For a long time now I have been reluctant to buy into the Kardashian empire in any way. I never really watched the reality show that catapulted the family to super stardom status nor did I buy into Kylie’s make up empire that put her on the cover of Forbes magazine as a young billionaire (even though at the time she actually wasn’t according the Vanity Fair last month, as they also put the now 28 year old it girl entrepreneur on the cover) the power of marketing and media.

They just seemed like tacky girls from the Valley to me. For all their media profile. Husbands, boyfriends, kids by different people, drugs, domestic violence, criminal activity, robberies, shallowness, plastic surgery and a lot of money. I didn’t really get the appeal.

I guess I consciously avoided.

They are everywhere. Even City AM was reporting on £150M legal bill a London law firm had been paid to negotiate the lease on a big new Skims store on Regent St in the old Ted Baker site.

I have also caught wind of an ongoing legal battle with Denise Cesare owner of a small NYC based fashion company, Fits Everybody, who alleges SKIMS despite warnings about rights to the “Fits Everybody” trademark, went ahead and used her brand name and concept with the Skims “Fits Everybody” collection claiming rights long before Kim Kardashian got hold of it and ran.

I have checked out the concession in Selfridges but for me £160 for a dress that feels more squash you in Spanx than quiet luxury loungewear I have resisted being tempted until now.

I do like a staple garment though, I am slim with a big natural bust so stretchy and figure hugging clothes suit my body and frame. And when I saw the skims dresses appearing over and over again up for resale, clearly the women who had bought into the SKIMS empire, were unloading I thought it was time to check out this clothing range on a budget.

I did ask myself the question why are so many people selling these clothes with tags without even wearing them once or twice.

I bought 8 dresses in total. All for under £30 and all bar one with the tags still on. I spent less that £200 on all eight, three of which had tags on for over £160 each.

I wanted to do a bit of an experiment, try a few of the same dresses in different sizes and colours to see if the garments actually lived up to all the hype and if so why there are now so many Skims body con items available in circulation with tags on. It did cross my mind if the secondhand market was flooded with dupes.

I am a size 10-12 and I purchased size S, M, and L. I bought three styles a knitted spaghetti strap dress with a vertical stripe in the knit I love retailed at £160. A more synthetic feeling ribbed dress with a low scoop neckline, which is very clingy and would be difficult to wear in anything except a lounging at home or beach setting over a bikini. I needed the L in this style. It was a very small tight cut and the fabric is not forgiving. Probably why the £80 dress is available in every size and colour on secondhand market places for anywhere from £15-£45. I paid £30 for mine, new with tags and complete with a Selfridges dust bag.

The other style I do love, I purchased secondhand in two colours black and pale blue, this time one L and one M, both work to be fair is the smooth knit modal cashmere, long sleeve body com dress. The ticket says this dress was £88 rrp. I paid £15 and £22 respectively.

The thing about these dresses and why so many are being unloaded is they are mostly either see through or very small and super clingy. So unless you have a near perfect figure or live at the beach and need a lot of bikini cover ups they only work for a handful of women.

If like me you fancied trying one but haven’t bought yet don’t waste money paying full retail price. You can pretty much find every style, colour, size, new with tags online for a fraction of the retail price.

I am not sure how long the phenomenon that is Skims will last with the lawsuits looming and fashion retail struggling across all sectors but for now there is a booming secondhand market for these products so not everyone fell in love.

If you are any bigger than a curvy size 14, unless very bold I’d say the Skims lines would be difficult to fit into.

I found the L ribbed synthetic dress very difficult to get on and off. The M in the smooth modal cashmere was better because the fabric is softer. The knitted spaghetti strap dresses, both the M and L fit me fine, couldn’t tell much of a difference. The small was too tight around the bust, 34E.

It’s interesting to see the collaboration between Dolce and Gabbana and Skims as this year the pair, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana split both romantically and professionally.

Stefano Gabbana stepped down as chairman of Dolce & Gabbana, though he remains with the company to lead its creative direction alongside co-founder and ex lover Domenico Dolce. As reported by Vogue and The Guardian his resignation from management and holding entities was effective as of January 1, 2026.

Dolce and Gabbana have struggled over recent years to make a profit, have lost creative direction as their off the wall designs went out of fashion with younger audiences and the debts mounted.

Their foray into real estate, DG Resort, and popping up taking over temporarily at luxurious beach clubs around the world in an attempt to diversify into the experiential club, bars and luxury shopping space, and then the random animal print Versace “esque” collaboration with Skims knocking out garments with eye watering prices around £500 does feel all over the place to me. Expansion into the high fashion beach club scene happened at the same time Valentino launched their RED concepts on the Amalfi Coast, which tells me these once over subscribed luxury exclusive spots must be struggling too.

Although the Dolce and Gabbana club interiors utilising the Majolica prints in signature blue, La Cabane, Marbella, Green in a new one close to Portofino, Italy, the immersive Mediterranean retreat Le Carillon and yellow in Cala di Volpe in Sardinia, are stunning, the £350 daily entry fee for a sun lounger and not much else I personally don’t see enduring, beyond the hype and gimmick.

I would imagine customers who can afford to pay £350 for beach club entry want something more exclusive and less accessible than a spot full of influencers marketing themselves on TIKTOK wearing SKIMS. And if you chose the leopard print for your beach club experience you are going to find yourself clashing with the umbrellas, that is unless you opt for the Clap House on the Island of Ibiza where the animal print has taken over too.