Hey friends,
We’ve got a confession.
We’re cheapskates, but we like expensive things. This combination causes all kinds of problems.
Like recently, when a few members of our team – Sam, Hope and Jay – were searching the antique shops for century appropriate props for our new photoshoot.
We were doing well at first – we found an old globe, a few not-too-dusty books and a wooden briefcase that may once have contained Scott Fitzgerald’s typewriter or a dead body.
But then our new creative director, Jay, saw a pair of antique tennis rackets that were £30 over budget.
We’re pretty strict with our budget. But Jay really liked these tennis rackets.
Then it got worse.
Nobody needs a model ship in a fashion shoot, so naturally we hadn’t budgeted for a model ship.
But then our fashion designer, Hope, saw a niiiiiiiiice model ship – it cost £35 we didn’t have, but she couldn’t take her eyes off it.
Soon we were at an impasse: Jay was clutching the nice tennis rackets. Hope wasn’t about to give up on a totally unnecessary model ship. And our founder, Sam, was attempting not to let go of the budget.
How could we justify this vintage nonsense? We needed help – like all people sometimes do – from a Kiwi by the name of Hayley Sproull, the inventor of “girl math.”
This is Hayley 👇
What in the world is “girl math”?
If you’re not on TikTok, and you’re wondering why Yes Friends is suddenly using a phrase that sounds very nearly sexist, we’ll explain.
“Girl math” was named by Hayley Sproull, a New Zealand comedian who runs a call-in show called ZM, and she was experimenting with a new segment – “girl math” – that quickly went viral.
Hayley’s audience would call in and ask her to help them justify their expensive purchases. $400 hair extensions, $5800 trips to see Taylor Swift at four consecutive concerts, that sort of thing.
With a certain logic, she could show people how these purchases aren’t just necessary, they’re practically free.
So given half the chance, Hayley would be busting into our antique shop with a calculator saying, "I hear there's a maths emergency."
(Hayley has one of those NZ accents where almost every sentence ends with emphasis – or should we say – with emphasis.)
If Hayley was with us, Sam would explain: “We had a £200 budget for our shoot. And we’re about to go… significantly beyond that..”
Jay would add. “But look at these antique tennis rackets! Our shoot needs to tell a convincing story.”
“Yeah – the story of how Yes Friends went broke,” Sam might say.
Hayley: “Okay, let’s start with the tennis rackets. £50 sounds bad… but I’ve heard on the grapevine that Sam’s wife Olivia was sent a photo, and she’s always wanted rackets like these.”
Sam: “Yeah that’s true.”
Hayley: “And when Olivia’s happy, she keeps freely giving Sam brilliant ideas for Yes Friends. Ideas that Sam has definitely never claimed as his own.”
Sam: (squirming) “Okay, okay.”
Hayley: “So really, £50 on tennis rackets is about preserving creative continuity at Yes Friends’.”
Hope: “But what about the model ship?”
Now at this point the antique shop manager saw us (this really happened) and said: “Oh the ship was £90, but we’ve just dropped it to £35.”
If Hayley was there, she’d say, “So what I’m hearing is, you just made £55.”
Sam: “Did we?
Hayley: “Hope, what could you spend £55 on?”
Hope: “We could spend a little more on the staff Christmas party at the fancy new darts bar?”
Jay: “We do like darts.”
Hayley: “Okay this one is obvious then. Better staff Christmas party = better employee wellbeing.”
Hope: “Absolutely!”
Hayley: “And better employee wellbeing = even better ideas for the next photoshoot. So this model ship is really an investment in two photoshoots, not just one. That’s just basic maths.”
Then she’d drop the bombshell…
Hayley: “And, since everything was secondhand, you practically saved the planet. Saving the planet is priceless.”
At which point, Sam would have to throw up his hands and call it quits.
Needless to say, we bought the model ship and the tennis rackets, and we've got to admit these photos would be nothing without them.
How the maths shakes out for you
Maybe you’re seeing brands launch nice things this autumn – and you thought, “I need some of Hayley's maths to buy this one”
Let us help you out – the Yes Friends ethical, sustainable, organic T-shirt is only £12. Buy one instead of a £30 T-shirt from another brand, and you’ve just saved £18.
That £18 is basically free money.
Not only that, you know a healthier chunk of the money you spend with us is going to garment workers… as Louis so aptly summarised in full caps:
“I LOVE PAYING FAIR WAGES” – Louis
And if you like you can even add a tip with the money you save to thank our garment workers even more.
You’re getting a great deal, totally. But you’re also investing in transforming the fashion industry – making ethical affordable, and making good wages for garment workers the new norm in supply chains.
The maths doesn’t lie.
GO INVEST