Day 88: 10 things I learned from the 90 days of Shein challenge

9/20/2024

Day 88: 10 things I learned from the 90 days of Shein challenge

Just two more days to go of the 90 days of Shein challenge, where I wear a small collection of clothes from Shein for three months to test whether fast fashion really is disposable.

Now the challenge is nearly at an end, I can share some of the things I learned from wearing my tiny Shein capsule wardrobe.

1. There’s no ‘Shein aesthetic’. With the places I usually shop at, mostly high street like Jigsaw, Hobbs, New Look etc, there’s a distinct aesthetic even while collections change from season to season. Shein has multiple brands — Dazy, MOTF, Class, Frenchy are just a few of them — all with their own style.

2. Shein is addictive. In just one transaction I went from feeling guilty about even visiting the site — given Shein’s poor record on workers’ rights and environmental protection — to being eager for the next hit

3. New is usually cheaper than second hand, especially when you take into account postage costs. And that’s a really bad thing for the resale market — which is one way of keeping things out of landfill.

4. The sizing was very inconsistent. I’m about a size 12-14, which is L-XL. Some of the L pieces I ordered were huge and some of the XLs were too small.

5. Some Shein clothes are nice. I really like the wide-legged trousers and white cotton tee, the leggings look good, and the socks were so soft and lovely to wear when they first arrived that my daughter kept taking them.

6. Bad smells are a thing. I had to return one top I ordered because of the chemical stench that hit me as soon as I opened the package. I can only imagine what it’s like to work in the factory where it was produced.

7. Fabric content matters. I’ve been thinking about which pieces I want to keep and incorporate into my wardrobe, and almost all of them are made of cotton rather than polyester. I especially don’t appreciate polyester pants on a hot day.

8. Having said that … I mind wearing polyester less than I expected and should be less of a precious princess about it.

9. Shein made me trendy. I normally have a very classic look, and I buy most of my clothes second hand or vintage. The clothes I bought from Shein screamed ‘spring 2024’. That was pretty cool at first — although by early September I felt all wrong again.

10. Almost all the clothes are still wearable after 90 days. The bag broke (but I mended it), the hoodie pilled dreadfully, but everything is still usable. Is that actually a good thing though? With clothes this cheap and this trendy it’s questionable how long people will keep them in their wardrobes. 100 years after I’m dead, you can be sure the polyester pieces will still be gradually disintegrating in a landfill site.

Everything I wore on day 88 of the 90 days of Shein challenge: