If you’ve opened the TikTok app and noticed a sudden uptick in videos of people holding up common items and saying something that might sound incomprehensible, congratulations! You’ve come across a new TikTok trend.
Trends popping up all over one’s For You page is nothing new, but this one can be particularly confusing for the uninitiated. The videos all follow a similar format: creators film themselves inside a store and present different items to the camera while saying things like “Balenciaga dupe” or “Apple dupe,” usually with a drawn-out “oo” sound — think “doop.”
It might seem obvious the videos are parodying something, but what? What is the “dupe/doop” trend and what does dupe mean?
Understanding the new TikTok trend — ‘dupe’
The word “dupe” should sound familiar if you spend time in online beauty and thrifting communities. In these communities, “dupe” is short for “duplicate” and creators usually use it to refer to a product that’s nearly identical to another product. Most often, creators will recommend affordable dupes of high-end, more expensive items and many users compile lists of possible dupes in order to make popular items more accessible to those on a budget. Just one search on TikTok of a designer makeup product like the Dior lip oil will yield multiple recommendations for similar products.
Some dupes are nearly indistinguishable from the original product while others resemble it with a few differences. Over time, other industries have taken up the practice themselves and you can find dupes for everything from technology to food.
In the context of the trend that started in Jan. 2023, users aren’t seriously making recommendations; it’s fairly obvious a slipper from TJ Maxx is not actually a “Gucci dupe.” The new trend seems to be an inside joke gone viral and is decidedly different from the original usage of “dupe.” In the trending videos, creators hold up a common object and say it’s a “doop” (heavy on the “oo,” as mentioned above) of something else. Usually, the comparison made will be extra silly for comedic effect, like holding up a toy computer and saying “MacBook doop.” While most videos are filmed in clothing stores, some users have begun expanding the trend and started filming “doop” videos in more creative locations.
If you find it hard to differentiate between “dupe” and “doop” videos, ask yourself these questions: How is the word pronounced? Is the person making the video helpfully recommending something or are they trying to be funny?
The “dupe/doop” trend is still picking up steam with 2.4 billion views and counting, but dupes have been a part of the internet beauty community for years; we don’t see this trend erasing that anytime soon. Even if the new trend isn’t here to stay, we hope we succeeded in helping you understand what “dupe” means.