- A luxury fashion expert encountered a massive Abercrombie & Fitch haul on TikTok, and decided to speak out.
- @Thriftandtell said rampant haul culture is the "biggest hurdle" to achieving our aspirations.
A luxury fashion influencer condemned rampant haul culture on social media, advising viewers not to purchase heaps of clothing and calling it the "biggest hurdle" to actually assembling "a closet that satisfies you."
The creator Thrift & Tell, who does not show her face online and wished to be identified by her first name, Margie, told Insider she came across an Abercrombie & Fitch haul on TikTok one day and stopped scrolling. "I was like, 'Oh my God, I've never seen so much clothes in one person's hand,'" she said. Many of the items looked similar to one another, she added, and none were particularly remarkable.
While she meant no disrespect to the creator, she responded in a commentary video on October 13 to make a larger point: that indeliberate purchasing can inhibit people from achieving a more aspirational and sustainable closet.
@thriftandtell #stitch with @Shelby Sacco to items mentioned in bio and on ltk (thriftandtell). #qualityoverquantity #timelessfashion #fashiontiktok #sustainablefashion #quality #jewelry #jewelrytok #jewelrytour @Tiffany&Co. @Veronica Beard @J.Crew @ChanelOfficial @Gucci #greenscreen ♬ original sound - Thrift & Tell
"I don't think any one human being needs 40 new things that are all quite similar — probably of varying quality — at once," she told Insider. "I don't even think I would buy 50 new pieces every two years."
In her TikTok, Margie stitched the Abercrombie haul video and roughly estimated that upwards of those 30 items cost roughly $1,500. For that amount, she advised, a shopper might be better served by a more timeless investment, such as a $1,500 Tiffany bracelet, $925 Chanel flats, or a $1,690 Gucci bag.
Margie told Insider that excessive buying can also inhibit people from other expenditures beyond clothes, such as buying a house, paying off debt, or traveling.
"I believe within my soul you could have that watch or that trip or whatever it may be if you bought less of the kind of meaningless stuff that just fills your life and doesn't really satisfy you."
Margie works full-time in tech and started creating content on the side in 2016. She vends her designer goods and other finds on social media and also shares advice to help people participate in the "circular economy" of secondhand shopping.
In July, she shared an Instagram post discouraging people from shopping at Nordstrom's much-touted anniversary sale, which typically gets a massive push from influencers. But Margie said these items have questionable quality and mediocre discounts.
In the future, Margie anticipates hauls may move away from emphasizing quantity and towards rarer finds that underscore "the thrill of the chase."
Most people on TikTok agreed with her assessment ("my mom always said 'buy little and buy GOOD'," one commenter wrote) though many suspected influencers are compensated for their hauls and don't keep all of the items they show off.
"My favorite 'hauls' are thrift hauls or when people find cool, valuable treasures," another commenter wrote. "But where will I get my dopamine?" another asked. "Jk, 100% agree. It took me a long time to value quality over quantity."