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Original poster

Silk is a fabric, not a 'feel'

37 replies

Hti · 16/04/2025 16:29

I've just opened a parcel that should have contained a silk shirt, bought second hand from vinted, and it's the item pictured, but made of 100% polyester.

I clicked that everything wasn't as described, and have been informed by the seller that the shirt has a silk 'feel', so I'm wrong to have a problem.

AIBU that items shouldn't be advertised using words that the people clearly don't understand?

OP posts:
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Britneyfan · 17/04/2025 09:04

You’re not wrong OP, this actually drives me up the wall specifically as someone who loves wearing real silk (and cotton or linen), especially on Vinted, though as someone commented even in places like John Lewis brands are getting super evasive about what clothes are actually made of - as if it’s not relevant or we don’t need to know argh. Search for silk and you get pages and pages of polyester and satin which isn’t fair on the people trying to sell actual silk items or the people trying to buy them. On the one hand if the seller said “silky” then I would generally assume it’s not actual silk, however if they put silk in the materials bit of the description and used the word “silk” to describe it anywhere, I do think that’s misleading and unfair. Not sure how much you can do it about it sadly - I haven’t been using Vinted long but from social media discussions my impression is that it’s set up to protect the buyer over the seller generally.

Vintednewbie33 · 17/04/2025 09:02

What are one’s consumer rights when buying fr
Vinted? I wonder… I must admit I’d kind of assume no recourse hence I wouldn’t ever use Vinted but I’d be interested to hear if anyone has researched it lately. (I haven’t the time myself)

GreyCarpet · 17/04/2025 08:58

YANBU - words have meanings for a reason.

Clothes are made of Fabric not material.

❤️ This is a real bugbear of mine!

ThreePointOneFourOneFiveNine · 17/04/2025 08:57

I clicked the wrong thing because I got the wrong end of the stick. If the advert said it’s silk then it’s false advertising. I’d complain to Vinted.

deeahgwitch · 17/04/2025 08:52

It did give the momme @HundredMilesAnHour Sad

HundredMilesAnHour · 16/04/2025 19:52

deeahgwitch · 16/04/2025 17:45

I got pillowcases lately from Amazon.
I bought them as silk pillowcases but they don’t feel like the silk pillowcases I have had before.
Silky yes, but not silk.
They were listed as silk.
I won’t rebuy.

Amazon is notorious for this. Only buy silk pillowcases if it states how many momme they are (preferable 22 upwards) as most genuine silk sellers will clearly stare this. Otherwise you’re probably buying polyester and being ripped off.

PaintDecisions · 16/04/2025 17:46

I buy silk on Vinted, but ONLY if they have photographed the label with the material listed - for this exact reason.

deeahgwitch · 16/04/2025 17:45

I got pillowcases lately from Amazon.
I bought them as silk pillowcases but they don’t feel like the silk pillowcases I have had before.
Silky yes, but not silk.
They were listed as silk.
I won’t rebuy.

netflixskivving · 16/04/2025 17:44

cross post @unsync!

netflixskivving · 16/04/2025 17:44

vegan leather .. when in fact it's plastic.

Vegan leather is just the posh new name for pleather eg fake and often plastic

unsync · 16/04/2025 17:43

Moier · 16/04/2025 16:35

Drives me mad too.
I always ask to see the label.
I looked at a " Cotton" top.. thought oh nice and cool for the summer..
Label when shown said 100% polyester..
I pointed this out and got told l was a stupid sarcastic woman and that it is all the same.🤷‍♀️..
Same when described as leather or vegan leather .. when in fact it's plastic.
Also " nice material ".
Material covers so much.. I.E plastic / metal/ wood etc etc.
Clothes are made of Fabric not material.

TBF, vegan leather is usually plastic or plant based. Vegan leather is an oxymoron. Leather only comes from animal hide therefore can never be vegan.

netflixskivving · 16/04/2025 17:43

Surely you can get a refund if the product doesn't match the description?

netflixskivving · 16/04/2025 17:41

Something with a silk feel is "silky" not "silk",

what was the fabric listed as in the listing?

Flossflower · 16/04/2025 17:13

OP you are correct if it said silk it should be a silk fabric. Strictly speaking silk is a fibre not a fabric. Silk chiffon, silk satin or silk crepe de chine would be a fabric.
It would be misleading to call polyester silk.

nomas · 16/04/2025 17:10

Yep this issue is ripe across Amazon, eBay, Vinted.

I now look for descriptions like ‘100% silk’, ‘100% mulberry silk’ , ‘100% cotton’ etc.

beadystar · 16/04/2025 17:04

Drives me mad too. I buy silk shirts from Vinted and the amount of people who don't understand what fabric they are selling is flabbergasting. I don't bother even contacting them now if the label isn't pictured.

slowraindrop · 16/04/2025 16:57

Aaah yes vinted is particularly annoying when trying to buy things from silk! And it can work both ways - sometimes I see a shirt that I’m pretty sure is silk, but the seller hasn’t thought to highlight that or charge a bit more for it.

ItGhoul · 16/04/2025 16:55

YANBU. Your seller might have a point if she'd described it as 'silky' or 'silk feel', but 'silk' indicates real silk and she shouldn't have used that term if it's polyester.

tootiredtobeinspired · 16/04/2025 16:55

This drives me mad too. I was looking for a silk shirt on vinted and the number of silk shirts made by Primark and sold for £2 was incredible 🙄. Like pp I had to filter by brand or ask to see the label as I would say the majority of the shirts advertised as silk are definitely not!

Original poster
Hti · 16/04/2025 16:54

mathanxiety · 16/04/2025 16:51

YANBU, but did you not see a fabric label in the photos?

I never buy anything online without seeing the fabric content and washing instructions labels.

No, I think as I'd looked at alternatives that had been tagged in the same way on vinted and seen some labels saying 100% silk, this was an oversight. Will definitely check in future!

OP posts:
mathanxiety · 16/04/2025 16:51

YANBU, but did you not see a fabric label in the photos?

I never buy anything online without seeing the fabric content and washing instructions labels.

AndImBrit · 16/04/2025 16:51

YANBU, I spend most of my time on Vinted asking for pictures of the care label of items described as silk and wool, and I’d say in 80% of cases they’re acrylic or polyester. I find those that are actually silk or natural material are better at putting a picture of the label on the actual listing.

Even those that have gone out of their way to tag the material as silk or wool are wrong, which is the most annoying as it’s really hard to filter out the time wasters.

Chungai · 16/04/2025 16:50

Hti · 16/04/2025 16:45

Tricky with the brand, as the seller said all shirts of the brand are the same. They're obviously not, as there are real silk ones available, but they do clearly make the sort I've received in a similar cut, but with fabric I can't wear without being a sweaty mess.

Show quote history

Yes lesson learned, ask to see the label!

Original poster
Hti · 16/04/2025 16:50

hereismydog · 16/04/2025 16:44

Was it listed as ‘silky’, or did they falsely claim it was made from genuine silk? If the former, I wouldn’t assume and would double check before buying. If the latter, I’d return it due to not being as described.

Also, did the price reflect the fact it was made from polyester? I would expect to pay more for genuine silk, even second-hand. If it seems too good to be true, it usually is!

Definitely listed as silk, including in the title and the material section of extra info / description. The colour and sleeves looked just like one I'd actually tried on in John Lewis, and I'd filtered through loads of cheaper silky / satin etc that has come up in the search.

The seller is maintaining that it was expensive, so doesn't seem the issue.

OP posts:
nonmerci99 · 16/04/2025 16:50

I think that’s definitely misleading, but personally I only buy natural fabric clothes if the seller has posted the care label showing the material composition.