If the thought of walking into a luxury designer store terrifies you then you’re going to love the latest shopping trend on TikTok.
Shoppers around the world are sharing their budget-friendly finds from luxury shops like Chanel, Prada and Louis Vuitton.
First spotted by Glossy, the #cheapestthing trend is increasingly growing in popularity, showcasing the cheapest things you can purchase at designer stores.
Owning luxury items has always been a status symbol for the wealthy but because of this TikTok trend, more people can enjoy some retail therapy in designer stores.
Whether it’s a Louis Vuitton keyring, a designer lighter or a Saint Laurent heart padlock, the purchases usually cost anywhere between R100 to R1000 which is very reasonable for designer items.
Seemingly though, the trend is about more than just the actual item purchased. In the thousands of videos featured under the hashtag #cheapestthing or even #bougieonabudget, people seem more excited for the packaging and the whole unboxing experience.
Unboxing videos have become really popular on social media through the years especially in the tech industry where content creators would receive the newest tech gadget and then film themselves unboxing and reacting to it.
@steffieinthecityI bought one of the cheapest things you can buy from Chanel 🖤 Sometimes we all need a little moment of luxury… ##fashion ##tiktokfashion ##FanArt♬ Up – Movie Theme – Giampaolo Pasquile
Content creator Steffie Price attested to this in a Glossy interview saying, “One of the fun things about ordering directly from Chanel’s website, for example, is that no matter what you order, you’re treated to a luxurious unboxing experience.
“A lot of people will also buy the cheapest thing just to get the box or packaging to put on a display as a flex.”
The TikTok account, @securethebaggagee, has a number of videos where she shares the cheapest items she has bought from designer brands.
One of her most popular videos is where she unboxes her $8 (R112) Saint Laurent lighter. Under it, one doubtful viewer asked, “It’s a $0.50 lighter n ur gonna [and you are going to] give $8?” To which the creator simply responded, “Yup.”
The lighter is currently out of stock on the Saint Laurent website.
This trend might seem a bit unreasonable to some but in a way, it is helping make luxury brands accessible to more than just a few people.
