Secondhand Shopping Guide

Finding a great piece of clothing, a bag or vintage jewelry secondhand is an incredibly victorious feeling. When I was looking for a camel coat last year I knew I wanted a more masculine fit, and I also knew that my dream was to own a MaxMara coat. I spent three months, yes you read that right, looking for my coat. It needed to be in good condition and I was very picky about the fit and the color of the camel. After months of a fairly exhaustive search I found my MaxMara coat. I do not expect everyone to enjoy this type shopping as much as I do. This is why I wanted to put together a guide to finding your dream pieces secondhand.

Online Shopping Sites:

The RealReal: My best advice with The RealReal is to quickly filter as much as you can when looking for something. On the left-hand side, you will also find you can filter further by “Editors Pick” and “Items with Tags.” I find the “Editors Pick” filter can be really helpful.

Two important pieces to note:

1. Once you click on an item you will notice on the right-hand side there will be section called “Condition.” I generally purchase items that are Very Good, Excellent or Pristine condition.
2. Under the section “Shipping and Returns” it tell you whether you can return the item. Unless I am 1000% sure the item will work I always make sure I can return the item. Purchasing secondhand can be tricky and you do not want to end up with items you cannot use.

Vestiaire Collective: The main difference between The RealReal and Vestiaire Collective is that for the latter the items are sold directly from sellers, versus The RealReal which houses all the items and ships them from one of their warehouses. This does allow you bargaining power with items from Vestiaire Collective. I recently purchased a Joseph wool coat from a seller in France. Prior to receiving the coat the item was sent to an office for inspection. I really appreciated this as it reassured me that the coat I received would be as described.

Two important pieces to note:

1. When you are looking at items you can filter the condition of the items. Look on the left-hand side and you will see “Condition.” This is something you cannot do with The RealReal.
2. On the left-hand side of the page you can also filter by, “Exceptional Pieces”, “Vintage”, and “We Love.” I highly recommend using the “Vintage” filter, particularly for handbags. There are incredible pieces out there that are sure to be unique and have you wearing something no one else has.

Fashionphile: This is the site I am constantly looking at for handbags. The photography is wonderful and the way the bags are displayed on the models truly give you a great indication of their size.

Two important pieces to note:

1. You will see at the top of the page a series of filters. Under “Condition” you can chose “giftable.” This is a great filter as I am always looking for great secondhand gifts, but I want them to be in perfect condition. This allows for a wonderful way to spread the idea of buying secondhand.
2. It is possible to search items by “Best Value.” On the upper right, you will see “Sort By” and I chose “Best Value.” I find this helps me locate pieces who are being resold at a wonderful price, and in great condition, given their original value.

My biggest piece of advice……

Have fun! Create an account with resale sites and make wish lists. I have hundreds of items saved on these sites. Pieces that I may never own but finding them provided me a great sense of accomplishment.