8 Pro Tips to Shopping at SHEIN

My personal pro-tips to shopping at SHEIN to get the best experience.

If you’ve been following me for awhile, you’ll know I’m a huge fan of shopping at SHEIN.com.  I get more than half my wardrobe from there and especially love their dresses and special occasion wear!

They have many lust worthy items with great dupes of designer items and the latest seasonal trendy pieces, all at very affordable prices.

While I do love shopping at SHEIN, sometimes SHEIN gets a poor reputation for their inconsistent sizing, or issues where material or quality weren’t quite as expected.

But over the last few years I’ve probably ordered from them over a dozen times, as well as worked with them on numerous occasions. Through trial and error I’ve manage to learn how to shop smarter at SHEIN for pieces that fit properly, meet my expectations and how to find items I truly love! 

I truly believe SHEIN is worth shopping at since they’re so budget friendly and affordable, and you can actually find good quality pieces if you know what you’re looking for.

I frequently get asked for tips for shopping at SHEIN, and questions like: SHEIN is legit? Is SHEIN good? Is SHEIN trustworthy? Is SHEIN a scam? Is SHEIN reliable?

So today I thought would take some time to share some tips so you can get the most out of your shopping experience at SHEIN.

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What is SHEIN?

Before I get into my SHEIN shopping tips, I should probably explain what SHEIN is in case you’re not familiar with the online retailer. SHEIN.com is an online clothing store based out of China for women, kids, and men, with their biggest selection of items being for women.

They carry affordable fast fashion clothing, shoes, and accessories much like Forever21, Zara, H&M, but at even better prices. And recently starting to carry homewares as well! 

Many items may look like pricey designer pieces, but are very inexpensive, and following suit, are not as high quality as the original pieces as well.

So now let’s talk about what SHEIN is good for, and what it’s not good for, so you can understand what kind of clothing items you should be shopping for.

Shopping at SHEIN is good for:

• affordable budget friendly fashion forward pieces
• seasonal and trendy pieces you don’t want to spend a lot on
• trying out new styles you don’t want to spend a lot of money on
• affordable accessories like bags, hair accessories, hats, & sunglasses
• dresses and other items that you might only want to once for a special event. 
• affordable housewares, home accessories and stationary

Shopping at SHEIN isn’t good for:

• durable and high quality pieces of clothing, shoes and accessories
• consistent sizing from item to item
• fast shipping if you need items in a timely manner

8 Pro Tips to Shopping at SHEIN and
Shopping to Get What You Expect

Now that you understand what types of clothing you should buy at SHEIN , I’m going to share my pro tips so you get the best shopping experience at SHEIN, along with how to carefully your choose items so that you’ll end up happy with when they arrive.

1.  Thoroughly Read the Description of the Item

My first SHEIN shopping tip is to throughly read the description of the items before deciding on making a purchase. This will allow you will know how the item is suppose to fit and details on the construction and materials.

There are 2 basic sections you should read: size & fit, and item description. 

Size and Fit:

Here’s an example of the Size & Fit section:

This section will tell you the size the model is wearing along her measurements. So you can benchmark the size of the clothing. If you see the model is wearing a medium or large you’ll know that you’ll probably have to size up too.

Also the fit type and stretch of the item is important. This will give you an idea if the item is slim or oversize and if the material has a lot of stretch to help you determine how the item will fit on you.

The last part is the measurements of the items itself. And like I mentioned earlier, keep this in mind it’s not for your size, but actual measurements of the piece of clothing itself.

Item Description:

The item description is another area you’ll also want to read through closely. 

Sometimes you might find that the item doesn’t quite look or fit exactly like on the model, so you’ll want to read this section thoroughly. 

It provides details on style, pattern type, season, length (cropped of long), fit type, material, composition, and stretch etc. So you can have a better idea of the fabric, material and fit of the item.

2. Understanding the Sizing Measurements

This is VERY important for getting the correct sizing. Clothing from SHEIN does run fairly true to size to North American sizing. I typically wear a size small (sometimes XS) and I’m 120 lbs and 5″4. 

However I find that sizing does vary from item to item, which is why checking your measurements and matching them to each item is important. First of all you should know your own measurements before you start shopping so these numbers are meaningful to you. 

For tops, the most important measurement is your chest, and for bottoms it’s your hips. In order for your clothes to fit right, these two are the most important measurements you have to get correct 

Your chest is the measurement of your bra band size, so under your breasts. And for your hips, it’s the widest part of your hips. 

Also keep in mind that when they give measurements it’s of the clothing itself, not just for your size. For example I’m 36 inches in the hips, but if it’s a flowy dress, the measurement might be 50 inches, and that’s still okay.

3. Check out the Customer Reviews & Uploaded Photos

One of the most helpful things when it comes to shopping on SHEIN is the reviews section. SHEIN allows and encourages their customers to provide reviews. 

The reviews are very valuable since they provide real, candid thoughts from people who have bought the item you’re looking to purchase. Often, reviewers leave photos of what the item looks like on, and provides valuable insight with sizing details or materials.

There have been so many times where reading the reviews help me decide to buy something on not. Also, seeing an item on a real person is helpful to imagining how it may look on yourself, as well as give you a more accurate look at the material/quality.

4. Manage Your Expectations

If you’re someone who typically spends $50 on a top and then orders a $10 top from SHEIN, there’s going to be some noticeable differences in quality compared to what you’re used to.

However for a $10 top, it’s still going to be quite a nice top, just don’t expect it to be on the same level as its something that’s 5 times it’s price.  I’d say 9 times out of 10 I’m really happy with the quality of the product I get based on the price. And I have seen the exact same items at Zara for double the price.

The above being said, if you’re willing to spend $30 and up on an item at SHEIN, I have to say the quality is really quite good.

I have a few sweaters price in the $25-35 price range and they’ve lasted me a couple years so far. I also have some dresses I’ve purchased around the $50 range and they are really more like a $200 quality.

So if you’re looking for more substantial pieces that will last you, spending a little more can really help with that.

5. Order Early if You’re Planning for a Special Event

Average shipping time is usually about a week to 2 weeks, and most of the time I’d say it comes right in the middle at a week and half. Though I’ve had occasions where my order has come in under a week as well.

However, if you’re trying to dress for a specific event, or occasion, I’d say to order at least 3 weeks ahead just in case.  Also they have free shipping if you order more $40 so it’s not bad at all!

Update: With the current world situation, shipping times are currently longer than usual. In December, placed an order and it arrived in about 3 weeks.

6.  Look for Promo Codes

As if SHEIN isn’t already cheap enough, there are almost always promo codes floating around!

Here is the most recent code they have on right now for the an extra 15% off – YESMISSY15! 

7. Steam Your Clothes When You Get Them

This isn’t a shopping tip per se, but it is a something that will make a big difference!

Your clothes will come packaged tightly and pressed together, which means they often come with big wrinkles and creases.

It’s important for you to steam or iron your clothes before you pass judgment on them. For many items it will make a world of difference!

8. Buy the Shipping Insurance

If you’re new to shopping at SHEIN, during the checkout process at SHEIN.com there is an option to add on return & shipping insurance for $2.99. I’d highly recommend this if you’re on the fence about how the items will fit.

This feature allows you to return items for free, no questions asked. If you’re unsure about shopping at SHEIN, this provides reassurance that if something doesn’t fit, or isn’t up to your quality standards you can simply send it back.  Learn more about their shipping and return policy here.

And even if you decide not to purchase shipping insurance, you’re still able to return your items for a flat fee of $7.99 which is deducted from your refund!  

I use these shopping tips every time I shop on SHEIN.com and they’ve help me make better purchases for items I truly love. 

I hope you found this SHEIN shopping guide useful! Let me know if did a SHEIN haul of your own in the comments below.

P.S. SHEIN has a huge sale on for Black Friday, so happy shopping! 

XOXO,