Published on: May 13, 2020
I love it when people say that they don’t care about brand-name clothing. Indeed, I have many friends who solely pay attention to style when they’re buying secondhand clothes. Unfortunately, I am not one of those people. Style obviously matters the most when I’m buying gently used clothing for myself, but I would be lying if I said that I didn’t gravitate towards secondhand designer items at thrift stores. In this post, I will share tips on finding these items while you’re out thrifting.
Know what secondhand designer items to look for – clothing vs. leather goods
To get started with finding secondhand designer items, you need to know what to look for. I have noticed that affordable secondhand designer clothing is easier to come across than e.g., purses or shoes. This is because thrift store staff is often knowledgeable about luxury leather goods and designers and thus know to mark them up. While clothing gets priced according to the designer, too, from my experience, secondhand store workers miss designer clothing more often than they do designer purses or shoes.
Another reason why affordable secondhand designer clothing is easier to find than leatherware is that there is less competition from other shoppers. A great deal on a purse or a pair of shoes doesn’t go unnoticed for very long, as these are items that secondhand bargain hunters tend to be familiar with and interested in. Finding secondhand designer items in the clothing section, however, takes more work. You must go through the racks to spot these gems, as they’re not readily visible as shoes or handbags tend to be. And you need to be able to identify the designer pieces, too. Not everyone is willing to do the work.
I tend to go through the dress section first. This is just a personal preference; some of the best secondhand designer items that I have found have been dresses. When I still lived in the US, I would regularly find dresses from e.g., Balenciaga, 3.1. Phillip Lim, Derek Lam, etc. Very rarely had the stores marked them up. One of my favorite finds was this Alexander Wang dress that was new-with-tags and cost me $5:
I also love buying coats and jackets. They generally retail for quite a bit, which is why finding them secondhand is always rewarding. In one of the stores in Columbus, Ohio, I found these two Burberry coats a few months apart. They cost $8 each.
In another store, I found this Dries van Noten wool coat that retailed for £1,000 give or take. They didn’t think much of it, so I paid $1.99.
Shop for out-of-season designer secondhand items
This leads me to discuss seasons. When I talk about designer secondhand items, people often ask me what seasons they should focus on. I buy all seasons all year around. In fact, I have bought some of my best designer dresses in the winter. Similarly, I have found several high-end coats in the summer. This is because, again, there is less competition. As other secondhand shoppers focus on in-season items, you can find great out-of-season bargains.
When secondhand stores reopen, I’m sure there will be a ton of winter goodies available, as people have been decluttering their closets.
What brands to go for
As I mentioned above, secondhand shops are becoming savvier and savvier when it comes to designer brands, particularly shoes and purses. Thus, I tend to go for brands that are not as well-known, as I explained in an earlier post in the context of online shopping. It’s very difficult to come across secondhand designer items from brands that everyone is familiar with. Rarely will a secondhand shop miss e.g., a Gucci or Fendi item, and thus they almost always have high price tags. “What, a Louis Vuitton purse? Never heard of the brand,” said no one ever.
Yet, there are so many high-end designer brands that are more obscure to the general public. Here is your chance to score a great deal, if you know your designers. One of my favorite purse finds ever is a medium Thela bag from Meli Melo. This brand that’s not very well-known, although it has become a blogger favorite. It was new-with-tags, too, and I paid $18 for it. I’m sure that, had it been a better-known brand, it would have come with a much higher price tag.
Being able to buy secondhand designer items from less familiar brands obviously requires that you know what these brands are. This takes practice, and I’ve learned my brands thanks to the countless hours spent at thrift stores. Again, being able to identify quality materials is a good starting point, as I explained here. This often allows you to spot high-end items, even if you aren’t familiar with the brand. You can then look up the brand online to see at what price range it retails. I also recommend you stroll through a high-end department store to see what they’re selling. In London, I love to spend time at e.g., Selfridges. This allows me to learn new brands and to see what’s currently trending.
That said, sometimes you do find great bargains on more well-known brands, too. I still remember when I went to a Goodwill in Columbus and found two pairs of Gucci pumps casually chilling on the shoe rack, with a $3.99 price tag on them. You can imagine how fast I snatched those babies up.
Authentication
One of the key things to consider when you look for secondhand designer items is their authenticity. There are so many dupes out there, some of them very good. Thus, it can be difficult to know whether your designer find is the real deal or not without extensive research. I can’t even tell you how many fake Louis Vuitton bags, for instance, I’ve seen in reputable secondhand stores. And they’re often marked up, as the stores themselves might not realize that they’re fake.
Going for less well-known brands helps here, too. These are not as commonly faked as the better-known ones, as there is less demand. That said, there is a counterfeit market for almost everything (if you’ve ever visited the fake markets in e.g., China or Bangkok, or even New York’s Chinatown, you know what I’m talking about). Thus, every time you buy designer secondhand items, make sure to do your research.
As I said, fakes can be hard to spot. When you try to figure out whether your find is authentic or not, pay attention to details. Stitching, zippers, the fabric, and tags can be good giveaways. If you’re looking at a designer item that retailed for hundreds of pounds or more, you would expect that these details would be pretty close to perfect. That is, straight and even stitching, quality zippers, tags that contain no spelling errors and are sewn straight, etc.
If you bought a designer secondhand item and are in doubt, there’s a Facebook group called Designer Divas that authenticates certain designer brands for free. If you want even more peace of mind or need an official authenticity certificate, there are several online options available. Many use Real Authentication or Authenticate First. If you find out that the item is counterfeit, some (but not all) secondhand stores will allow you to return it.
Know when to pay up for secondhand designer items
Finally, some secondhand designer items are worth paying up a little. While you can find great bargains for a few pounds or dollars, it’s likely that many of the secondhand designer items you find come with a slightly higher price tag. If the item you found is something that you love, go for it. Buying secondhand will still save you money. Even if you plan on reselling the item, paying up is sometimes worth it if you can justify the investment. That is, you do your research and know what the item would sell for on an online marketplace. To give you an example, I once found a Balenciaga City Bag with a $120 asking price. While the investment was large, I ended up selling it for $800.
Practice makes perfect
Finally, remember that the more you thrift, the better you get at finding secondhand designer items. Practice does make perfect! Thus, don’t be discouraged if your first trips aren’t successful. There are still days when I walk out of a thrift store empty-handed. The next time you go, you might find something amazing!