Designer Brands to Look for at Thrift Shops (Downloadable List)

This post discusses designer brands to look for at thrift stores. Download the list or bookmark the post on your phone. Learn how to determine if a piece is right for you and worth buying, authentic, and view examples of my thrift finds.

 

 

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post, and all opinions are my own.

Note: This post was featured in Links à la Mode: Fashion roundup by Independent Fashion Bloggers.

 

Both Expensive and Cheap Clothes Help Someone Make a Living

Unless you are a heiress, married to a Rich person, won the lottery, or became a billionaire due to your hard work, you don’t buy a $4000 designer bag, a pair of $2000 shoes, and a $5000 coat on a Saturday shopping trip on 5th Avenue or Avenue des Champs-Élysées. Most likely, just one of those purchases would automatically block your credit card.

No, I don’t envy the Rich, and you shouldn’t either. When someone pays 100 times the taxes you pay, a $1000 item is like a $10 item for you.

If you like it, you buy it.

That’s what the Rich do, too. And, it’s good that they buy these products. They keep well-skilled craft(wo)men at work. In addition, they help preserve the art of high-end fashion and Haute Couture. Or high-end fashion as an art? Anyhow.

When you purchase your $10 item, you also help someone make a living somewhere. And always remember that style is not defined by money, but by how you edit and wear your clothes. And yes, some of the expensive designer brands make their way to a thrift store for a second time around. Therefore, you can recycle the Riches’ clothes while being resourceful.

 

How to Get Designer Clothes on a Budget

Which fashionista doesn’t adore a Hermes scarf, Kelly bag, Gucci boots, you name it? While most of us can’t afford these luxury items, the good news is that buying exclusively designer clothing doesn’t make you look effortlessly stylish. Despite being on a budget fashion-wise, you can get high-fashion items on a budget via

 

• Saving for the lust-piece by putting a fraction of the monthly fashion budget aside,
• Buying them second-hand in consignment, thrift stores, or on eBay and similar, or
• Buying a replica (which is typically not cheap when they are well-made).

 

Actually, I have done the first two options.

 

 

 

Unlike in a regular store, you cannot go in to buy a particular item. It’s no secret that scoring high on eBay requires patience to find what you are looking for. The same is true for thrift and consignment stores.  Scoring high in a consignment store or thrift store requires regular browsing.

 

Only Buy when the Designer Clothes Fit and Are Your Personal Style

It’s essential to know when to splurge and when to bargain when thrifting. Like avoiding mistakes when shopping the sales, you need to know which designer brands to look for at thrift stores, and what to buy.  Only buy items that fit your size and that are your personal style. Otherwise, you end up with a cluttered closet, and you are not wearing the clothes you have. Recall:

 

Closet space is real estate. Don’t waste it.

 

In other words, you don’t need that $200 Chanel skirt suit when you are a California Casual style fashionista or Bohemian Style gal. That Chanel skirt also fails to do you any good when it is too tight or two sizes too large.

 

In both these cases, alterations are impossible.

 

Recall that size doesn’t matter, but fit does. Therefore,

 

Only buy pieces that fit, and you can’t wait to wear.

 

Use this free online style finder to determine your primary style.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tip: Inspect the items you intend to buy. When they need alterations (e.g., shortening of the hem, new buttons as one is missing), take the cost for this alteration in mind when deciding whether the item is a good deal.

 

 

Designers Worth Buying

Here is an alphabetical list of designers worth buying when the garments, bags, accessories, and shoes are still in very good condition. Be aware that they still have comparatively higher price tags attached than cheap brands. It’s the same as they did when they were new.

• Anne Klein
• Ann Taylor
• Balenciaga
• Banana Republic
• Bottega Veneta
• Burberry
• Calvin Klein
• Diane von Fürstenberg
• DKNY
• Eli Tahari
• Ellen Tracy
• Escada
• Fendi
• GAP
• Hermès
• J. Crew
• Jones New York
• Lauren Ralph Lauren
• Liz Claiborne
• Michael Kors
• Michael Michael Kors
• Missoni
• Oscar de la Renta
• Prada
• Talbots
• Tracy Reese
• Ralph Lauren
• Stella McCartney
• Tory Burch
• Valentino Red
• Vera Wang
• Victoria Victoria Beckham
• Vince
• YSL
• 3.1 Philip Lim

 

Download the list as a cheat sheet to keep in your purse, or bookmark this post in your browser on your phone for easy access next time you’re thrifting.

 

Pro tip: Always clean the garments before putting them in your closet and/or wearing them. Save with at home dry cleaning.

 

 

Tips on How You Can Save Time When Thrifting

1. Befriend a salesperson. Tell her about the brands you like and look for, including your style and color preferences, and provide them with your contact information. S/he will notify you when something comes in that may be of interest to you.
2. Call the store to check if they have new items in your size before visiting.
3. Just search in the section with your colors. You will not/should not buy an orange trench coat, for instance, when you look awesome in cool colors and/or have nothing that would go with that color.
4. Browse only thru items that are your style.
5. Restrict your browsing to your size plus a size up or down. Many items end up in thrift stores because they were purchased outside the country and are cut to a larger or smaller size than the US standard, or were the incorrect size due to incorrect sizing. A US 10, for instance, is equivalent to a UK 12, a Japanese 13, and an Australian 14. Some items may be smaller than the size tag due to being washed at an excessively high temperature (e.g., jeans, sweaters).
6. Don’t rely on the size tag. Measure an item with a measuring tape to determine if it might fit. Discard those items that have no chance of fitting, even if the size tag suggests otherwise. Sizing has changed over time, and you want to save time in the fitting room.
7. Know which brands usually fit well, and look for them. This method is particularly time-saving with shirts, shoes, pants, and jeans.
8. Browse on Tuesdays or Wednesdays when the choices are typically the largest. People tend to de-cluster their closets over the weekend and bring the items into the store on Mondays. Cataloging and placing the merchandise on racks typically takes one to two days, depending on the volume brought in.

 

 

Example: Classic with a Twist Designer LBD with the Right Fit

This little black dress is an $18 thrift store find. It was brand new with even the tags still attached. Probably, it was a gift from a mom, grandma, aunt, or friend in the wrong style or size. Anyhow, in thrifting, it’s like one woman’s trash is another woman’s treasure.

Why is it a great find for me? As you know, black is my favorite color, and I love edgy details like this zipper trim along the seams. Moreover, the LBD fits perfectly.

 

 

 

 

Conclusions on Designer Brands to Look for at Thrift Stores

• Don’t fall for a name: Look for brands that match your primary personal style and are timeless. It’s a recipe to build a sustainable wardrobe.
• Know the prices of the originals. Use that knowledge to assess whether the price for the used item is realistic. If it’s too cheap, it’s most likely a counterfeit. Therefore, learn how to make that assessment and how to score high when buying second-hand.
• Check authenticity: When in doubt about whether a piece from a high-end, luxury brand such as YSL is genuine, use the YSL authentication check.
• Don’t rely on the size tag; use your own measurements, as the former owner might have had it altered.
• Learn how to look modern with second-hand finds..

 

Photos of me: G. Kramm

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