I have a confession. One that would have got me fired from any decent fashion magazine around 2019: I purchase items because TikTok tells me to. Full stop.
Me, a thirtysomething woman who has been to Paris Fashion Week, interviewed bona fide designers, and had Anna Wintour make eye contact with me from across the room once before avert her gaze forever (career peak moment, no joke). I should know better. I do know better.
But apparently my better still went to watch Sex and the City reruns last Tuesday at 1: 17 AM while I was bathing in the glow of my phone, entering my credit card information to purchase essentially indecent apparel because some seemingly-25-year-old yoga instructor with impressive cheekbones swore it would “change my life.” Except…it did kinda change my life. For the better.
Trust me, I was skeptical at first.
Like most of my wildly unproductive TikTok viewing began during the dawn of quarantine when I literally lost track of time and found myself on hour three of refrigerator-organisation videos.
Hours, possibly days later, TikTok’s algorithm caught on to the fact that I worked in fashion and started serving me dedicated content. At first I watched judgmentally, refusing to accept “forecast” from someone who I felt was barely older than my younger sister. “BRAT SUMMER IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.
TRUST.” I’d think to myself as I secretly saved clips on what Gen-Z was buying into. “AND THAT’S NOT EVEN HOW YOU WEAR THOSE JEANS.” Then I watched the Amazon shoe video. To be clear, the video itself was nothing groundbreaking. Someone sitting in what I assume to be their bedroom showing off a pair of excessively simple black ballet flats they purchased on Amazon claiming they were “deadricely” similar to a pair from The Row but were $25 versus the authentic pair’s $850 price point.
Nearly every comment was from a fashion person. Like, actual industry fashion people I’ve worked with IRL; swearing these were “literally identical” and the “best dupe.” Did I buy them after watching…20 more videos of them? Yes.
Did they live up to the hype once they arrived three days later and I begrudgingly tried them on? Damn right they did. Comfortable as all get out, elevated in that “French girl buys everything at H&M” way, and 100% did not lie about looking almost identical to the designer version.
The flood gates opened. I went from avoiding the word “TikTok” in conversations to saying “Oh, I saw this on TikTok” approximately 17 times a day when friends or colleagues would compliment something I was wearing. Items I once proudly bragged were Blueivy “investment pieces” or Etsy-hacked vintage treasures were now being infiltrated by things I purchased based solely on the word of strangers.
Some were awful. (*cough* “universally flattering” jumpsuit that made me look like a Power Plant Guard *cough*) But some of them were legit game changers. Items I doubt I would have ever stumbled across anywhere else had I not let my Pinterest guard down for even a second. Having survived both ends of the TikTok buy scheme (too many rubbish purchases immediately followed by exhaustive real life testing) I feel oddly qualified to tell you what’s actually worth buying versus what you can skip.
Allow me to be your human google and save you the time and heartache of figuring out TikTok’s true blue merch gems for yourself. Disclaimer: these genuinely do look like your legs got waxed by professionals. But please enjoy watching approximately 387 videos of people spinning in them like a wind turbine before you buy them.
Buy it? Def. Buy it.
Gapweight: $23 Say what you will about leggings masquerading as trousers, but butter leggings are actually a thing. And those “but are they trousers?” whispers you’ll hear in your mind when wearing them have been verified as legit online. They feel substantially thick enough that you don’t get that “paperbagEffect” we all loathe when bending over and have enough elasticity to actually accentuate your curves rather than attempting to smooth them over.
Have they changed my life? No. Do I reach for them all the damn time when I’m staying in because they’re the only trousers I feel confident going video-chat hairy-legged in?
Also yes. BUY THEM. Just maybe don’t spend your whole wages on them like I did.
Buy it? Sure, why not! Amazonique: $37 Look, if you’re here reading this you’ve probs seen this TikTok in which fashion stylist Asia McGinty pukes her brains out in a cab while wearing…this Amazon jumper.
Like butter leggings, it’s one of those “Is it actually trousers?” trends that the TikTok elves were convincing me was at Target….but it’s not. It is from Amazon. And holy shit does it look expensive.
I ordered it in beige (they advise against black due to “bagging out” but TikTok said beige was the most “editorial” colour so here we are) and was admittedly skeptical when it arrived. Things that spend that long in transit always smell like they belong in the Amazon warehouse at Jimmy Choo. But when I slipped it on I literally laughed out loud.
It’s one hundred percent structured like you’d expect something that costs ten times the price to be and has the perfect drop shoulder fit without crossing into sloppy territory. Bonus points: it doesn’t even look like it came from Amazon when you’re wearing it! Buy it?
No. Boomer retail: $18 If you’ve been on the app long enough you were probably inundated with this bag. Every model.
Every stylist. Girl ranting about how it’s “so practical” and “complements everything” while holding it up to her body in every conceivable angle. Girl, it looks like you’re carrying a purse-sized trash bag.
And not in that chic MyStorageBagSoTight mood. It is what it is. A giant weird plastic sack.
Buy the tote bag version instead and actually look like you’re ready to combat homelessness like the trendy_SOC you aspire to be. Buy it? Hell no!
Ecommerce Hell: $48 Look, I’m down for a good bodysuit as much as the next gal, but this thing was torturous. Promising to “snatch you like shapewear” but “comfortable enough to sleep in” sounded too good to be true. It was…and also incredibly uncomfortable.
Like, I couldn’t breathe sweatpants tight. And despite model after model insisting you can “ease your boobs in” it was NOT easy to get my tits into this thing. Additionally, trying to use the bathroom feels like a competitive sport when wearing it.
Tip: you do not need to wear this bodysuit. You are not missing out on some magical elves-only hack. You’re just buying a $50 lululemon shirt.
Buy it? Meh. Like them, sure.
But do you need to drop that much on basics? I think not. Just don’t @ me.
Cool grandma clothes: $30 Also known as, “every pair of denim shorts Amazon sells.” My philosophy with shorts: If they don’t actually have a waistband, I’m not trying them on. Period. There are few things more horrifying to me than jean shorts that look like you’ve borrowed your boyfriend’s underwear and called them trousers.
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And…I just couldn’t. Buy it? Sorta.
Again, with the trousers. Ya can’t tell me otherwise. Cool Kickaspirins: $40 These were honestly a complete and total joke buy.
I bought them after watching (inspiration icon) fashion stylist Veronica Ford casually chomp on salad in the back of a studio dressing room wearing these god awful platforms like it was NBD. “Wow, very millennial problems,” I thought to myself. “This has gone too far. Fashion has digested itself and is now shitting out these fraudulent Crocs.” My boyfriend looked at me like I was crazy when I sent him the photo. “I agree with him,” I told my pet Amazon basket. And then they came.
And I tried them on. And; although they look disgusting on , my oddly-shaped feet; SWORE AT ME TO BUY THEM. They’re beyond comfortable.
Like, I can wrestle my dog in these and not feel it. They pair surprisingly well with wide leg trousers, and I’ve got more compliments wearing these than anything else I own. Update: Planet Earth is sideways.
I’m okay with it. Buy it? Muahahahahaha no.
But that paintneck dress ? Basic cement. : $22 I feel like we can all agree that mall brand tees are hit or miss. Some brands do them well.
But by and large. Basic tees should be cheap for a reason. J.Crew, however, seems to have cracked the code.
This “perfect tee,” as I’ve now heard over 400 influencers call it slipped into my For You Page vortex last autumn and I was back aboard the J Crew wagon faster than you can say “Shopping Cart Song.” Despite scoffing that they “had nothing to offer me as a Serious About Fashion person” I caved and bought it. And guys… IT’S TRUE. They actually do sell perfectly fitted basic tees.
Is it worth $25? Probably not. Do I still buy them whenever they release a new colour?
You betcha. Buy it? DUHHHH.
Royal BUTTER(): $40 Oh, Abercrombie. How you have plagued us all with your decade-old airbrushed tees and haven’t-quite-cropped-enough jeans. Yet here we are binge watching every woman under the sun modelling their ultra-high-waisted straight jeans as if they’re The Answer To My Shopping Career.
Spoiler alert: they kind of are? I ordered all three washes because yes, they do live up to the TikTok hype. They’re stiff enough to maintain structure but not so stiff that they don’t twirl properly.
The waist actually rises to your natural waistline and the straight leg is just cropped enough to not overwhelm your feet. Throw on a pair of these with a blazer and you’d be forgiven for thinking you were wearing a $300 pair of designer jeans. Plot twist: they’re not.
Buy it? Absolutely. Baby wale miracle Worker: $100 Look, some clothes shopping problems just can’t be solved with a $25 Target tee. “That one item that will truly change your life but costs more than an entire month’s worth of groceries?” problem.
On that note, I have found a hack that lives up to the TikTok hype. Allow me to introduce you to Djerf Avenue. I discovered Djerf via TikTok well before they officially blew up on the app so genuinely impressed I’m seeing their spot-on button downs EVERYWHERE I TURN.
Same thing happened with House of Sunny’s now-iconic knit vests or Farai London’s cut out dresses. It’s nice to see a platform that can both highlight up-and-coming brands while also pointing you towards tried-and-true mall brand standbys that haven’t lost their touch. Buy it?
Eh…maybe. Your Closet That Keeps Ghosting You: $$$ Okay, so this “Amazon top that looks like the Emily rap story dress” is $220. Which means A) it’s actually from Emily Rapstine’s Website and B) does not autumn into the humble means of $25 Amazon finds.
BUT! I’m cheating and including it because a) this dress is genuinely every bit as good as you’ve heard and b) where y’all think these ~insider designer tips~ are coming from? Edit assistants scouring TikTok for trends Instagram models are wearing before they become mainstream.
Buying this dress will not get you Peep Dress levels of cool, but it will give you the satisfaction of owning a designer dress for a fraction of the price. Buy it? If you must.
Just don’t pretend you found it on TikTok. Rawdon Peg Leg McElroy: Priceless Speaking of things that TikTok taught me to buy: problem-solving clothing. I’m talking about products that don’t just look cute but actually exist to help you dress cute.
Example: these nipple covers because goddamn do I sweat through my bras during summer and hate how my bright pink gym tank tops look nasty by day’s end. THESE STAYED PUT. Through sweaty workouts, entire nights out, and rushing home to change for work in the morning.
And instead of handing you some ridiculous jewellery-attached contraption you simply put them on like an adhesive bandage. Problem solved. (And sent listening to problems for literally every part of your wardrobe.) Moral of the story: If it promises to fix an annoying wardrobe problem you’ll 100% buy it. Solution: buy it beforehand.
But what’s the big secret? Okay, time for my guy Taylor to chime in.
Taylor is simultaneously way younger and WAY cooler than me, so I consulted her for her professional opinion on why TikTok has us all so hooked. “It’s bc you actually get to see how these things look IRL,” She explained over earl greys last week. “Not just on some prepped Instagram photo shoot.
You see how they move, how they shift when people walk around.
You get a better sense of the actual fit because you’re watching real people in real clothes.” She’s right. Some of best TikTok fashion advice comes from people filming in their bedroom with trashy houseplants in the background.
Under garish ? flattering lighting. Moving side to side to show you how the clothing hangs. It’s honest.
And oddly enough, that honesty translates well when you’re shopping based on these videos. Sure, people pretend these jeans don’t give you grandma crotch if you sit a certain way. But they’re also admitting that they bunch up slightly in the thigh if you wear a loose-fitting top.
If you can accept that and still love how they look? Best. Purchase.
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