How come Shein has a such pretty clothes?

[Ihatesundaysandmywork]

Please note I’m talking about the patterns and style- NOT the quality.

I get lots of adverts on FB and Insta and I must say I love lots of their clothes how they look- I hardly ever shop there, very rarely, as I know the quality is not good.
How come the clothes look so pretty?
All these patterned quilted jackets, denim jackets, bright t shirts, dresses, lots of different bags…
If I walk into any high street clothes shop, all I can see it boring oversized or cropped hoodies and ugly bottoms, all in boring minimalist colours like black or grey or white.

Back to your original point @Ihatesundaysandmywork i agree. Same with the multitude of made-up companies that pop up on my FB feed, the styles / colours / designs look gorgeous compared to the polyester sludge in most high street stores. I hate shopping these days. I can’t really afford the higher end stores plus I’m 16/18 size so can’t always find much in my size. But everywhere else is just horrible - shapeless, poorly finished, plastic clothes in grim colours / prints.

i have once or twice tried buying from the FB stores, it becomes apparent very quickly that they are fake / made in china rubbish 🤷‍♀️.

Exactly. You can’t buy them anywhere else. I shop in H&M and similar and all I see it’s oversized tops with City names like Paris etc. I wish Shein had a local shop..

I agree - but what makes Shein particularly egregious is the sheer volume of the shite they pump out. They have people churning ‘designs’ 24/7, with dozens (if not hundreds) of new garments hitting the website every single week. It’s stuff that’s made to be worn once and tossed, you’re ordering 4 or 5 pieces at a time for twenty quid and before those have had their first outing the next lot of stuff is on its way.

All fast fashion is ruthless and does unfathomable damage, but Shein have perfected the art of destroying the planet for a quick buck to factory farm efficiency.

@BourbonsAreOverated
Reiss which is routinely recommended in here is another not paying good wages, they are expensive so making a huge profit whilst paying their workers very little.
Likely most of the 'oh I'd never use Shein' pps haven't checked the brands they do use. When did you last see made in UK on an item
of clothing?

When did I last see made in UK?

Everything I've bought from Palava, almost everything I've bought from Cabbages & Roses, everything from Colenimo, most of my knitwear (if it isn't UK, it's made in EU)

Not everyone has the money to spend £200 on a skirt, just taking an example from one of those brands.

If we do away with cheap fashion you penalise those who can't afford to pay high prices. The likes of Shein etc mean those people can afford clothes. I don't know what the answer is because many people can't afford to spend lots on clothes which is why cheap fast fashion has really taken off.

As an aside. The last item I bought was a Doddie Weir Tartan Scarf, made in Scotland. But even the likes of Barbour aren't made here anymore.

@IHaveAlwaysLivedintheCastle
The average person cannot afford £170 on a shirt, £260 for a dress.
Just a wee but out of touch eh

@EnjoythemoneyJane

Absolutely that. And because the cost to buy from them new is so low charity shops can't then shift the huge piles of crap from these brands that people palm off on them after a few wears. Meaning unless is can be reused in the fabric trade it's probably going to end up in landfill.

Justine Leconte on YouTube has some very informative videos about this. Her background is a seamstress and designer so she knows the industry

There's still plenty between high end UK and EU brands and Shein. They aren't the only option.

And the question was "when did you last see made in the UK". Answer, frequently. Probably 95% of my clothes are made in the UK or EU. All my shoes and boots are.

I would never buy from there and judge anybody who does. I can also spot the clothes and they look cheap and nasty. Buy cheap buy twice.

A lot of the images are lifted off brands then you get sent a very inferior copy.
Dont buy anything unless it's a picture of the actual garment .

Same happened to my brand some years back when they first started.

I bought a couple of tops from Shein last summer and they're gorgeous, worn them loads and they've washed well. They are brilliant quality.

I know ethically the company are awful. But with the cost of everything, I had a choice of paying £20 a top or £5, and I'm sorry but there was only one very obvious choice to make.

I've never ordered from shein myself but I struggle with the high street and don't have the budget for high end. Right now I just don't buy clothes much but if say I had a wedding invitation and really needed specific new clothes then who can say what I'd resort to.

Amazon do this too - watch the documentary about consumption on Netflix.
Amazon just chip most returns - straight into landfill.

When my daughter was about nine months old she was gifted a bundle of really cute clothes. I dressed her in one of the outfits for the day but when I cuddled her she smelt acrid, like burnt chemicals. I checked her and kept wondering what it was but I didn't connect it to the clothes until the (extremely well-intentioned) gift-giver mentioned they were all from Shein and when I smelt the clothes it was them. It was horrible, my baby who'd never smelt of anything bad (other than the usual baby smells!) suddenly smelling like burning. I changed her ASAP and got rid of the clothes. They don't seem to be subject to any safety standards and what is on the label could just be total lies.

Ive bought plenty from shein and temu and not had issues, clothes, bags, shoes and all kinds of random stuff in between
the have prices im willing to pay, styles i like and materials i like the feel of

I did a test with temu
I have the killstar gravedigger bag, payed something stupid like $110
Got the temu one for $40 and same construction, same quality, the ONLY difference is the pocket inside has no killstar logo and the zipper is not the killstar one
So why would i spend the $110?

but they're ripping the designs off from somewhere. Have you looked by reverse image search? or Etsy?

Sewing a skirt is easy, but good luck finding a fabric shop these days.

Community Clothing is good - not cheap though

Great points made by everyone already!

As someone who lurks the style and beauty board, the comments about Shein clothes looking 'great' or 'awful' really make me laugh, as nothing has taught me more than the style & beauty board that people have incredibly varying tastes and ideas on what looks great or awful! (Much affection towards the S&B board, even if most of the wedding guest dress threads make me think I'm living in an alternative dimension)

Just a note on this - i have occasionally had luck with screenshotting an item on shein, cropping the photo so that its just the item not the model, and putting that into the Google lens app to find the original design or a similar item from somewhere else. Worth trying- I'd recommend using a picture of the item on as plain of a background as you can find.

Op you do come across as an advert and English is not your first language

Yes I have seen people unbox a Shein dress, show you what it "should" look like and what it looks like on the person!

I have bought clothes from Shein for the past few years. During that time I have lost weight and I found some nice things in the curve section of Shein. I found some nice blouses, tops and overshirts. The tee shirts I check and see what material they are made from because I got 1 tee shirt and it was skin tight.
I use an inch tape and measure stuff I already own and then check the size guide including the length for each item on Shein. If a top has a seem at the back I go up a size for comfort as these items seem to run small.
I find that been bigger it hard to get nice clothes at times and some large size stuff can be expensive. Then it nice to have a few nice things to wear when your losing weight.

I have an event coming up in few weeks and I plan to get something from Shein for this along with some summer clothes.

I know that some people are very anti buying stuff on Shein but with the cost of living it helps people to be able to buy a few things. I will only buy stuff I like and I know will fit me.
If I get something that does not work for me I will give it to a charity shop.

I have bought clothes from Shein for the past few years. During that time I have lost weight and I found some nice things in the curve section of Shein. I found some nice blouses, tops and overshirts. The tee shirts I check and see what material they are made from because I got 1 tee shirt and it was skin tight.
I use an inch tape and measure stuff I already own and then check the size guide including the length for each item on Shein. If a top has a seem at the back I go up a size for comfort as these items seem to run small.
I find that been bigger it hard to get nice clothes at times and some large size stuff can be expensive. Then it nice to have a few nice things to wear when your losing weight.

I have an event coming up in few weeks and I plan to get something from Shein for this along with some summer clothes.

I know that some people are very anti buying stuff on Shein but with the cost of living it helps people to be able to buy a few things. I will only buy stuff I like and I know will fit me.
If I get something that does not work for me I will give it to a charity shop.

Totally this!

I always find what I love on Shein - I would say on average it’s 50% success rate for me in terms of what I keep which is much higher than other sites I’ve ordered from. Just had to send an entire ASOS order back as nothing fitted/looked like it did on the site.
From Shein I have clothes in my wardrobe for years and years - the quality of what I keep is excellent. My favourite summer dress is from Shein and I have it 8 years and it is going strong. You just have to watch out for the higher end brands on there such as DAZY and MOTF.

I do not use Shein as fast fashion. I keep all my Shein clothes for years and get complimented on them every single day ( on my third compliment today for my pleather wrap burgundy skirt).