Tiktoker 'De-influences' People and Urges Them to Make Better Shopping Decisions
De-influencing is trending on TikTok
In an age when every page you come across on social media is either directly trying to sell you something or indirectly leading you to buy something, de-influencing is slowly becoming a thing. When someone is convincing you not to spend your hard-earned money on something that is not worth it, they are de-influencing you. Currently, there are more than 200 million views on TikTok with the hashtag de-influencing.
Canadian TikToker @wangjenniferr took to the video-sharing platform and tried to convince people against buying clothing at big-name stores. "Quality comes with a price tag and fast fashion greatly skewed our perception of what quality clothes should cost,” she told Daily Hive. According to Wang, some brands like Fort, J Crew, Aritzia, and Alo Yoga don't sell products that justify their price tag.
Being an environmentalist, Wang doesn't shop from this brand
Wang's review about Aritzia brought her to the spotlight.“Let me show you some stuff I would never buy from Aritzia and why,” she said in a video that was originally posted in September 2023. She shared how the ripped fabric of some of the items is below par and a few items are even made of "vegan leather." "I consider myself an environmentalist, so to see the increasing problem of textile waste pollution and being a fashion enthusiast, I decided to do something about it," she told the publication. She has since made many videos exposing certain brands that she felt were not selling things that should be bought.
Wang exposes more brands and products
In another video that received over 2 million views, Wang talks about the Vancouver-based brand, Oak and Fort. "I can’t believe people think Oak and Fort is good quality," she says in the video as she begins her review of a sweater she spotted on the store’s window mannequin. “A whopping $108 and for what? For an uneven knit with huge holes in it, this isn’t even straight,” she added. The inside is super messy, and it’s acrylic. Out of all synthetics for sweaters, acrylic is the worst,” Wang continues, explaining that the material is “deceiving because it is soft,” but only for a few washes.
She also talks about the activewear brand, Alo Yoga, "If you shop at Alo, can you tell me why? This sweatshirt is not even 100% cotton; it looks like something you could buy at Walmart and costs $130," she says. "Sixty-four dollars for this see-through shirt. You can see the tag and messy stitching. I just don’t see the hype here," she added.
Wang urges people to take a look at the stitching of the clothing before actually making a purchase. "Always check that the stitching is even, look for missing stitches, and check where the stitches end to make sure it looks neat and there isn’t any excess bulk or untrimmed threads," she says.
Wang aims to aid people make informed choices
Besides de-influencing her followers about certain products, Wang also makes recommendations. "Every store balances their inventory between high and low-margin goods. So, of course, some items are worth buying, and others aren’t. My content is focused on education to help shoppers pick out the worthwhile items and leave the rip-offs behind," she told the publication.
"Every store has some worthwhile items, and some aren’t. That’s why I hesitate to recommend brands or stores because a brand name doesn’t guarantee quality," she added.
Is Wang's content credible?
She says that she has academic research skills backing her knowledge, "Although I don’t have a formal fashion background, it’s easy for me to apply my research to learn about fashion. I’m also a self-taught seamstress, so that experience helped me be more astute about clothing construction and stitching," she said.