Madeleine Scherzer worked as a lifeguard all summer so she could afford the perfect outfits for her senior year of high school. She bought a $148 Free People sweat set and a $68 Lululemon T-shirt, plus other items from Altar’d State, Adidas, Pacsun and LoveShackFancy so her haul would really pop on TikTok. In total, she spent about $700.
“I really focused on more of the name-brand stuff,” said Scherzer, 17. “I know what other girls are buying at my age.”
Back-to-school shopping isn’t what it used to be. Where families once hit the mall to refresh basic wardrobe staples and hit up Staples for pencils and notebooks, now teenagers have made a ritual of ordering or buying heaps of designer clothing, expensive beauty products and trendy backpacks. From the outside, their “haul” videos on TikTok might seem like inordinate displays of wealth and status, but for the people who make and consume them, they’re a rite of passage. Teens and tweens watch to figure out how to fit in and cultivate their personal style. A tale as old as time, just now with a smartphone.