In the fast-fashion industry, shoppers are always looking for the perfect balance between quality products and saving a buck. Now, a Shein shopper has discovered that beloved clothing brands like Free People and Missguided are being sold on the fast-fashion site for cheaper than their regular prices.
In a TikTok with over 2 million views as of Saturday, content creator Emiley Hayhurst (@glutenousglob) claims that Shein sells the exact products and convincing “dupes” of clothing from Free People, Missguided, Zara, and H&M for a much cheaper price.
“I know y’all have seen how everyone started getting different clothes from Shein that was tagged Zara, H&M…but I just figured out there’s a whole shop for those brands,” Hayhurst shares.
@glutenousglob I could do a whole a series on this… Bet, odds are all your fav things are made by another massive company and marketing it as a new product. #whitelabeling #fastfashion #exposed #sheinfactory #sheinhaul #freepeopledupes
♬ Killswitch Lullaby (Slowed + Reverb) – The Lonely Tree
With demand from the comments, Hayhurst made a follow-up video where she walks users through how to use the Shein app to search for clothing by shops and brand names.
How to find the dupes
In her original video, Hayhurst shares that the newest brand she found on Shein was the popular bohemian brand, Free People.
“Free People’s on there. A whole section, cheaper,” she says. “More expensive than Shein, but if you don’t want to pay even the cheaper Free People prices, you can shop Shein’s new boho-specific section that is literally just Free People dupes.”
In the follow-up video, Hayhurst uses the green screen feature to share a screen recording of her Shein shopping cart. Indicated above each item in bold black lettering is the shop name of the product. While many of the shop names are Shein brands, Hayhurst identifies Missguided and even the similarities between Shein brands and popular brands.
@glutenousglob i mean even their shop looks like FPs website 🫢 #freepeopledupe #exposed #fastfashion #sheinfactory #sheinhaul
♬ Killswitch Lullaby (Slowed + Reverb) – The Lonely Tree
“Musera, doesn’t this look a lot like very popular surf brands like O’Neill or Rip Curl?,” she says, pointing out a group of Musera bathing suits in her cart.
Clicking on the shop Shein BohoFeels, which Hayhurst refers to as the “Free People Shein dupe shop,” Hayhurst scrolls through the merchandise while declaring, “Guys…that’s Free People.”
In addition to dupes, Hayhurst demonstrates that actually branded Free People clothing is available on Shein by simply searching “Free People ” on the site’s search engine. Sure enough, as she does so, Free People products populate on the green screen.
In the comments of the follow-up video, users agreed with Hayhurst and shared their own experiences with Shein dupes of other brands.
“I have been using Musera on Shein for so long, it’s amazing and the quality is excellent,” one user wrote.
Under her original video, users shared the names of other Shein “dupe stores.”
“They have a Lululemon dupe line called Glowmode and it’s fire,” one viewer shared.
Not everyone’s a fan
Other viewers weren’t so supportive of Shein’s products.
“I have never gotten any item from Shein that was even close to being quality enough to be a dupe of Walmart. Let alone Free People,” one such person shared.
Another viewer replied, “I have! The brands definitely matter and you do usually have to spend a little more than their lowest prices, but it is out there.”
“I’m a Shein girly! Find an outfit, screenshot it, and place it in Shein’s search bar,” another viewer wrote, to which yet another added, “I do that to Google, 90% takes me to Shein.”
Using Google to reverse search images of clothing from more expensive brands and find them on other sites like Shein for cheaper has become a standard practice for many shoppers looking to snag a deal. The Daily Dot has previously reported on an Amazon shopper who went viral after sharing a TikTok that walked users through how to reverse search a product to find it on other sites.
The shopper, Erin Confortini, explained that in the Setting apps of your phone, users could “Search [for] Safari, scroll down to Request Desktop Website, click on that, and make sure this All Websites [tab] is toggled on.” From there, using Safari browser and opening Google, shoppers can use Google Lens to reverse search product images.
By using Google Lens, Confortini found that a dress being sold on Princess Polly for $64 was also being sold for $14.96 on Walmart and $16.99 on Amazon.
Whether you’re a “Shein girly,” feel it’s just too good to be true, or are committed to giving Shein the cold shoulder due to their controversial labor practices, it is clear that the fast-fashion giant is here to stay—and with a quick Google search, may even be stealing customers away from their favorite brands.
As one commenter wrote, “Shein really said ‘oh you wanna drop us for our labor practices? Guess what, we make your favorite store’s clothes but for cheaper!’ Genius strategy.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Emiley Hayhurst via email for more information.
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