TikTok users are going wild over a super cheap tank top worn by Kendall Jenner at an NBA semifinals game in May. After one TikTok star tracked down the source—a Hanes $10 five-pack for boys—it became the platform's newest fashion obsession.
It's also a recession indicator if we've ever seen one.
Kendall Jenner's $2 Hanes tank top
According to TikToker @tinx, Hanes produces tank tops identical to the one Jenner wore to the game in packs of five for just $10, making each item $2 a pop. The accessibility, combined with Jenner's unwitting endorsement,t turned these everyday tanks into a sensation.
"I know for a lot of people this video will be very distressing, and sort of signify the 'end of times' or whatever, but I don't care," said the popular TikTok user in a video on May 17. "So, the other day, I was fixating on this picture because Kendall's white tank is perfect."
She explained that she asked her followers to help her find the shirt, and everyone named Hanes. So she picked up the five-pack from the boy's section and tried one on. Her verdict: "Consumerism final boss. Yes!"
"I can't wait for the Cut article that's like, 'Idiot Influencer Gets Excited Over A Hanes Tank Top,'" she joked.
We here at the Daily Dot would never call Tinx an idiot, but we would highlight social reactions talking about how strange this new trend over a $2 tank top is.
"We are in a recession"
After weeks of TikTok users trying on and modeling the $2 tanks, word spread to X. There, user @wereallydgaf went viral with nothing but a screenshot of one of these videos posted on June 10, gaining 7.1 million views in under 24 hours.
Commenters appear floored by the idea that so many people were unaware of simple white tank tops, so common that they have an unfortunate nickname. The trend may underscore serious economic disparities in the U.S.
"The concept of being so out of touch you don’t know what Hanes is," said @femceIs.
"Its ‘ghetto’ till a white celebrity picks it up," wrote @frolestial.
Multiple users posted a TikTok video by @ladymisskay_ talking about what happens to fashion during a recession.
"Two things happen when we go into a recession," she said. "Two things become popular: Skinny girls and business casual."
She describes thin women who get on video with "a gray crew neck sweater and a pair of Levi's jeans" and how people react.
"Thousands of you will get in the comments and say 'where did you get those jeans? Where did you get that sweater?'" she continued. "That sweater, there are 900 of them in a cardboard bin at Walmart right now. She probably got it from the men's section."
As user @quackity1408 said, "she was right oh she was right."
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