Strike a pose: Vinted user goes viral for modelling clothes on Ikea bear

A Vinted seller has gone viral for getting her brown bear from Ikea to strike a series of poses while modelling her unwanted clothes.

Cara O’Brien, a barista based in Cambridgeshire, got the teddy which is more commonly known as Djungelskog several years ago from the Swedish company popular for its ready-to-assemble furniture and home accessories.

She was inspired to use it as a clothing mannequin on her Vinted account called “roast_potatoes” in 2023 after seeing another user modelling pre-loved items on a cardboard cutout of Danny DeVito, and feeling she had to think more creatively if she wanted to improve sales.

Ms O’Brien with her Ikea bear (Cara O’Brien/PA)

The 23-year-old who initially started her Vinted account around 2021 without her stuffed sidekick told the PA news agency: “I thought, I need to do something so that people actually look at my stuff and I sell items that are not different to what everyone else sells on there.

“I had the idea to use the bear for ages and he was just sat there on my bed and I thought, ‘I think he’d fit in a skirt’.”

The toy bear has effortlessly posed in everything from crop tops to mini skirts and dresses, often while resting its hand on its face and in one instance, seemingly channeling Madonna in her Vogue music video.

The bear is known for striking different poses (Cara O’Brien/PA)

Ms O’Brien said her unusual Vinted model has helped her business thrive, helping her accumulate roughly £500 and hundreds of views per post.

“Before using Djungelskog, I made maybe one sale a month but now I make maybe one or two a week,” she said.

“I uploaded a top one day and within an hour it was sold.”

Ms O’Brien has been using a bear from Ikea to sell clothes on Vinted (Cara O’Brien/PA)

However, the teddy has not quite got the right physique to wear all her garments.

“It’s a bit of a squeeze; I’ve tried to put trousers on him before and it’s just not really worked,” she said.

“I’ve also actually bought a smaller version of him that I’m going to start using, so anything which is too small for him – I’m going to start putting them on the smaller one.

The bears next to each other (Cara O’Brien/PA)

“I am also going to try and put a pair of shoes on him because I feel like the proportions will be very funny.”

Ms O’Brien’s Vinted account has gone viral across various social media platforms from X, formerly known as Twitter, to TikTok, with posts about the quirky business idea amassing over 200,000 views.

Many have expressed their adoration for Djungelskog, to the point some have even asked if the soft toy is up for sale.

The smaller bear with shoes (Cara O’Brien/PA)

“A lot of people message me about buying the bear and saying they love the model and it’s so cute,” she said.

“I did have an argument with one girl because she was adamant she was going to buy my bear.

“She even went so far as to photoshop my listing to say that the bear was the product.

“I find (going viral) so funny.”