I have ordered from Shein several times now and I really enjoy it for the most part. It ships relatively quickly, they have easy returns, and they’re affordable! I know they are a fast fashion company and that 1. that is damaging to the environment and 2. they are not always ethical to their employees. To deny those would be silly. I do not condone unethical treatment of employees or unethical wages and I do think it is important that we all do our part to take care of our earth. Still, finding trendy, affordable clothes for curvy or plus size individuals is HARD. Quite frankly it can be near impossible. Brands are either ethical and pricey or they are affordable but sell tacky floral print clothes that are either really flowy or are skin tight (my plus size folx know what I’m talking about).
So while I do not think anyone should get their whole wardrobe from Shein or other fast fashion companies. It is important to acknowledge the lack of accessibility for affordable AND fashionable clothing for larger bodies.
So since I’ve shopped at Shein quite a few times, I have learned what works and what doesn’t. Basically, how to avoid one of those “what you see on online vs reality” moments. Here are my tips!
- REVIEWS, REVIEWS, REVIEWS
Check the reviews! If the item does not have at least 1000 favorites and several reviews WITH pictures, then you’re risking the item being awful! Every item I purchase has several reviews and I check all the pictures in the review to make sure the quality and the fit are how I want it to be.
- Check the size guide
Shein is pretty accurate with their size guide. I usually wear an XL or an XXL but on Shein’s site a lot of the clothing I purchase is a 3X. It’s normal for an Asian based company to run small, so don’t feel discouraged if you need to size up based on the number size.
- Don’t expect great quality
These items are not going to be your forever pieces. They are going to last in your closet for a year or two and that’s about it. Maybe longer if you’re lucky. Get your basic items like long sleeve tees, sweaters, and jeans on other sites, because the quality on Shein is not always great. However, if you’re looking for a trendy skirt, pair of pants, or crop top, try them out! You really get what you pay for, so if you buy a $13 skirt, you are getting a $13 skirt.
- Make a Shein account if you think you’ll return any items
This is one of the few websites where I think having an account is really helpful. You can “favorite” items you like if you want to make a bulk purchase but only find a few things at a time. You can also do returns really easily through your account if you don’t like an item. I have never had an issue with returns luckily!
- Buy your clothing items in bulk
I tend to make a few larger purchases 2-3 times a year from Shein. I’ll get about 10 items for maybe about $100 and then will usually return about 4 pieces. Shein usually has sales and deals that give you free shipping or expedited shipping if you spend over a certain amount. This is helpful since Shein is notorious for having slow shipping. I however, have never had an item take more than 2 weeks to arrive!
- Wash your clothes
This goes along with expecting low quality clothes. Just like when you order clothing on Amazon, sometimes they can smell a little weird. I don’t know if it’s the dye in the product or if it’s been sitting in plastic a little too long, but some of the items smell weird. A simple wash fixes this. That being said, I’ve never had an issue with the smell while trying on the clothes. Everything has been safe on my skin, but I also don’t want to risk it so I wash all my items before wearing them for a full day.
I hope these tips were helpful for you! Shein can be hard to navigate and the shopping experience can be rather disappointing if you don’t follow these steps. Let me know if this was helpful and if I should do this for other clothing stores I shop at!