And it was captioned, my big sister got married and these were her bridesmaids. And it was just like a cutesy little beep beep, you know, looking at

[Annika]

the caption, it looked stunning. Like stunning. I remember like double liking, triple liking if I could so carry on.

[Rhiannon]

And at the time the video did go not viral. But I say for Xanthy's following count, and I'm not saying this is a shame you don't have any followers, but Xanthi has like I think less than 5,000 followers. The video had about 40,000 views, 600 comments at the time and 300 shares.

[Annika]

That's high engagement.

[Rhiannon]

High, high engagement. Based on Xanthi's follow account, unfortunately for us, the comments like, weren't very nice. Like they were very much centered around the fact that the dress that we were wearing, which was from Delavali, which is an international designer, they're stuck in my hands.

[Jo]

Dress was from.

[Rhiannon]

That's where your hens dress was from.

[Jo]

I love that brand.

[Annika]

Beautiful brand, stunning brand. It's a profile brand. It's a brand that stocked at really beautiful high end stores. Like this is a chef's kiss brand.

[Rhiannon]

It's a great brand. I would say they do a lot of lace, which we were wearing lace as well. So I feel like they've become quite known for that. There are a few comments here and there peppered, being like, don't love this whatnot. Anyway, Xanthy starts to like feed the beast.

[Jo]

So this is on Xanthy a little bit.

[Rhiannon]

But to be fair, in the group chat, because we have a bridesmaids group chat, no one really cared. Like we weren't bothered by the fact that people didn't like the dress. If I'm being really honest, it is a very fashion forward dress. It is one of those divisive dresses where you're like, I either love it

[Annika]

or I hate it.

[Rhiannon]

And that's fine. Like it's simply not for everyone. But for me, I felt very good in it. All the bridesmaids felt good in it. We knew when we tried it on at the time, I was like, middle of winter and I was like, oh, I'm going To need a tan for this, like, it's in Italy. But once you see the whole vision together and we'll get into this a bit later, it all kind of makes sense.

[Annika]

Yeah.

[Rhiannon]

The process. Nearly 600k views.

[Annika]

Wow.

[Rhiannon]

I think it's just tipped over at the time of recording. It's gone over that 19k likes and over a thousand comments. Guys, I don't even want to tell you what the shares are, because that's the real indicator. Real ones. No, the shares. The shares hurt you. The shows hurt you. So I haven't been looking at the shares. But look, the bride is not disheartened by this. My best friend Georgia could not be taking this better.

[Jo]

Okay.

[Rhiannon]

Absolutely in her stride.

[Jo]

I was going to ask that because I thought that could very easily offend her because obviously that was her vision for the day. She obviously loved the dress.

[Rhiannon]

Unbothered, like, completely unbothered. Like, has messaged me saying, I cannot wait for you to talk about this. Oh, like, she's so invested. Hi, Georgia. She is so invested in this chat. And because Xantha kept posting videos, I think by design, the algorithm then searched the original video. So she was replying to comments that were mean and reposting. But it was so clapback funny. Like, I could never. Like, I would be dying. So my tip my hat to Xanthi. So what that then did was search the original video, which is what made it blow up. And guys, the comments.

[Jo]

Can I just confirm, like, the comments are not, like, about your body? No, it's. It's specifically about the dress.

[Rhiannon]

No, it is specifically about the dress.

[Jo]

Okay, so we can, like, have a laugh at it.

[Rhiannon]

No, that's why I'm sitting here, like, having an absolute laugh also. It's like, no one is coming for me personally. No one's coming for any of the girls. It's very much centered around the dress. And the conversation is, like, not even the conversation. The discourse is like, this is the worst bridesmaids dress I've ever seen. Like, that is the sentiment in the comments. Some of them. I'll read them to you. You. Does the bride hate you? Wait, it gets worse. These are genuinely some of the ugliest bridesmaid dresses I've ever seen. I actually pissed myself laughing when I read this one. Don't listen to the comments, girls. They're right, but don't listen.

[Annika]

I'm gonna whip my.

[Rhiannon]

So, like, people are very, very focused and, like, on the dress. It's not about us. We also had some girlies in there being like, guys, you guys are so hot. But what are those? Someone said they looked like old band aids. Like, it was getting. Like it was getting a lot. And look, I will.

[Jo]

I.

[Rhiannon]

Sorry, I've got to come down now from that.

[Jo]

Did you feel good in an on the date? Because I know that's quite a contentious topic sometimes with bridal parties is that people don't often feel amazing in their dress because it wouldn't be something they would pick for themselves. But did you like the dress at the time?

[Rhiannon]

All of us liked the dress. I would say as the day progressed, I was definitely more conscious of like. Like, you know, when you're just, like, eating and drinking stuff. And I was. I think it's a bridesmaid. When you're part of that whole experience, you're very conscious that there's more attention on you. I cannot decipher if that was because of the dress I was in or if that's just because I was a bridesmaid and there were a lot of responsibilities as a bridesmaid for me to

[Jo]

be, like, front facing.

[Rhiannon]

Front facing.

[Jo]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Annika]

And then when you finally relax and like. Yeah, with it, it's just kind of. Yeah. And then it'll hang out.

[Rhiannon]

Exactly. But I just, like, didn't care. But the color, I could understand where people are like, oh, that's a tough color. Honestly, we all felt great in it.

[Jo]

Actually. This reminds me. Have you guys seen of this Undone by Kate drama?

[Rhiannon]

Oh, my God, it's everywhere.

[Jo]

It's impossible. Algorithm, the entire thing. But it reminded me of that because there's this girl that got embroiled in this drama because. Okay, so a little bit of background on the Undone by Kate. This is a bridal designer in the US and this girl jumped online and created this long series about her experience with having a custom dress designed by this designer at Wendell, Very pear shaped. And then everyone in the comments was going on to the socials of this designer who ended up outing herself. The original poster actually didn't say who she was, but then she ended up creating a video outing herself. And people in the comments are going to her socials and seeing dresses that she's made. This poor girl who had upcycled her mum's dress ended up being the one that was being dragged into the comments. And everyone being like, this is the ugliest dress I've ever seen. And she had to create a video being like, I actually really loved my day and I didn't really hate anything about my dress because it was my

[Annika]

mum's dress that sent me. Like, that actually sent me.

[Jo]

I know, but she did. She acknowledged that there were things that were not perfect about the dress. So she was kind of tying into the sentiment that everyone was saying online that they've had bad experiences with this bridal designer. But I did feel very sorry for her that she ended up like you. She didn't post the original content. She didn't ask for that.

[Rhiannon]

No. But also bringing these two worlds together. Someone actually commented on the original video which featured the bridesmaids dress I was wearing, saying, did Undone by Kate make these? So this is like the Internet really doing the Internet thing, you know, bringing those two worlds together.

[Annika]

I don't know if I'm impressed or I'm scared. Like, I'm like, holy shit. That was not the hybrid that I was looking for.

[Rhiannon]

But it just, it really got me thinking. Why I wanted to talk about this today is because people are so passionate about, I would say, the bridesmaid's dress.

[Jo]

Yes.

[Rhiannon]

More than anything, when I see wedding content roll out on socials, the bride's dress obviously gets it's commentary because the bride is the bride and you know, styling and all of those things. But there is nothing more contentious than a bridesmaid's dress.

[Annika]

Yeah. It's just so interesting, like how opinionated all of the discourse is when it comes to weddings in general. But then what I don't like is when opinions become judgment. Yeah.

[Rhiannon]

Yeah.

[Jo]

Well, we actually asked our audience whether you've ever had to wear a bridesmaid dress that you didn't like. And we had some interesting answers come through. Right.

[Rhiannon]

I went through all the DMs as well and I was. My thumb was sore.

[Annika]

Really?

[Rhiannon]

So many. So, so many. Which again, just reinforces this narrative that the bridesmaid's dress is particularly divisive. Some of you said, I didn't like it. It was tight, baby pink. And the bride wouldn't let us wear any undies. Oh, wait, wow, that's specific.

[Annika]

Was that one of my bridesmaids?

[Rhiannon]

Did that play out?

[Annika]

No, I let them wear undies.

[Rhiannon]

Okay, here we go. Spaghetti straps. I'm an F F bra and had an allergic reaction to the mega boob tape. Required blisted nips.

[Guest or Additional Voice]

Ouch.

[Rhiannon]

She picked a dress that would have looked amazing on her body, not ours. I had to pay $450 for a dress I didn't like or have any say in. A lot of criticism was also centered around satin.

[Jo]

Ah, the old bias cut.

[Rhiannon]

The old bias cut.

[Annika]

Okay, so objectively. Speaking, the bias cut is meant to be one of the most universal, flattering shapes in dresses. People don't like it.

[Jo]

I think sometimes if it's like a low quality type of fabrication.

[Rhiannon]

If you don't know what a bias cut is, hypothetically, can you tell us what that is?

[Annika]

Let's cut on the bias.

[Rhiannon]

Is that what it is?

[Jo]

It's the way it is. It's the way it's cut and it just.

[Annika]

So it's kind. It's got more movement and it's meant to kind of be more relaxed. Straight across, rigid cut.

[Rhiannon]

Right, right, right, right.

[Annika]

It's always going to be like the hemline is just kind of more free flowing. I would say.

[Jo]

Y. Yeah.

[Rhiannon]

I mean, looking at this commentary, I will say I have definitely experienced my own situation as a bridesmaids where I haven't loved my dress. Not in this instance, but other times. And I do feel like it is a shared experience that a lot of women have endured where they've worn a bridesmaid's dress that they didn't necessarily love. I just think it doesn't warrant bringing it back to, like, TikTok and the Internet and how they feel about bridesmaids dresses, particularly the one I wore. I just don't know that it warrants that level of, like, it almost is like anger or like misrepresented frustration about the dress. Like, when I started reading the comments, I then kind of got in my head a bit and was like, do I look really shit in this?

[Annika]

Yeah.

[Rhiannon]

And I messaged Mission Zara in the group chat and was like, obviously it's not a dress I would wear every day of the week, but it's my best friend's wedding. It's la dolce vita. We're in. Booyah. She's got a full theme going on. Like, it's very much fitting the aesthetic and the. And G loved it. We all felt good in it. Like, surely you're not assuming the worst thing, like, oh, she hates us. And like, I'm like, what is this deep seated projection that people are putting?

[Jo]

I honestly don't know. Why do people get so up in arms about it?

[Annika]

I think as well, is it because. And now this is me going on a theory here. But do we think that when someone else is making your style choice for you, comments and people who are commenting feel like it's not offensive because they're not commenting on your personal choice?

[Rhiannon]

Point Arnica. I've never thought about like, that. Well, I'm not actually attacking you. I'm attacking the person adjacent to you who has put you in something that

[Jo]

we don't see, but it's still an attack.

[Annika]

And then this is, for me, where it gets, like, more layered because I'm like, hold up. Like, thinking back to my own wedding, I had a vision. I had a mood, I had a brief. I had a whole vibe. Right. And that includes the bridesmaids dresses reflecting. Were those bridesmaids dresses my bridesmaids personal style? Probably not, but were they part of my vision? Absolutely. Did the girls show up? Did they rock those dresses? Did they own those dresses? Fuck, yes, they did.

[Jo]

Well, we had a lot of people comment as well, saying, like, it wasn't my day, so I didn't care. I was happy to wear whatever the bride loved. It wasn't flattering, but I just sucked it up, did my job to support her. Like, there was a lot of people that were just like, this is the nature of being a bridesmaid. It may not always be your personal style or in your color palette, but you wear it because it's your friend and you're there to support them on one of the biggest days of their life.

[Annika]

Life.

[Jo]

Yeah.

[Rhiannon]

And like everything, there's always a spectrum. You know, there are situations where some of them are really, like, I understand why you feel in that if you're being forced into something that genuinely is, like, making you insecure. Like, some girls were saying in our DMs that they were crying in the bathroom, changing their dresses after for the reception. So there is this really, really deep. Oh, it's like, it's. It sucks. Like, it's just not a nice feeling. And I totally understand that. And I don't think those people are the ones who are in the DMs, but I do think people on the Internet who are commenting this stuff, they must be projecting 100 some experience that they've had or making an assumption they're assuming the worst.

[Jo]

Yeah. Also imagine you did feel shit on the day, and then you see all these comments and you're like, oh, great.

[Annika]

Yeah.

[Rhiannon]

And imagine if I didn't have, like, thick skin. Like, I've got pretty thick skin, as did all the bridesmaids. Like I said, we're in the group chat being, like, absolute low. By the fifth video, I was like, all right, Santi, write it there. This might turn a corner. And I'm not. I'm being told I'm really hot right now and it's just the dress, but I don't want someone coming for the things that I know, I'm already insecure about. So, you know, we were really lucky to kind of leave it there.

[Jo]

Yeah.

[Rhiannon]

But, yeah, it just, it starts an interesting one. I. I just feel like I want to go so deep on the bridesmaid.

[Annika]

You know what? Like, honestly, I've just got to say mad respect to G for, like, leaning in, not being phased, looking at it, glass half empty, glass half full. She's getting so much like, like, praise, I think, on the wedding as a whole right now. And I think, Xanthi, love your work, sis, but let's rein it in a little. Stand firm in those comments. I don't quite have, you know, the. I want to say the balls. I don't.

[Rhiannon]

No, she's got the gusto. The gusto.

[Annika]

I don't have the gusto for that.

[Jo]

And if you see this video come up in your uncle, then maybe leave a nice comment.

[Rhiannon]

Yeah, drop some love dress about me.

[Annika]

Yeah, yeah, Love the dress. Added to cut.

[Jo]

All right, next up, people are passionate about Kmart's new homeware store, K Home, and how it's disrupting the market. But we'll chat about that right after a word from today's sponsor.

[Sponsor Voice]

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[Jo]

So this week, we saw a video by creator Zane Oss on TikTok talking about how Kmart has disrupted the Australian homeware retail market, which is not really a surprise it's been having for a long time. But it had a lot of passionate comments which really caught our attention. So we're going to play a snippet from that video to start.

[Guest or Additional Voice]

The aesthetic gap between cheap and premium products is now gone. And this is going to wipe out a lot of big brands. Brands. A huge chunk of the market now has stopped caring about labels. They've worked out that the $25 Kmart version is basically the same as the 201. It photographs the same, it looks the same on the shelf at home, and if it breaks, you can replace it without even thinking about it. And this model didn't happen by accident. Kmart specifically built for this. They put real designers on 15 products. They watch what's trending in premium and have their own version on their shelves within weeks. There's literally a thing called the Kmart aesthetic now where there's millions of people in Facebook group groups styling their entire homes from Kmart, and it looks like a display home. Ten years ago, people hid the cheap version, but now they advertise it, they're proud of it. They feel like they're getting value for money.

[Jo]

So there's like, two streams of comments here on Zayn's video. There's one stream that are like, buy it nice or buy it twice. You can't ethically make a marble lamp for $19. And then there's the other side of the spectrum, which is, you know, Kmart has changed the game because it's made having a home you feel proud of more accessible. Not everyone has thousands of dollars to spend making their space look nice price. Which is very true, if you didn't know this already. Kmart have actually expanded their retail offering this year with K Home. There's a massive store, a K Home store, in Melbourne. I think it's in Box Hill.

[Rhiannon]

Yeah.

[Jo]

South Outer East. Yeah. So the K Home store opened in mid June 2026 as a trial, and it positions them as a bit of a direct competitor of the likes of Ikea, Temple and Webster Aima. The opening caused traffic chaos. I reckon I saw no less than, like, 15 videos in my algorithm of people trying to go to this K Home store opening and documenting their experience and showing what the store looked like. And it is significantly bigger than a standard.

[Rhiannon]

Yeah.

[Jo]

Kmart store.

[Rhiannon]

If you're an international listener, I would compare it to Ikea. Yes. Like a similar sort of shopping experience.

[Jo]

You know, it's so funny, people in the comments being like, kmart still exists because it doesn't exist in the US Anymore. And people just.

[Rhiannon]

Obviously, Kmart pops off here.

[Jo]

Yeah, no, absolutely pops off.

[Annika]

It's here and it's in New Zealand. Because I feel like Ikea only just opened in New Zealand, and it's become like this huge craze, and it was like Kmart was the go to for affordable homewares.

[Sponsor Voice]

Right.

[Jo]

Okay. So this store stocks furniture, homewares, all the stuff that was exclusively online only, which you've probably seen on the Kmart website before. Like, a lot of the armchairs or bed heads, they're online only, but this store has them set up so that you can look at them.

[Rhiannon]

So what do we think about ripping off? Are we saying ripping off? Borrowing aesthetic or look and feel from designer brands.

[Jo]

So I've Purchased things from Kmart before. And honestly, I would say the same reasons as most of my friends. Cheaper than everywhere else. But also maybe was a trending item at the time, or I just happened to be in the store for something else and I saw something and I went, oh, $10. Okay, I'll take that. And I didn't realize it was a dupe of something else. And then I've seen it, you know, a year later, I'm like, oh, yeah, that was actually a dupe. But this happened to me in the reverse. Recently, I brought a swap to this podcast. The Blossom Cordless. Yes. The label lamp. They went and changed that. I spent like $300,000,000 on it. And then it came out for $19, and I was like, fuck.

[Rhiannon]

So you're annoyed because you kind of have the same aesthetic.

[Sponsor Voice]

Exactly.

[Jo]

Exactly. Right. But also, a friend of mine, Maddie, who runs Pinchy Products. This is a small business. Right. And she's, you know, come up with this. Small business, does really well. But then Kmart has dropped a dupe version of it, which obviously feels shit as a brand founder.

[Rhiannon]

Yeah.

[Jo]

Yeah.

[Rhiannon]

It's the classic punching up verse. Punching down. I do think some people who really care about the original will never shop at Kmart.

[Annika]

Yeah.

[Rhiannon]

For that exact reason. Like, they are not the demographic they're trying to hit, but there is a huge percentage of the population, as we've just read out by these numbers, who do not care about that. Yeah. And that is the reality that we are in a cost of living crisis. It's not a priority for them to be thinking about the original designer. And I know that sounds savage, but that is the reality that a lot of people are living.

[Annika]

Yeah.

[Rhiannon]

Minute population. Really care.

[Annika]

Yeah. And I think as well, just to like, back that up, we are, like, in a cost of living crisis. There's no denying that. And I think when you are saving so much for your home loan for, like, you want to get a foot on the leaderboard, you get the house. That's the goal. Sometimes the furnishing of the house and the homewares, that's a nicety. That's a luxury, that's a nice to have. So when you want to kind of bring your vision to life, if you can do it for the $19 lamp and you get that feature, you're gonna do it.

[Jo]

Well, I think about the first time I moved out of home or like, when I've gone through breakups and had to move house and leave most of my shit there, like, it's. It is the better option to go to Kmart and buy all the things that you need again, because Otherwise it costs 20, 30 grand to furnish your house.

[Rhiannon]

No. Well, that's really what Zane's saying in this video. In the original video, he's like, you know, you don't have to compromise the aesthetic, the look, the feel anymore. And a lot of people are stoked about that.

[Annika]

Totally.

[Jo]

Yeah. And I don't think that, well, signaling that was something that he mentioned in his video. I don't think that that's the thing of the past, to be honest. I think there's a bigger gap right now between the wealthy and the middle class.

[Annika]

I agree.

[Jo]

So the people that can afford to have an interior designer come in and furnish their entire house put art on the walls like they're in a completely different tax bracket to this middle class that are shopping at Kmart for maybe little knickknacks and things that they want to style their home with.

[Annika]

Being savvy is cool, you guys. Like, I, I will stand on that hill and I will die on it.

[Jo]

But

[Annika]

I actually think as well, like markdown culture as a whole. And this is something I'm seeing a lot in my industry at the moment and we're constantly talking about it, perceived value. There are literally so many sales. I did a quick look into this because according to auspost, there are 39 e commerce sale event opportunities between July 1 and December 31. 39. Like marketing culture, promotional activity. It's hard to justify spending full price. It's hard to justify investing in something like we just read out those stats. There was that Temple and Webster piece of furniture on sale now for 299from449. I'm gonna hold out for the sale. I'm gonna hold out if I know, like, okay, it's that value add for me. I can save money. I need to save money. And this cost of living crisis that we're in, I'm gonna do it. It's just, I think as well quite a lot of margin exposure. Like people second guess sometimes those more luxury purchases or those higher end purchases or just more expensive purchases because we know it's going to go on sale at some point.

[Rhiannon]

Yeah, look, I could stop saying look. It's in my band list now. You can keep that in accountability. The reality of it is you've got the people who are never shopping at Kmart. They're buying the Eames chairs and you know, the originals. Then for those of you that don't know what the Eames chair. It's like this famous, famous chair that was, like, created.

[Jo]

They're not going to shop it anyway.

[Rhiannon]

You've got the Kmart shoppers who are there because they're wanting to buy the aesthetic. They're leaning into trends. It's more affordable. Or, you know, you've picked up one or two things in the store that you didn't think you were going to buy. The incidental shoppers. Then you've got the shoppers who are like, okay, I want to curate a home, but I also don't want to have to spend the money. They're more likely to be shopping on Marketplace or secondhand. Maybe more happy to spend the money on a small business where they're like, I'm getting something that's really eclectic, which. Which, to your point earlier, Joe, like, pinchy, I would happily spend money on that cutting board knowing I'm supporting a small business over shopping at a Kmart. Like, I would take it upon myself as the shopper to have the agency and be more discerning about how I'm shopping. That's not to say any of those are wrong.

[Jo]

Yeah.

[Rhiannon]

But it's up to you as the shopper to be able to determine, okay, what do I value and where do I want to put my money and who do I want to support?

[Annika]

Yeah.

[Jo]

But I also don't doubt that there'd be people walking to Kmart like me that didn't know that that was a dupe or something, and they're like, oh, this is cool.

[Rhiannon]

Yeah, yeah, I'll have it.

[Jo]

I can see the argument from both sides, like the buy it nice or buy it twice. There are concerns around Kmart's quality and the over consumption that that affordability allows for. But we're also in a cost of living crisis, and it's possible for someone to furnish an entire house with Kmart for not $20,000.

[Rhiannon]

This is the constant tension between sustainability and affordability. Though this isn't just limited to the category of homewares. This plays out across most categories.

[Annika]

And I think as well. Like, it would be irresponsible of us not to point out or question the ethics and the sustainability around how quickly these pieces are coming out into the market. I think also the impact on people and planet. One thing I do want to give Kmart kudos for is the fact that they actually do have a transparency policy and initiatives, which are all available on their website. So you can actually look into it a little bit more closely and you can have a little bit more visibility into what you're purchasing, and then you

[Rhiannon]

can make that decision of what you value more. Is it sustainability or is it affordability?

[Jo]

Yeah.

[Rhiannon]

Guys, that's all for this week's episode.

[Annika]

Are you sure?

[Rhiannon]

Allegedly.

[Annika]

I'm like, one more show to drop it.

[Rhiannon]

Guys, if you enjoyed this episode, leave us a review. It helps us keep growing the show that you love. Thank you so much to the team, Lucy Hunt, Zoe Twidel, and a special thanks to Mike Liberale for editing this ep.

[Sponsor Voice]

See you guys next week.

[Rhiannon]

This podcast was recorded on Wurundjeri land.

[Jo]

Always was, always will be aboriginal land.