Urban Outfitters Review
Urban Outfitters: the good, the bad, and the ugly (in my opinion) and ratings if you want to skim!
I didn’t know this until recently, but Urban Outfitters started out in the 2000’s as an upscale sort of chic snobby store that ended up being the subject of a lot of comedy jokes. Safe to say it’s got a reputation, though depending on who you ask, that it could be good or bad.
Clothing
Trend relevance: 8/10
UO is a brand that definitely follows where fast fashion is headed, with a slight hippie/quirky influence. They remind me of a more outdoorsy spin on Free People, and will generally keep up with style trends.
Durability/Quality: 6/10
Like other fast fashion brands, UO clothes are made cheaply and while none of their items have fallen apart on me, they definitely use polyester and rayon in most articles of clothing and none are stitched very meticulously. In other words: they’re not horrible, but definitely not the best and not fit to last, especially for the kind of money you’ll pay.
Fit: 6/10
UO caters to the current body standard, just as it caters to the current fashion standards. I’ve tried on many a pair of pants and dresses that should be my size, but either don’t fit at all, or are not flattering in the least. This isn’t to say that sometimes things don’t work nicely, but definitely prepare for their stuff potentially not to work on your body if you are above a size 8.
Variety: 9/10
Another (possibly toxic) trait of fast-fashion brands: they have SO MANY damn clothes. I don’t think even with my insane shopping stamina that I’ve ever made it to the bottom of their t-shirt or pants page on the website. It just goes on! And that is concerning to me as a consumer, knowing that with more variety comes less quality, and often points to mass production by severely underpaid workers. However if you’re looking for something trendy and within their aesthetic, chances are you’ll find it somewhere on their website.
Price 5/10
Honestly, the thing that stops me from impulse buying at UO is the sometimes crazy prices for stuff that just doesn’t seem worth it. I’ve seen them charge $300 for a knit cardigan, or $90 for a silk slip dress that’s made of so little material it seems insane (especially considering it’s often not silk, but polyester). They sort of redeem themselves with the sales they often have, but for what they charge for their clothing, I feel they have very little to show in terms of sustainability, ethics, or clothing quality.
Worth it? 6/10
No. Not in general. If I were to quantify all the times I’ve ever bought from them (which is a good number), I would have to say that the majority of the time, it doesn’t fit right so I don’t wear it, I have to return it, or it just ends up not being one of those timeless closet staples that I wear consistently. You may find some hidden gems here for sure, but I definitely would spend my money somewhere else in general.
Brand
Ethically, UO is also definitely not doing enough. None of their supply chain is certified by labor standards, and they only scored 11-20% in the Fashion Transparency Index. I could go more in depth about this brand and the reasons to maybe not give them your money, but I’ll just advise against it. Nowadays, I sometimes go to this site to look for clothes when I can’t find them anywhere else, and even then I end up leaving things in my cart and not buying anything.
I’m happy though to link pieces I actually liked from here and similarly clothing that I found to be a disappointing buy- there is certainly a lot to like about UO which is why they’re still so popular!
Feel free to ask any questions, and I hope this helped ;)
xxx