5 True Stories Of Shopping While Intoxicated

You know the feeling: You're three pinots to the wind, you feel 10 times richer than you are, and that dress you've been eyeing online is seeming like a more legitimate expense than paying rent. Sober thinking has left the building. Next thing you know, there's a full shopping bag (and an empty pizza box) next to your bed. This, friends, is called SWI: Shopping While Intoxicated, and it's a habit we know all too well.

Turns out we are not alone in having racked up more than our fair share of SWIs. When we asked friends if they had a few of their own, the list of drunk purchases kept getting more expensive (a colleague's $5,000 crocodile Céline bag that "went straight back to the warehouse") — and weirder. Think: a French bulldog. From our very own Erin Cunningham: "I returned her the next day. I was ashamed."

The slides ahead will remind you of some of the best gifts you've ever forgotten you sent to yourself — as well showcase some inspired-by options that are so good, you don't even need liquid courage to press "buy." So, whether it's a post-brunch splurge or an Ambien- and wine-induced in-flight purchase that you literally cannot remember for the life of you ever making, we're here to let you know that we get it, and you're not alone.