BY NICOLE ROYAL

As I sit here writing a story that rivals Grey’s Anatomy for Best Drama of the Century, I am happily draped in rainbow fringe. Getting to this point though – it wasn’t easy.

It all started one sunny, hot August morning while doing my daily scroll and double-tap routine on Instagram. I was robotically swiping, sliding past pictures of coffee, palm trees, and heels, when something bright caught my eye in the background of a story. It was kaleidoscopic blur; a blindingly beautiful splash of color.

The video was busy with images: an outdoor stage, a DJ, girls decked out in festival wear. I replayed the story over and over, trying to catch glimpses of what looked like… a fringe sweater? Or maybe a jacket? Whatever it was, I had never seen anything so dazzling, so extravagant, and so undeniably “me.” I had to have it.

If you know me personally, you know that I’m a Google search wizard. Send me a photo of a dress from any platform, and four minutes later I’ll respond with a shop link. This sweater had me stumped, though. I’d tried searching “colorful fringe sweater,” “rainbow jacket,” and “fringe color coat” – but nothing had popped up. Still, I couldn’t give up that easy. I spent the next 4 hours stalking the influencer who’d posted the video. I stalked her friends, her friend’s friends, her friend’s boyfriends, their ex-girlfriends – I would’ve stalked her dog if I’d thought it could help.

But nothing helped! I’d looked on every platform! I’d tried every search engine! In a last-ditch effort, I checked the IG account of the guy who’d deejayed the show from the story. And then, like a woman possessed, I stalked every single girl he’d ever tagged in a photo.

And you know what? It paid off.

Because after an hour of intense IG stalking I landed on the account of a foreign Instagram model wearing THE sweater. In all its rainbow glory!

The model had even tagged Andi Bagus, the Australian company that made the sweater. I clicked over to the company’s feed and exhaled a big, joyful sigh of relief. I’d done it! I’d won my prize!

And yet… it was August in LA and temperatures were pushing triple-digits. Was this really the appropriate moment to purchase cool weather clothes? I added the “Cray McCray” sweater to my cart and did what I do best: I procrastinated.

For three months.

By mid-November, SoCal temps had finally dropped, and not a day had gone by that I hadn’t thought about the sweater. So I clicked over to the Andi Bagus site, and there it was, still waiting for me in my shopping cart. As I was entering my credit card number into the online form though, a RL thought bubble popped up: my best friend Dre had also wanted a fringe sweater. I pumped my mental brakes and decided to wait until the following morning when I could check with her to see if she wanted to order one too; we could split the international shipping costs.

Only we couldn’t. We didn’t. Because by morning the sweater had SOLD OUT.

I was heartbroken and near tears. I’d waited three long months!

Quickly, frantically, I did one last Google search, and this time I used the sweater’s proper name: “Cray McCray.” A new site popped up – The Naked Tiger. The sweater was in stock! The shipping costs were still insane, but I bit the bullet and ordered it anyway. This was it. Finally, my moment.

Two days later, the DHL delivery man showed up at my work. The months of deliberation, procrastination, and heartache were over, and my story had ended in triumph. I unpacked the sweater and slipped it over my shoulders. A missing piece of me – the missing piece – was finally home.