Why This TikToker's Odd Hack To Travel With Clothes That Don't Fit You Sparked Outrage
If you've read our complete guide to packing light, you understand the importance of carefully curating vacation outfits. You'll choose clothing pieces that are comfortable but stylish, making you Instagram- or TikTok-ready. People spend hundreds of dollars on vacation clothes and other goodies before they even take the trip, leading to debt and a harsh reality after returning from travels. But TikToker @ginnythenomad went against the grain with her recent video. Her hack wasn't just surprising; it also sparked outrage in the TikTok community.
The TikTok, titled "Pro travel tip for all my short kings and queens," advocates for traveling overseas with ill-fitted clothes and why everyone else should, too. Ginny recounts that during a trip to Columbia, she took her oversized garments to a local tailor and got seven pieces hemmed for just $28. However, her comment section blew up, with people outraged at her for using cheap labor overseas.
An ethical misstep
Ginny's argument for using a tailoring service was that wealthy people look good because they have all their clothes tailored. In an effort to get the same polished look, Ginny decided to get her clothing hemmed at a cheaper price than in the U.S. Criticism of Ginny's idea wasn't universal. Some people who watched her TikTok commented that the idea was "brilliant" and "smart."
However, other commenters did not hold back. One user wrote, "Why make the sweat shop go to you, when you can go to the sweat shop![sic]" Another called Ginny out for going to the Global South to exploit labor. Similarly, a commenter, presumably from Colombia, wrote that Ginny was "parasiting our people."
Several individuals in Ginny's TikTok comment section wrote that if she could pay for a trip abroad, she could afford to pay someone a decent wage to tailor her clothing. Many others suggested the "hack" of buying clothes that actually fit. Unlike other genius TikTok tips that help travelers, this is one travel hack that doesn't look set to take off. As one commenter pointed out, it's so tone-deaf.