How to Find Designer Clothes You Can Actually Afford

Style

Nov 12

this post includes affiliate links, which contribute toward my oat-milk cappuccino fund at no extra cost to you. thank you!

How to Find Designer Clothes You Can Actually Afford | If you’re wondering how to start collecting designer fashion when you can’t get on board with the full retail price, click through to read this post sharing the best places to shop online for de…

Where to Shop for Designer Clothes Online

Raise your hand if you’ve gone googly-eyed over some designer clothes, but can’t quite get on board with that full-retail price. 🙋🏻 ← That’s me. My fashion obsession started a long time ago, and has only grown as I’ve designed travel capsule wardrobes and tried my hand at designer fashion renting.

During my hiatus from fashion rentals, I’m focusing on (1) wearing all the clothes I’ve got and (2) shopping much more thoughtfully for myself - hunting for high-quality, high-value pieces that I’ll wear over and over, just like my favorite rentals.

In my search, I find myself coming back to the same three places online to find designer clothes and accessories for waaaaaay less than I would pay in the brand’s SoHo shop. Even if you can’t stand the idea of secondhand things, read on - there’s plenty for you, too!

1. The Outnet

On The Outnet, everything is new with tags - this is the clearout clearance site for luxury online retailer Net-a-Porter. There are new arrivals daily, and their in-house line, Iris & Ink is remarkably high quality and well-priced basics.

Because especially great pieces sell out fast, it can be hard to get something super-specific. Instead, I generally shop brands I know and love - Milly, Ganni, REDValentino. Thrice I’ve snagged things I first saw in stores: a gloriously fluffy Ganni sweater, a linen Frame blazer, and a red Sandro coat.

Aside from deep discounts marked Final Sale, everything’s fully returnable. The customer service is wonderful, too - when vinyl detailing on that Sandro coat started to peel, they offered to either pay for my tailor to make repairs or to allow a full cash return on what had been a final sale purchase.

2. The Real Real

I was intrigued when this designer resale shop popped up online a few years ago, but wasn’t fully convinced until I visited their shop in New York. Here’s what you’ll find: plenty of things that are new with tags, lots of pieces from recent designer collections, and some selected vintage, too - everything professionally authenticated.

These days I’m a regular browser in-store and online, and I’ve snagged some great finds over the past couple years - an A.L.C. dress, worn-once Tory Burch shoes (that were still on the brand’s site!), a vintage Oscar de la Renta cocktail dress (under $200!). I even spent hours comparing (in person) and stalking (online) their collection of vintage Chanel bags before finally choosing one earlier this year.

I haven’t used their consignment services, but The Real Real has representatives across the country for easy resale appointments. You (and I) can get a $25 site credit when you use this link to shop or sell. If you’re going in-store for something specific, book an appointment in advance - it’s free, and your stylist can pull things that aren’t usually in-store for you to try on (they also know all the discount codes).

3. Poshmark & Tradesy

I’ve been using Poshmark since 2013 to clean out my closet and find some great buys along the way. I go here when I’m looking for something pretty specific, because there are so many options for filtering - category, color, size, brand, new with tags - and when you find what you want, you can use the Make an Offer button to negotiate a lower price.

My top two finds on Poshmark over the past eight (!) years are this polka-dot Rixo London dress, and a pair of Karen Walker sunglasses - paid for with my earnings from sales.

Tradesy is very similar - individual people listing items for sale from their closets - but with a wider selection of designer items, and the benefit of returns (albeit in shop credit).