Picture-Illustration: by The Slice Photograph: Getty Pictures
Julie, a.k.a. @jkimdee on TikTok, normally starts her online videos the identical way: “Come consider a shit with me,” she suggests with the exact same upbeat lilt as any other working day-in-the-everyday living “come shop with me” vlogger. Alternatively than take her 45,000 followers together as she drops hundreds of pounds at Rolex or Van Cleef & Arpels (which she can and might), she goes driving closed doors to reveal what happens when you’re out purchasing and you’ve definitely gotta go. About the previous yr, she’s has created it her mission to review a number of luxurious-store bogs across Houston, in which she lives, and deliver critiques about the point out of these really exclusive and generally uncharted areas. In the Cartier bathroom, for case in point, she observed that there was thick Charmin bathroom paper and branded disposable towels. The Hermès lavatory, however, was a “bit disappointing” (no pleasant smells or napkins).
As an avid shopper, Julie, who understandably just wishes to go by her very first identify, has a good eye. But she’s also acquired a excellent perception of humor, which will make her video clips stand out in a sea of usually vapid-seeming luxurious written content. “When I utilised to watch some of the luxury content material on YouTube, I was like, This shit is unexciting,” she instructed the Minimize just one afternoon this winter season. “I really do not want to see you get things. Like, who wants to enjoy that?” But just after a fateful afternoon at a Louis Vuitton salle de bain in Paris, she realized she may well be able to provide a diverse and far more, properly, relatable place of see. Below, we spoke about her bathroom collection and her prime No. 2’s.
How did this collection occur about?
In August, my husband and I went to Paris. We in no way had a honeymoon, so we still left the young ones and did it three years later on. Anyway, we’re searching in Paris, and the time big difference is a ton, so I was so exhausted and jogging on coffee, but I wanted to keep awake. At each and every retail store we go to, they are like, “Do you want coffee? Champagne?” I’m a affordable drunk, so I was like, “You’ll have to carry me out of below if I have Champagne, but I would adore coffee.” French espresso is robust as shit, even though — it is like little pictures — and I’m consuming them all working day. Not a excellent concept. So we’re buying at Louis Vuitton, and our revenue associate is so sweet, but he’s like, chatting, talking, conversing. And I’m like, I simply cannot concentrate. My abdomen — like, I just cannot do this. But I also do not want to go back again to the resort simply because I know if I do I’ll just crash and then our shopping excursion will be over. So I’m walking as a result of the overall store striving to come across a lavatory, and it is so gorgeous about there. It’s substantial. I imagined individuals on TikTok would like to see how the retailer appears to be, and who doesn’t want to see a awesome rest room, ideal? And then I observed the black bathroom, and I was like, This is extremely peculiar, but I like this. I retained the video clip in my drafts for a though mainly because it’s so odd. I figured it was weekend content — like, nobody’s likely to see this. And then it went viral.
What were some of the reactions you obtained?
Individuals beloved it. It was so favourable. They were being possibly the most optimistic remarks I have at any time gotten. Commonly with luxury content, it’s like, “Oh, she’s so pretentious this is all she cares about.” But as a substitute people were being like, “This is the written content I want to see. This is the content I by no means understood I necessary.”
Have any bogs astonished you?
I imagined Hermès would glimpse better, but I’m not shocked it does not. I was like, This practically resembles a gasoline-station rest room. Well, maybe a notch up, but not far from it.
Why weren’t you shocked by that?
Hermès does factors so unconventionally, and I believe they have a standing of not seriously seeking to impress their purchasers simply because their consumers are cult men and women like me.
Has any individual at any time gotten upset with you for filming?
It depends on the retailer. At Fendi, they’re so pleasant. Exact factor with Van Cleef. Most of the time, I’m not like, “Hey, can I go movie your bathroom?” The initial just one was tremendous-genuine. With an additional a person, my son had to go, and I was like, We have no option. Thankfully, it is not like I have to make clear the situation. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there, and ideally it will not be uncomfortable.
So you’ve been to loos at Louis Vuitton, Rolex, Cartier, Hermès, and Van Cleef & Arpels. Rolex had an orchid in its bathroom. Van Cleef experienced Diptyque scent. Cartier experienced Charmin, which I believed was funny…
And their fuckin’ napkins! I acted like a mad lady. I took the Cartier branded napkins for the reason that they had been so wonderful.
What’s the nicest lavatory you’ve been in?
I would say the Louis Vuitton in Paris appears to be just in general diverse. Probably it’s simply because of the coloration scheme and the aesthetics that they experienced. With the color of the bathroom and the lights in Louis Vuitton, it felt like, Wow, I’m having a shit in someplace high-class. This is the lifetime.
Are you likely to maintain the sequence heading following 12 months?
Actually, possibly. I’d like to film a couple a lot more like Fendi and Dior. But I recently booked a trip to Italy and Paris for June 2023, so I think that’s probably in which I’m likely to movie a large amount extra material because I think the bogs more than there just appear so awesome.
I’m genuinely happy that it is something folks have relished and that it helps make you guys chortle. Luxury content can be extremely significant, but that is just not my character. I’m happy that men and women uncovered it to be relatable. That’s a little something I’m seeking to integrate additional into my information because it is tough with this type of stuff. Most individuals are like, Fuck you, that’s my rent. How are you relatable to me? But even though it looks all lavish and whatnot, I signify, people do the exact same shit.
Everyone poops!
Precisely.