So I have a confession.

I have been addicted to fast fashion my entire life, which means I've stocked my closet

with super trendy clothes at really low prices.

And then during COVID, when I couldn't go shopping in person anymore, I got addicted

to these influencer videos on Instagram.

These are the free people pull on shorts, and they are so, so cute.

Maybe you've seen these dup videos before.

A woman will show you a pair of free people shorts, for example, that maybe costs around

$100, but then she'll show you the Amazon copy that costs only $20.

The Amazon shorts that I'm going to share next with you look identical to these, though.

I haven't tried them on yet.

I just took them out of the package, but they have the same, like, cute little buttons on the front.

Finding these dupes and then buying them provided the kind of quick dopamine hit that was hard to come by during COVID.

And even now, years later, I've found it impossible to kick the habit.

And I know I should. Fast fashion is horrible for the environment and raises all sorts of ethical

questions about child labor and worker conditions. It also, it adds up financially when you're stockpiling

knockoff sweaters. So I called up the post-style critic, Rachel Tashian, for some help.

Well, I actually have to say it's very impressive that you know this is a problem.

Because I think there are a lot of shoppers and consumers who have just gotten so used to shopping in this way

and simply think they've found this great, intelligent, and affordable workaround.

Rachel also says there's a good economic reason to try to reset my bad shopping habits now.

Tariffs.

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