Disclaimer: I preach about sustainable shopping and all that non fast fashion jazz quite often. But I caved and bought the Primark co-ord that everyone (literally everyone) has been posting about for the past three weeks. Please don’t @ me.
Whenever everyone from TikTok bloggers to Vogue editors are wearing the exact same cheap £28 ‘matchy-matchy’ set from Primark but look like they spent hundreds at & Other Stories, of course you start questioning your anti-fast fashion beliefs. I kept seeing this girl on my FYP wearing the most gorgeous sage green linen-looking co-ord. At first I thought it was from COS or maybe even Arket.
The comments are always wild under these types of posts; people asking where to buy it, others asking if it’s designer. Literally any and every question under the sun when you come across a piece that looks high quality but is in fact inexpensive.
So you can only imagine my face when she ended up dropping the link and it was…
Primark.
I screenshot the video and immediately messaged my girls group chat saying ‘no fucking way’. Then proceeded to angrily ignore it for about a week.
Why? Did I grow a conscience? Nope.
I had just finished my 6 week no-buy so I was feeling pretty proud of myself. However as the days went on I couldn’t scroll past it without seeing at least 3 people wearing it. Including my good friend Emily who works for a big fashion magazine.
She’s pretty savvy when it comes to the fashion industry, so I was convinced when she wore it, stylised with her cool ass vintage Levi jeans that I needed this co-ord in my life. If you’re under the age of 25 you’ll understand the thought process that comes with deciding you need something you’ve never heard of until literally yesterday. It’s a never ending cycle of Gen Z overthinking.
So there I was Saturday morning wandering around town when I see it. Someone wearing the infamous co-ord walking ahead of me into Starbucks. She looked expensive from behind; minimal branded bag, cool layered greycolour knit crop top, stylish washed black jeans.
The type of person that actually goes into Primark and leaves with a bag. I was sold. Let me paint you a picture of my local Primark; city centre branch on a Wednesday afternoon.
You get the elbows out shoulders swinging TIFFANY COUGH COUGH everyone’s fighting over bargains type of vibe. If you’ve never been let me educate you; rude people pushing past you, children pulling clothes out of your hands, a mile long changing room queue. You know your local Primark.
Walking around looking for the merch section was intimidating. I felt out of place. These women know what they’re doing.
I just stood there awkwardly holding a blue linen looking top looking for the section it was hiding in. When I found it, sis it was wild. Clothes literally crumbled at the corners of the racks as you brushed past, no concept of left and right let alone size order, no hangers.
GAH! Post apocalypse couldn’t have looked better. But alas there I was digging through rejected clothing looking for my dream garment.
The shirt was easy. Medium was a Medium. However the matching trousers were not to be found in my usual 10.
After asking a member of staff (yes they actually managed to smile when I approached them) I decided to try up a size. Wide-leg trousers are meant to be oversized anyways right? Okay so the changing rooms at Primark are hell.
You wait 40 minutes outside in the depressing lighting. To then get in and find everyone taking painfully long mirror selfies for the ‘gram. But alas I was in and ready to try this bitch on.
Okay so disclaimer, when I first looked at it on myself my initial reaction was… it’s not that bad. The material wasn’t as rough as I’d thought it would be. And the shirt actually had a cute boxy fit to it.
It looked liked it was supposed to be that way rather than badly sewn together. Yes it was polyester blend material, yes it was super shiny. But honestly for a Primark item I thought the build quality was alright.
The shirt sleeves were a cute length. It wasn’t too cropped but not too long. Neckline was nice and it did actually look like a matching set when paired together.
Forging that oh-so gorgeous asmatchatset photo you see on everyone’s Instagram. The trousers on the other hand were a different story. The 12 was way too baggy at the waist but the length was perfect.
Tightened it up with my fav belt and called it a day. Was it perfect? NO.
Did I spend £14 on each piece? No. So I made my purchase.
Walking out of Primark with my cute lil number stuffed into my basket, I began mentally preparing outfits to style it for content. Gold hoop earrings to make it look more luxe. Plenty of ring lighting to not show the cheap material.
Oh and for some reason when you post pictures of yourself by your window they automatically look like editorial shoots. Content brain will never leave me. Fast forward to me getting home and trying it on again.
Something was different. In the lighting of my bedroom it didn’t look the same. It looked….cheap.
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Like actually cheap. In the stores and with the ring light shining on me, it looked almost linen. But now I could 100% tell it was that shiny polyester type blend.
Now don’t get me wrong it wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever felt. But it wasn’t as high-quality as I initially thought when looking at everyone’s content. Darn you false lighting andsocial media.
I decided to wear it for real just to test it out. We were going to grab some brunch with the girls so I threw on my new numero and killed a few coolicons for the ‘gram. From a far it looked great!
So so so cozy and effortless. Like every co-ord dreams of being. Fast forward two hours and we’re done brunch.
I’m now eating a pizza I didn’t order people watching. It’s at this moment I realise two things. Number one: the trousers have got even MORE loose.
What was slightly baggy before is now falling off me. Rookie mistake putting a belt through the loops but my trousers are literally falling off! Number two: I am sweating.
Lots. Like actually drenching in my own sweat. Despite looking so breezy and lightweight this cheap material is steaming me up.
And not giving me any type of way to cool down. My friend Jess (who will hate me for telling you this) laughs and says ‘ babe I know you like the outfit. But ya shirt is actually glowing’.
She touches the material and makes a face like ‘yeah I feel kinda bad wearing this but oh well.’ She hugs me and says ‘but it does look so good from far away tho!’ Damn she killed my vibe. I ended up wearing the pieces separately over the next couple of days just to see if they were any good on their own. The trousers paired with a plain cotton t-shirt made for a cute enough loungewear set.
Baggy enough to look like that was the intent rather than falling apart from being worn with the matching shirt. The shirt on its own was okay too. Works decent with jeans if styled right.
No high-quality materials but for twenty quid who honestly cares? Although when I got the bright idea to actually create content with it… That’s when things went downhill.
I set up my ring light, got my angles, picked my cute little backdrop and… VOILA! Posted pictures with the caption ‘wow you wouldnt think these were from primark would you’ and of course got the usual comments back. ‘where can I get one?
Oh my god thats so expensive looking!’ Trust Instagram to find me all thedupe comments. Trust me I even tried filming some try on content. But when you film things it show’s so much more.
The movement of the fabric looking cheap. The shine under certain angles. It was like God was literally shining a light on how shitty this material really was.
Thank you for helping fund my water bill, Jesus. Moral of the story: if you’re looking to it from a fashion POV? Buy it.
For twenty quid? Cant really complain. But if you’re looking to actually wear it and not feel like you’re melting?
Don’t. At the end of the day it’s what you make of it. Yes the material is not great.
But for the price you can’t really expect it to be. Will it last me a long time? Probably not, but then I don’t expect my shirts from Urban Outfitters to either.
Will it look expensive? If you dress it right yes! Does it look like the pictures you see on everyone’s Instagram?
Maaaaaybe. But here’s the thing. On Instagram with a million dollars worth of hidden bracelets and ring lighting, yep this garment does look expensive.
Take it off that stupid photo-booth stage and into real world where it’s actually 20 degrees and you’re wilting under your own sweat. NO. So like I said, if you have the money and want it for some good pictures?
Go for it.
But if you’re looking to actually wear it and feel comfy?
I’d skip it.
Something that I know will be comfortable for me. Something I know will last me more than a season. Sure it may cost me an extra £30 but at least that shirt won’t be shredding at the seams in two wears.
As of writing this I’ve washed it once and it’s already showing signs of wear. The shirt is okay but now needs ironing. The trousers have even lost more shape around the waist.
I’d say it’ll last me about 3 more washes before I couldn’t give this a shit about wearing it outside of my house. Like I said though… DON’T LET ME STOP YOU FROM BUYING FAST FASHION.
I’m just ranting to people who actually listen and care about my thoughts. You do you boo.
