Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Overdressed  By  cover art

Overdressed

By: Elizabeth L. Cline
Narrated by: Amy Melissa Bentley
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $14.61

Buy for $14.61

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Cheap fashion has fundamentally changed the way most Americans dress. Stores ranging from discounters like Target to fast fashion chains like H&M now offer the newest trends at unprecedentedly low prices. Retailers are producing clothes at enormous volumes in order to drive prices down and profits up, and they've turned clothing into a disposable good. After all, we have little reason to keep wearing and repairing the clothes we already own when styles change so fast and it's cheaper to just buy more.

But what are we doing with all these cheap clothes? And more important, what are they doing to us, our society, our environment, and our economic well-being? In Overdressed, Elizabeth L. Cline sets out to uncover the true nature of the cheap fashion juggernaut, tracing the rise of budget clothing chains, the death of middle-market and independent retail­ers, and the roots of our obsession with deals and steals.

©2012 Elizabeth L. Cline (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"[An] engagingly pointed, earnestly researched study." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about Overdressed

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    93
  • 4 Stars
    38
  • 3 Stars
    20
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    70
  • 4 Stars
    32
  • 3 Stars
    21
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    9
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    85
  • 4 Stars
    32
  • 3 Stars
    14
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    3

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very informative and worth a listen.

It really helps realize and learn of how much has changed and how much we have to change about ourselves and choices in fashion. Quite eye-opening.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Computer generated narrator-not a real person!

This book is really interesting and you will never look at that Target T-shirt the same way! However, I am 99% sure that "Amy Melissa Bentley" is just the stage name of Siri/Alexa. The emphasis and intonation is completely off. I wouldn't mind so much if they dropped the price for robot narration but I paid the same for this Audible book as I did for a book read by Colin Firth! Come on, Audible! We're on to you!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Terrible Narration

I really can't tell if I would have like the book better if I had read it or if the narration had been better. I think I would have. I gritted my teeth and finished this one even though listening to the reader was causing my head to hurt. She mispronounced so many words and in some places just substituted a totally different word. I've read other reviews where people said it sounded as if it was being read by Siri, and that's a dead-on description. The subject matter of the book was very interesting but pointed up a depressing reality.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

my favorite audible

this has been my most favorite listen. hard and shameful to take in, despite reader's easy and professional tone. inspiring of major understanding and behavior change.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

What the Tag on that $15 Item SHOULD Say...

Just as with food, we need to take a look at what we are filling our closets with.

I love fashion. I really, really do. But the next time I cross paths with what appears to be an expensive yard of fabric or anything else I wear, I will see it differently. And most likely take it home. There's a lot going on in the background before and after clothing hits the rack.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Narration makes this a hard listen

The content is decent, although a bit amateur/outdated. Fast fashion moves fast and much of this book is irrelevant in 2024. But the narration makes it hard to listen to and I gave up. The voice is very monotone and the narration is constantly mispronouncing words. Is this a real person or a robot?!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Boring boring boring

This book could have been done in 2 hours max. Yes we buy a bunch of clothes. With Ross, TJ Maxx Burlington, and Marshalls most of us can afford designer clothes but I admit without self control it t can be overwhelming. Now instead of buying this audible give me the money

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very Informative

This book is wonderful for anyone aspiring to or struggling to change their relationship with fast fashion. The information is delivered compellingly without any sort of guilt shaming. The knowledge of fast fashion industry is what creates the drive to change.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good story poorly narrated

I feel that I would have enjoyed reading this book far more than the experience of listening to it. The story was well researched. The narrator was monotone, sounded like Siri, and frequently mispronounced or over-enunciated words. I could only listen for short periods at a time to avoid getting a headache.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

eye opening about the fashion industry

very good. it was eye opening to hear what's really going on in the industry

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!