Fashion or Foe: Do Not Buy...

     Do not buy clothes that are advertised on social networking sites. I came close to doing this recently and I am glad I didn't. As I mentioned in a recent blog post, I has to part with a beloved pair of Black, just under the knee, suede, non-heeled boots. They were in a word- perfect. I wore them to work, out with friends, and even a few times unexpectedly into a surprise snow flurry. I became crazed over the last 6 weeks looking for a replacement pair for next Fall, hoping to score a deal as Winter boots made their way out of stores for summer stock. But, I struggled. I found "The perfect" boots a few times only to have my hopes dashed. One pair seemed great except for a 2 1/2" platform built inside the boot while another seemed promising but it only came in a Tan suede fabric. A third pair were ideal but the boot shaft height came way over my knees, making it impossible to wear unless I went full Barbie and stopped bending my legs.

One pair of my new boots
(c) SeeHearReadPop

     To make this long story short, I ended up with two different sets of boots one from Sears and another via 6pm.com, Both of which do not fully meet my needs but due to their discounted pieces will work until I find "The Boots." In my brief desperation, I considered ordering boots from an advertisement I saw on Facebook. It seemed too good to be true. A recent Buzzfeed investigative article confirmed my fears, it was clearly some kind of scam when boots are available for $9.99 from a company you've never heard of in China. At first you might think it's just cheap because it's straight from the manufacturer. But the article goes in-depth about customers ordering boots, dresses, tops etc.. from a variety of these sites advertised on social media sites and nearly all of the cheap clothing arrived in a much different condition (color was off, fabric was different, items smelled horrible) than the seller claimed. Of course, trying to reach their customer service is near impossible and many clients have not been successful in trying to get their money back. I recommend reading their in-depth piece before your next online shopping trip.