“That MUST be a joke.”

A woman recently went viral on TikTok for quoting what she thought was a ridiculously high price for a cropped Levi’s shirt at Target.

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TikTok user Emily Covington (@emilyncovington) posted a video of herself shopping at a Target store when she spotted a simple, cropped, long-sleeved red shirt from Levi’s.

At first, Covington thought she had found a great piece, captioning it, “Oh, look, a cute red shirt.”

But then she turned the price tag over and saw that the shirt cost $89.99. “Ummmm, absolutely not,” she wrote in the video’s text overlay.

“I can find something almost exact at TJ Maxx for $9.99, this is CRAZY!” Covington wrote in the caption of the video. “@Levi’s are you guys crazy????”

The video was viewed quickly and reached 1.3 million people.

Why is clothing becoming more expensive?

Rising clothing costs have many contributing factors, and inflation is just one of them. According to Vogue, the main factors are rising costs in shipping, materials and production.

In January, Newsweek also highlighted another factor: escalating tensions in the Red Sea, which they predict will make clothing even more expensive in the United States.

Because much of the clothing, sneakers and electronics sold in the U.S. are shipped from Asia, these tensions can lead to higher shipping costs that are ultimately passed on to consumers.

Like many brands, Levi’s sources materials from multiple suppliers, including those in China, which could make them particularly sensitive to these price increases.

Viewers respond

In the comments, some users were surprised at the price, while others shared their own shopping horror stories.

“At TARGET???” asked one surprised user.

“It’s crazy when ‘basics’ are incredibly expensive,” another commented.

“Yesterday I saw a flannel shirt at OLD NAVY for $89.99. OLD NAVY!” shouted a third. “Absurd.”

Another user questioned the authenticity of the video. “That MUST be a joke… I work at Levi’s and that’s not the price we got that shirt for,” they wrote.

The Daily Dot found a similar shirt on the official Levi’s site, priced at $34.50, on sale for $24.15.

Covington replied, “All the tags on the others said it too! I wish I had gotten a video of that too!” It is unclear whether this pricing was an error on Target’s part.

@emilyncovington, I can find something almost exact at tjmaxx for $9.99. this is CRAZY! @Levi’s have you gone crazy???? #levis #target #shoppinghaul #christmas2024 #fypシ #fypシ゚viral #tiktok ♬ original sound – Emily Covington

The Daily Dot reached out to Emily Covington (@emilyncovington) via TikTok and a direct message on Instagram. We also contacted Levi’s and Target via email.

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