Plus his favorite hack for shopping on a budget.
With the ever-evolving TikTok style trends, online fashion shops, and sheer number of brands out there, shopping can be overwhelming. Well, Queer Eye‘s resident fashion expert Tan France certainly knows a thing or two about shopping. And who better to get advice about shopping than with someone who shops for a living?
We chatted with Tan about his favorite places to shop, top hacks for thrifting, how he saves loads of money using In Citi Shop, and how he really feels about some of these emerging new TikTok fashion trends. (Our favorite piece of advice? “If you’ve lived that trend, you don’t ever need it again.”)
Where are some of your favorite places to shop, online and in person?
Tan France: You know what? To be quite honest, I don’t shop in person very often. It got a little bit difficult shopping in real life because people will follow me to see what to do. Sepending on what category, I shop online from different countries. There’s a company called CMMN SWDN that I think is wonderful. And I love American vintage. I don’t typically buy American brand new stuff—when it comes to clothing I buy vintage—but all my cosmetics and facial products, I buy American.
Do you have any favorite skincare brands that you can shout out?
TF: I love Dr. Sturm, Tata Harper, and Drunk Elephant.
And then you mentioned thrifting—do you have any specific tips when it comes to it?
TF: I really wish I could say there’s an easy way, but there isn’t. Give it time. Don’t think that you can get in and out in 10 minutes—it’s not as if you’re popping into any other regular store. If you’re going, go with an hour and really start to pick what you want and create a mini section for yourself without telling anyone—that is my best tip for thrifting. There isn’t typically anywhere for you to put your stuff in a thrift store, so I will gather all the things that I like, and then once it’s in my little section that I’ve hidden in a corner, then I will go through and edit down.
And then what are some style categories that you think is worth splurging on versus stuff that you would save?
TF: When it comes to beauty products, just go to Sephora and look at the reviews. I love Barbara Sturm, but expensive doesn’t necessarily mean better. When it comes to clothing, I only splurge on shoes and bags. I can get a pair of jeans that’s like 30 dollars, and nobody will know it’s 30 dollars. When it comes to basics, I always spend economically—I love the Gap for that.
And what’s your biggest style pet peeve?
TF: People trying something only because somebody else wore it. So often I’m like, “I love what Taylor is wearing, but I’m not Taylor, I can’t wear that.” Go admire what you admire, but remember you’re not that person. Be inspired by them, but don’t copy them. Make it your own. My biggest pet peeve is when people try to emulate a person in particular—that person is so different from you, their body type is different from you—don’t go for that. You can tell when someone’s wearing a costume. It’s not individual.
What’s the fashion trend that you secretly or not so secretly hate?
TF: It’s not that I hate it, I’m just over it, but I don’t like streetwear. I’ve just aged out of it. And it’s also my location—if you’re in London, New York or L.A., maybe it’s great, but I live in Salt Lake City. It’s not the time and place for that. Also I’m not into the super ‘90s trend, and it’s purely because that was my high school era and I don’t ever want to see that. When it looks like somebody just took the clothes from my high school, I’m not the biggest fan. Just as a general rule of thumb, if you’ve lived that trend, you don’t ever need it again.
There are so many fashion trends now driven by TikTok. How do you feel about those?
TF: I do use TikTok a lot, but I don’t get inspiration from there. When I see that there is a new trend on TikTok, I don’t think I should do that because everybody else is doing it. I like to do things my way and my only concern with TikTok or any social platform is if you’ve seen 1000 people post about it, you’re going to see everyone in it. Maybe do your version of it as opposed to buying that thing that everyone’s got.
Do you have any TikTok fashion trends recently that you’ve liked?
TF: No. Ha, typically because the creators are like under 30. They’re not doing things that are for me. Too often it looks like they just rolled in a laundry basket, like this looks amazing. Just because it’s wild, doesn’t mean it’s right.
And then what are some of your favorite fashion trends right now?
TF: So many. I’m obsessed with oversized suiting. It came in last year, we saw it everywhere, and it hasn’t gone away. I love the mini and micro mini that we saw at Miu Miu. Dior also did a mini recently and it was wicked. I still love a loafer; even though it was the shoe of last year I’m not over it. And I’m obsessed with a great summer trench, like a maxi duster trench. I just love outerwear in general.
Do you have any secret hacks for online shopping?
TF: Really narrow down before you get online because you can get lost in there for hours. Really narrow down what is it that you want? Who is it you want to look like? What pair of jeans is it that BLACKPINK’s wearing that you’re really excited about? What cowboy outfit is Beyonce wearing that you’re really excited about that you want to imitate? Really understand and focus on what you want and then Google that thing and it will make it pretty specific for you as opposed to “I’m just going to shop this website and hope I find something.” Go with an intention—otherwise you will lose hours.”
What are some of your personal tips for saving money if you’re a shopping addict on a budget?
TF: I’m shopping pretty much every day—I’m online almost every day because it’s my job. I’ve got to shop for myself, and I’ve got to shop with the people who I work with on the show. The Citi Shop browser extension is my hot tip right now, my little secret. If you add that extension to your laptop and phone, you’re automatically going to get deals and savings. Even if it’s only a couple of percent you’re saving, if there’s a coupon that’s available, it’s gonna let you know that there’s a coupon available. And so that has been a game changer.
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