The Danger of Haul Videos

A while ago while I was trying on clothes, I had a thought...

Every time I order clothes online, the majority of it is sent back either because it a) it doesn't fit or b) it doesn't suit me. This is a very common occurrence for me. Logically I know that it isn't a big deal, but I always end up feeling like shit.

A lot of the times I think that we let clothes sizes define us, when in reality they shouldn't. Especially as I own jeans in size 10, size 12 and size 14 and they all fit me perfectly... This is the reality for most of us, it's so common, but why don't we talk about it more?

It hit me when I was watching a haul video on YouTube (I won't be mentioning or calling out any influencers as this is NOT the point of this post), and I noticed that EVERY. SINGLE. ITEM. in her haul fitted her perfectly and looked amazing. There were no items that didn't fit, suit her and no mention of anything being ordered in multiple sizes or anything like that at all. After looking at even more videos (again not all), a lot of other haul videos made by other influencers were the same.

I get it. I get that if you're working with a brand, they are paying you to talk up the brand and I know that you will have to get the content approved, but just because something doesn't fit or suit you, surely that can't have a negative impact on the brand? For example, if I bought a clothing item from a brand and it ended up being too orange for me (I'm ginger, you can imagine how 'clashy' that can be), that wouldn't stop me from shopping there again...

My point is, if all we're seeing online is clothes only looking good and always fitting, then surely that's got to have some kind of impact when items don't fit you? I am 23, and subconsciously these things still affect me, I can only imagine how it would impact 15 year old Sophie. I think a little bit of honesty would go a long way and allow us to laugh about it more. Not everything is going to suit you or fit you.

I wasn't sure about this topic, I didn't know if people would feel the same as me, if anyone else cared... So, I asked.

I did a little survey, asking 20 girls (aged from 18 to 25) what they thought.

'I rarely see a haul video where items either don't fit the influencer, or don't look good on them'

Only 5 girls disagreed with this statement.

Which means 15 girls agreed!

I LOVE that there are influencers out there who are being honest, I don't think they realise how much of a positive impact their content will be having. However, from these results, it's clear there are still a lot of videos out there, claiming perfection. Perhaps these girls are just perfect ( or lucky with the items they receive), but something tells me that this 'perfection' isn't very realistic. So I thought I would try and prove that point in my next few questions.

'When ordering online, I have to order multiple clothing sizes because most brands size differently (and at times inaccurately)'

All 20 girls agreed with this statement.

I am aware of how small this sample is on the scale of things but...

If all 20 girls agree with this, then shouldn't it be more common for influencers to order clothes that don't fit? (Or at least mention that they've ordered multiple sizes? And that some of their items didn't fit.) Yes! So does that mean they are just not showing this?

P.S I am not even going to go into the absolute MESS that is women's clothing sizes.

'When I order clothes online, I return a lot of items because it either doesn't fit me, suit me or looked different on the model'

19 girls agreed with this statement.

If this is such a common thing in the young women I asked, then surely influencers (where some of them are within these age groups and base their content on being 'relatable') would have items that either didn't fit them or look good on them?

And I think showing this, and normalising it, would make a difference. Not only to show people how normal (and definelty not a big deal) it is when clothes don't fit, but even as a guide for girls to navigate through the mess of what is women's clothing sizes.

('I am size 12 and this doesn't fit... size up in this, size down in this, for bigger busts maybe not... etc)

'I have at times felt bad, like it's my fault, when clothing items don't fit me'

18 of the 20 girls agreed with this...

This answer, it was sad for me to know that so many of the BEAUTIFUL girls I know agreed to this, but it also made me feel a little better that I wasn't in that boat on my own. Perhaps if 'that boat' was more open and we all talked about it, we would change our attitudes about our own bodies?

I have wanted to write about this topic for a while, unsure how to approach it. I feel like it's an important subject and more people should be talking about it. So, I hope if you relate to this in anyway, reading this will be of some help.

And also, thank you to the influencers who are honest.