As the popularity of resale and vintage sites grows and grows, Lynn Yaeger finds that what’s thrilling and “new” isn’t always so new at all.
From The RealReal to Rebag, Unpacking the Rise of Resale
I WAS KILLING TIME outside a fashion show a few years ago when I noticed a woman in the distance wearing a beautiful deep-blue coat decorated with a flourish of fuchsia sequins. I know that coat, I suddenly realized—Dries Van Noten! I had tried it on at Bergdorf’s a couple of seasons back, and part of me loved it, but the other part of me thought it was maybe too flashy, the tiniest bit Honeymoon in Vegas—and it was $2,000. Still, as so often happens, now that I saw it on someone else, it seemed like the most desirable garment in the world.
Until recently, it would have been near impossible to turn up this elusive item—if only I had bought it when I had the chance! Not anymore. Some months after that fateful glimpse, this exact coat—in my size! New with tags!—showed up on The RealReal at a fraction of its original price. Now it is happily ensconced next to the other resale treasures I have gleaned from various sites: the rare circa-1996 padded velvet Comme des Garçons jacket; the extraordinary black Marni collar with velvety petals; the campy Balenciaga bag printed like a souvenir tote from Paris. (Someday we will go to France again.) A few of these items came to me brand-new, but others were gently worn—and if I didn’t care that another person with great taste wore them a few times before consigning, well, the rest of the world doesn’t seem to, either.
This story originally appeared on: Vogue - Author:Lynn Yaeger
