SheInside mini-haul review

** PICTURES OF ACTUAL PRODUCTS TO COME SOON:: the parcel came to my office, and I'm literally typing this minutes after opening the parcel **

This was by sheer curiosity of the quality and capability of knocking off other brands. As someone who works in the fashion industry, the capability of manufacturers to knock off other designs fascinate me. Not just if they can (coz let's face it, anyone can), but HOW WELL they can. 

I discovered the website, SheInside, about a month ago, and I want to just share my mini experience with you all. 

I generally tend to stay away from these websites because they are clearly selling knock-offs (hello SheInside for using Zara lookbook pics!!). However, for some reason beyond my own comprehension, I got sucked into purchasing 3 items: a striped blouse, a floral watercolor blouse and one fall/spring jacket. 

Let's start from the very top. The website itself is well made, the descriptions are clear, the pictures are relatively accurate (if you take in consideration that some of them are pics taken from original websites). So the purchasing process is pretty pleasant. Shipping, it took approximately 2 weeks, which is reasonable to me. The only downside is that on their website, when you try to "track" your shipment, there are no updates to the status of your package whatsoever (SKETCHY!). Shipping was free, but you do have to pay duties - in my case 17$ upon delivery. However, they do often offer discounts. I had a 20% discount which gave me a total of $130 after paying the duties. 

So I get my parcel - it's packaged exactly in the same way that the manufacturers at my work send us samples. Read: really not fancy - at all. 

The first thing I noticed in the blouses was the fabric: cheap. In fact you can still feel the starchiness of a newly produced garment on them. Needless to say, I wasn't really impressed. I'll have to wash them to tell you how they truly are. From first glance, the fits look kind of off, they don't seem true to size at all. However, the garments are true to the images. 

Paid 28$

Paid 28$

Conclusion: not impressed with quality, but workmanship is fine for price paid. Cute styles (despite the fact that they're knock offs from Zara). 

The third item I ordered was a fall jacket in burgundy. A coat that I LOVED when it was at Zara last fall with the leather sleeves and perfecto-style collars. I got sucked into buying a knock-off (tsk tsk, never again) at less than 1/2 the price. You know how they say you get what you pay for? Well, this rings VERY true here. The quality is miles away from the version at Zara. Clearly PU sleeves (material wasn't indicated on website, but I had a hunch anyways), and thin wool for the rest of the garment. 

I must say the hardware quality is quite nice, the zipper is smooth and there is no rust. The fit however, is way too boxy from what I had interpreted by the pictures on the website. I will have to amend this myself - not something I like to do when I PAID for the garment. 

Paid on sale at 80$

Conclusion: mediocre quality - decent workmanship.

So, would I buy from them again? For ethical and moral reasons alone, I would not. For quality/value, I must say it's not a loss. The prices are relatively reasonable (especially in the sales) - but again, you get what you paid for. I will mention that had these items been at regular price, I would've thought that I was getting ripped off - big time. 

So final conclusion? Not worth it, at least not for me. 

I hope this has helped a few of you. 

Happy Friday!