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When it comes to the world of fashion, some people feel in the know and others see it as fully alien. But every now and then, a brand will release a selection of items so baffling, regular people and fashion enthusiasts will be brought together by the question “what were they thinking?” 

TikToker Caggiebaby dove into the depths of the worst items she could find from Zara. Denim where denim really shouldn’t be, unhinged pieces for cheap-looking items, and simply bizarre designs all feature. So prepare yourself, get comfortable as you scroll through, and be sure to upvote the weirdest piece you see. 

More info: TikTok

Image credits: caggiebaby

#1

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This is the art project of a small child. This is a wind chime after a hurricane that was outside and this is what remains. Those beads that you put in front of your doorframes but cheap and so scraggly. $129? I could make this and spend negative $5.

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AspieGirl88
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

NGL, I thought it was someone’s first attempt at making a dreamcatcher (either that or a very brittle birdcage)! 😂

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#2

Zara-Questionable-Clothes-Designs

I feel like they're taunting me. This is not a real item. For real people. This is not for a human being. It's labeled as asymmetric. That is the Zara translation of half of something.

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Sue Denham
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Already I'm getting the feeling that they made altogether too many pairs of pants and are now chopping them in half and trying to flog them off.

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Zara is not a company without its share of controversies. From pollution to child labor, the fast fashion industry seems to be attempting a speedrun of all the unethical things a company can do. Its factories in Brazil faced accusations of slave labor, while some customers in Turkey and elsewhere have purchased Zara items, only to find notes inside demanding people actually get the wages they are owed.  

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So imagine you actually spend your hard-earned money on one of the items here, then get a little guilt note inside, telling you that you are supporting a company that refuses to pay its workers what they are owed. If you wonder how much that could be, employees in Bangladesh are sometimes paid less than $40 a month

#3

Zara-Questionable-Clothes-Designs

For $46 you can wear a man's crotch as a top.

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Moo
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I actually really like that people are trying unconventional ways to wear clothes, bUT that being said, companies trying to capitalize off of it for wayyyyyyy overpriced items is just awful. Plus it totally misses the point. Gen Z are finding new creative ways to wear the clothes they already have as to not give into hyperconsumerism as a fight against fast fashion and waste. This is the opposite of that

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#4

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If I saw someone wearing this out in the world, I would speak to them a little bit slower. I would assume something's going on. This is what would happen if you gave a small child full reign over a sewing machine and their own sewers. Told the three year old "look, design your own line, whatever comes to your mind, whatever you can imagine and just instruct these sewers on what you want and how to make it". You're going to wear this once for Halloween if you want to dress up as an escaped mental patient that has a sewing machine. That's going in the landfill guys!

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Peepee
Community Member
10 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Description is disgustingly ableist. As a mentally disabled person I am extremely offended. We are not inferior to you.

Nilsen
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It could be the Denim-on-denim look from 2007 or so. Think Britney just before her breakdown. I'd definitely have a breakdown from this.

Bubs (he/they)
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

whoever that random girl is in almost every one of these, she's really getting on my nerves! push those glasses up already!

Marija S
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Kinda funny because I made an escaped patient costume in HS and made a skirt out of scrapes of denim and it was similar to this 😅

Renee Prete
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

🎶🎶 sometimes you feel like a nut... sometimes you don't 🎶🎶

Harlan Sarvis
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A world class fashion designer could probably have their child do that, call it a new line, and get millions lol.

More!
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No clothes should go into landfill, even this dogs breakfast can be sent for recycling.

Paul Pienkowski
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have a pair of these in my basement. All I had to do was wear them to work at Home Depot for a year and they looked just like that!

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#5

Zara-Questionable-Clothes-Designs

In their most recent attempt to taunt me they have released the asymmetric denim cape. They are taking selling their factory swept floor scraps to the next level.

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You would think that all these “savings” could be used to hire more competent designers, but Zara seems to have a cost-limiting strategy there as well. Both MaXhosa by Laduma, an African brand and designer Tuesday Bassen have accused the company of stealing their work. So it’s not entirely clear if Zara can be blamed for the items in this list, as they may have just copy-pasted a design from someone else. 

#6

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For $45.90 you can now be the proud owner of half an apron.

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#7

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Dollarama bracelets for $30. I used to get these packs of bracelets in loot bags at Laser Tag birthday parties.

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#8

Zara-Questionable-Clothes-Designs

For a mere $40 you too can look this ridiculous. This is to be wrapped around your waist over your other clothes and perhaps... other denim.

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The processes involved in fast fashion might be enough to limit any real feedback on these items. Zara’s one business model states that once a design is finalized, it should be up for sale in a store (generally multiple) within ten to twelve days. It’s quite easy to see poor customer satisfaction with an item is unimportant. After all, everything is cheap and Zara can bet on at least a small portion of the items becoming fashionable. 

#9

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This is what I would get for Christmas when I was five years old and there would be like a little girls makeup set in a package and this was like the carrying case. This is out of a gumball machine in Tokyo. Who's buying this? Not you. Not me. This is a social experiment to see how far we'll go just to buy new s**t.

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#10

Zara-Questionable-Clothes-Designs

This was made in a jewelry class called "Make jewelry in the dark".

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Sue Denham
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And this is before it even has a chance to get tangled in the bottom of your handbag?

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#11

Zara-Questionable-Clothes-Designs

You know what I don't appreciate? They try to make it look runway when you see it in a picture like this, but then you see it on its own - without the lighting, and the model, and the perfect hair cut, and the makeup artists - this is what you would borrow from your Uncle Carl, if you sh*t your pants at Uncle Carl's house and he's a mechanic. This is what he would lend you.

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Eva
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

“Oops! I spilled some bleach on the front!” Just rub it in a bit, we can still sell it.

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As it produces around half a billion (with a b) items a year, they can’t all be winners. Indeed, one of the main criticisms of fast fashion is that it has huge carbon emissions producing poor-quality clothing that will end up in a landfill anyway. Zara isn’t alone here, its rivals like H&M operate with a similar model. 

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#12

Zara-Questionable-Clothes-Designs

The wind chime also comes in the bra version for the same price. This looks like it was made in the dark by a monkey. $130 is groceries for a week.

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Debbie
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's too low on the model, it should fit snugly across a bra. Also, this isn't new. The chain work is nice though. The dangly bits of are horrible, I assume they are plastic. If they were real metal it would be nice.

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#13

Zara-Questionable-Clothes-Designs

This is the amniotic fluid of an alien spacecraft. It is one of those stretchy tops from the 90s that would be the size of your hand and then it would magically fit anyone. If this is already in your house, throw it in the garbage, donate it.
"Coming soon"? "Join the notification list to get this"? I would add my email to a waitlist to guarantee that I never have to see this bag again.

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AspieGirl88
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I’m pretty sure this is what alien pineapples look like! LMAO. 😂

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#14

Zara-Questionable-Clothes-Designs

This was an extreme jumpscare for me. For $55.90 you can now wear the red alien vines from "War of the Worlds" that gave me nightmares for three years straight.

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Many of the items here look like they were taken straight from a collection of first-draft ideas. Zara itself reports that most items are designed in less than a week. And it shows. This only makes sense when you realize that Zara, by its own reports, aims to add 12,000 new items to its collections every single year. Reportedly, around 30,000 designs are rejected. If these were the winners, we are dying to see what were the losers. 

#15

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If you buy this, you'll buy anything and your bank account information should be monitored and your card should be taken away from you. Your money spending habits should be put on like a Britney Spears kind of control hold that her dad had on her.

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#16

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A melted ball of molten lava just dangling on your head.

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#17

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This is awful. It took me a while to accept that these were real. Okay, this is what I would imagine, like, a group of scientists in school, they're learning how to be scientists, and they're given a 3d printer. And their first assignment is just f**king make something, it doesn't matter what it is. But as long as it sounds like this is your first project. This is what the guy that missed all the classes made last minute. These are earrings for an occasion. What is the occasion other than trying to deflect a BB gun pellet?

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Zara waves off the criticism of its process by stating that it can modify existing designs within two weeks to match shifts in demand. Executives argue that a shorter product life cycle helps them match consumer preferences, although we would love to hear and see what a focus group said about some of these denim monstrosities. 

#18

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Reminds me of those birthday parties where you would paint a mug or a plate and then they'd put it in the oven and caramelize it and then deliver it to you after one to two weeks and you'd give it to your mom for Mother's Day.

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#19

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Double buckle matrix glitch wide leg double waistband jeans. This is making me feel really weird. First thing I thought of when I saw this was the Black Cat in the Matrix. You know how you see it twice and you know there's been a glitch. Like, why am I seeing it twice? Why is it a little bit slanted but why is it still identical?

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#20

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The uncircumcised heeled denim ankle boot for $119. Oh, God.

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Why exactly denim features so heavily is unclear. Certainly, workwear, in a case of blue-collar stolen valor, has become fashionable, however, denim is just one subset of materials that fit into this category. It’s entirely possible that Zara knows it can make denim very cheaply and is trying to boost its popularity. Cynics might also argue that these items make the rest of their collection look better in comparison. 

#21

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The gold denim spray painted maxi skirt. What even is this? Where are you wearing this? What does this mean?

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Moo
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There are a lot of designer brands doing like pre-dirty jeans? Like they come looking like they're covered in dirt. Why do rich people wanna look like the working class so bad?? And then treat the working class like garbage??

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#22

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I hate their denim line so much. First of all, denim is the most atrocious, hard on the environment, material to produce in the world. There's enough vintage denim to go around for 17,000 lifetimes. We do not need to be creating new denim at all even for jeans. But for these trend purses that are just going to end up in the landfill? Get two pairs of your dad's old 90s jeans and make a purse. Get your friend that sews to make this purse for you. Don't buy this, we need to stand against this. The amount of water and energy that it takes to create denim to use it on THIS? No. Go thrifting, get a pair of $5 jeans and make a denim tote bag and then donate that when you're sick of it in 10 business days.

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#23

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This is absolutely the worst denim tote bag I've found so far. For $60  you can get a bag that looks like you rummaged it out of a dumpster. This looks like the reusable grocery bags that they sell you in the desert. It looks like it was recovered from a sunken pirate ship.

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Moo
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They think we want worn out garbage...we just want to make the world a better place so we buy secondhand-

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The non-denim items are, generally, not as horrid, but do suffer from a bizarrely inflated price tag. The entire appeal of Zara is just how cheaply you can get the items, it’s not a brand that one spends on. Even the most loyal Zara-heads don’t walk around with the company's logo emblazoned on their backs, chests, legs, or wherever else brands advertise. 

#24

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You don't need to buy this for $46, you can just go back in time to the dumpster behind the Ardene at the mall and dig this out of the trash.

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Moo
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So many of these things I'd like...if they weren't from a corporation with no soul

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#25

Zara-Questionable-Clothes-Designs

I'm pleased to announce that I have found the matching bag for the Sultan 3000s.

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#26

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For $60 you can now rock the Sultan 3000s.

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The items are so cheap, in fact, that prior to 2020, they used major amounts of toxic chemicals as part of the manufacturing process. In theory, these should never reach the buyer, however, neither should the notes from angry factory workers. Since then, Zara has become a major advocate for detoxification in fashion, a somewhat cynical attempt to save face. 

#27

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What is happening, what point of the recession is this? I understand that nostalgia came back during COVID, that's why everyone was buying their old perfumes from the 90s. This isn't nostalgia. This is "give me $60 and I'm going to laugh at you because you'll buy anything that's for sale."

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#28

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Their latest denim bag - $55.90 for an a*s.

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#29

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Upon first inspection this looks like just a regular ugly cargo bag. But then you see it on the model. They want $80 of your hard earned money for this melted garbage bag.
They had a team of visual merchandisers working on this photoshoot. And that team could not make it look like this bag stays in place when you're wearing it.
If a team couldn't do that, what's going to happen to you, in your everyday life? You put this bag on and it melts into an eight foot long sleeping bag. Who's helping you? What visual merchandising team do you have? They couldn't even do it. Look at this picture. They couldn't even do it for the photoshoot. For the lies of the website and the app. They couldn't even make this bag look good.
Almost $100. This is Dollarama that you use as a lunch bag when you're going camping because you're like "if this drops in the mud, I'll just leave it behind. It's fine. It's served its purpose for the two day camping trip. And if I leave it in the woods for a bear, it was worth every penny, it held my sandwiches for 48 hours."

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If you are still in the mood for fashion, Bored Panda has got you covered, you can check out our article on fashion fails from the even cheaper Zara, Shein, or you can scroll through some very questionable boomer clothing choices. If you want something a bit more educational, we have an article exploring the history of why women’s clothes don’t have pockets