One of the things criticisms made about fast fashion is that the clothes are as cheap as a takeaway sandwich (or a latte, or insert cheapish consumable of choice here). But is that true? 

I looked at the prices of all the new items in my 90 days of Shein capsule wardrobe and compared their prices with sandwiches, coffees and other items from the popular coffee shop chain Pret a Manger and the results were surprising. 

(Why Pret? For the totally unscientific reason that it’s my favourite coffee shop chain and they have a handy list of prices on their website.)

The cheapest food item I found on the Pret site was a packet of Sea Salt Crisps priced at a rather extortionate £2.10, but still cheaper than any of the Shein clothes I purchased. 

However… two items of clothing were cheaper than either the Pret All Butter Croissant or a Pret Latte. 

The cheapest item of clothing was the DAZY Solid Drop Shoulder Tee at just £2.58, followed by the SHEIN LUNE Eyelet Embroidery Knot Front Tee. 

Next were the SHEIN Clasi Solid Wrap Detail Tee (£3.33) and the SHEIN LUNE Women’s Batwing Sleeve Round Neck T-shirt (£4.35), both of them cheaper than the Mature Cheddar & Pret Pickle Sandwich at £4.90. 

My only new layering piece, the Dazy-Less Women’S V-Neck Drop Shoulder Long Sleeve Sweater (£5.99) cost less than Pret’s Avo, Olive & Toms Baguette (6.20). 

I even managed to buy a pair of shoes — the 2024 New Style College Wind Black & White Outdoor Sports Shoes for Women (£7.26) — for less than Pret’s Hummus & Falafel Mezze Salad (8.30).

The only Shein item of clothing that was more expensive than all the Pret lunch options (except the sharing platters) was the Dazy-Less Drawstring Waist Cargo Wide Leg Denim Pants Baggy Jeans at £15.29. 

Pretty much everything I bought from Shein was on sale. From my research I see that they mark down items to shift them quickly, especially when the line isn’t selling well, and it also seems to be a tactic to keep people shopping; when you go on the site there are discount codes popping up all over the place. 

I admit, Pret is an expensive option for sandwiches. Whenever I go there I pick up  a few items for lunch and am always surprised when the price somehow comes up at £14.95. 

You can get a Cheese and Pickle sandwich from Tesco for £2.10, which is 48p cheaper than the cheapest Shein item… but that still begs the question: should a t-shirt cost almost the same as a pretty basic sandwich from a supermarket? 

And if you look at the Shein site and the cheapest pieces on there, they actually are cheaper than that Tesco Cheese and Pickle Sandwich. 

The cheapest item of clothing I found on the site today was the Swim SXY Hollow Out One Shoulder Bodycon Cover Up Dress at £1.49 — admittedly there wasn’t a whole lot of fabric in it and ‘dress’ was hardly the word… Only barely more expensive (but an actual garment this time) was the Essnce Women’s Tie Dye Cropped Tank Top at £1.50. 

Take into account the material (that particular t-shirt is cotton), the labour, the transport and it’s hard to make sense of the prices. 

Everything I wore on Day 36 of my 90 days of Shein challenge:

DAZY Solid Drop Shoulder Tee, white

Black and white stripe skirt (thrifted) 

2024 New Style College Wind Black & White Outdoor Sports Shoes for Women

DAZY Women’s Floral Print Sleeveless Round Neck Sleep Dress,

3pack Lace Trim No Show Brief, pink

Lace Flower Pattern Thin Underwear Set, bra