How to Shop Effectively on Clothing Resale Sites

Over the past several years, my local thrift stores have become less exciting. The amazing pieces are snapped up quickly, the racks are overstuffed with damaged or poor quality items, and the prices have gone up. Some Goodwill stores have even removed their dressing rooms! My local mall has never offered the variety of colors and styles that I found in thrift stores (not to mention the low prices), so these developments have saddened me greatly. I still pop in to thrift stores from time to time, but I’ve shifted a lot of my secondhand shopping to online resale sites. 

Different resale sites have different shipping policies and structures. Some operate on consignment, while others are made up of individual sellers. Generally speaking, these sites are going to be more expensive than your local thrift store, but there are still great bargains to be had. I sometimes think of the higher prices as a convenience fee for not wading through the depths of my local Goodwill.

The Practical:

1. Ask for measurements (and know your own). Many sellers on sites like Poshmark list clothing measurements in their listings. But if they haven’t, you can always ask! Usually, people are happy to give them. Just knowing your inseam for pants and your ideal pit-to-pit width for tops can drastically cut down on the amount of things you order that don’t fit you. I pretty much always ask for measurements when shopping resale, and I rarely buy anything without seeing the measurements first. This practice has saved me from a lot of ill-fitting purchases.

2. Be critical about photos. I learned the hard way that on sites like Poshmark, there’s no rule about portraying an item’s color even remotely accurately. Sellers can filter their photos to their heart’s content. I look for photos that are taken in clear, neutral lighting, without funny casts or colors that seem artificially sharp or intense. I also appreciate when a seller has described the color in their listing description. If the item is from a known brand, I google to see what the item really looks like under different lighting conditions.

3. Make offers - and don’t forget about shipping costs. On sites like ThredUp, you can get free shipping by bundling your items into one cart. On sites like Poshmark, eBay, or Mercari, you’re unfortunately paying shipping for each individual item. Keep this in mind when making offers! An item might be listed for $10, but in many cases shipping will take you closer to $20. Many sellers cross-list their items on different sites, so I usually do a quick check to see if I can get the same item for less on a different platform. Don’t forget to make offers! Many sellers will accept a lower price just to get the item out of their house.

The Philosophical:

1. Don’t get sucked into the hunt. Just because clothes and accessories on these sites are cheaper than retail doesn’t mean they’re a good deal, or that your purchases don’t matter. It’s easy to get carried away and realize that you’ve spent $150 on random items. I try not to get on resale sites unless I already have an idea what I’m looking for, even if that’s just a specific color. Then I hit “like” or put items into my cart and leave them there for a few days. At that point, I’ll have a better idea of whether the item is a true need/desire, or just a passing impulse. As a bonus, many sellers will go ahead and make you a lower offer when you’ve liked something or added it to your cart.

2. Filter purchases through the lens of your ideal style. Just because something’s cheap doesn’t mean it’s a good fit for you or your wardrobe. Maybe that dress is the absolute perfect color, but you already know it’s not a good cut for you. Maybe that sweater is your ideal silhouette, but the color is one you never like wearing. Maybe you found a purse in the perfect shape and color but you know the size is going to be impractical for you. Just like in thrift stores, it can be easy to justify things you wouldn’t normally buy on the basis of them being a “good deal.” But if it isn’t right for you, it’s not a good deal, even if it’s free. Ask yourself what you’re going to wear those new shoes with and if you really need a new winter hat.

3. Use resale sites for inspiration. I use resale sites for ideas just as much as for actual shopping. I often save things that I know I’m not going to buy, because I want to remember to keep an eye out for something similar that will work better for me. Buying the first thing that inspires you isn’t always the greatest idea. Be patient and wait for exactly the right item.

Bonus:

1. Resell items that don’t work for you. One of the worst things you can do is buy loads of items from resale sites, find that they don’t fit or aren’t the color you thought, and shove them into the back of your closet. List these items yourself to get some of your money back!

Want to work with me? My fall books are open for color analysis, image analysis, and style coaching packages. You can explore all of them here!

Dressing For Autumn When You Aren't an Autumn

Every year when the weather turns, I see so many inquiries from women who are Brights, Lights, True Spring, and True Summer wondering what they should wear in the autumn and winter months. 

The simplest answer is that you should continue wearing the colors that suit you best. Light Summers shouldn’t suddenly start wearing warm mustard, and Bright Springs shouldn’t start wearing dark burgundy. While you might look appropriate for the season of the year, you will not look your best, any more than you would look your best wearing mustard or burgundy in July. 

That said, I know this pull toward cozy, autumn colors is a strong one for many women. You may want to carefully bend the boundaries of your season, or choose colors within your season that feel more autumnal to you.

Here are some ways to tweak your season toward its warmer/darker shades, construct outfits to feel more autumnal, and even indulge in autumn colors outside of your style.

For Clothing/Makeup:

If you’re a Bright Winter, you’ll want to look for deep emerald, berry purple, and rich navy during this time. If you can find Bright Winter’s cool espresso brown, it’s an excellent choice. You might prefer red lipstick over pink or fuchsia.

If you’re a Bright Spring, you’ll want to look for mango yellow, clear root beer brown, rich coral, and bright navy. For lipstick, you might like orange-toned coral and red more than pink.

If you’re a True Spring, this transition is a little easier due to your inherent warmth. Look for warm sandy beige, coconut brown, golden yellow, and juicy red-orange. Your usual orange-red lipstick will work just fine - on you, no one will notice they aren’t autumn shades.

If you’re a Light Spring, you might like more neutrals during this time of year, like sandy taupe and warm light brown, with accents of fresh golden green and papaya. Resist the urge to choose browner lipsticks, which will look muddy. Instead, go for cantaloupe or sheer gold.

If you’re a Light Summer, things get tricky due to your cooler palette. Look for your soft light aubergine, blue gray, and navy, with watermelon red and raspberry pink as accent colors. For lipstick, you might prefer a warmer coral-rose during this season.

If you’re a True Summer, neutrals and darker shades will help make up for the distinct lack of warmth in your palette. Look for your denim blue, soft grape, and red berry. Gray-taupe and cool cocoa brown are great neutrals. For lipstick, choose the darker shades of raspberry and rose in your palette.

For Outfits:

One of the hallmarks of autumn colors in general is that they are not very high contrast in relationship to one another. When putting autumn outfits together, aim for a more layered or blended look by combining different shades of the same color. You can also choose to wear predominantly your season’s neutrals, with a pop of seasonally-appropriate color. For a Light Spring, this might be a warm ivory sweater paired with a golden khaki skirt and boots, and a cantaloupe purse. 

Earthy detailing can also add an autumnal feel to your clothing and accessories. Fringe on a scarf, patterned buttons, and polymer clay or leather earrings are great for this. Textured fabrics like cable knit (and sweater knits in general), ribbing, and corduroy feel cozy regardless of color. Grommets, whipstitching, tassels, embroidery, braiding, and other design motifs can add texture and visual interest to your seasonal colors.

For Beyond:

Nail polish can be a cheap and fun way to step outside of your season without investing serious money or storage space in clothing that doesn’t work for your coloring. If you usually get your nails professionally done, you won’t even get stuck with the bottle. 

One of my favorite ways to indulge a craving for colors outside of my season is to acquire them in a mug, a notebook, a phone case, or a throw blanket - something I’ll be in contact with on a daily basis, but not wearing on my body. After all, I’m not usually staring at my own outfit or makeup all day. This way you get all the enjoyment of looking at the colors, but you won’t suffer the visual side effects.

Want to work with me? My fall books are open for color analysis, image analysis, and style coaching packages. You can explore all of them here!

Five Simple But Impactful Style Tips

None of these tips are a replacement for determining the shapes and silhouettes that you feel best in - or for getting clear on what you want your style to be. But all of them can help you to prevent regrettable purchases, construct more interesting outfits, and generally have more fun with your clothes. Here are five tips that I use all of the time with my style coaching clients:

Simple Tip #1: Find a good shopping partner. This can be your best friend, your sister, your romantic partner…or for many of my clients it’s me! This person doesn’t necessarily have to go physically shopping with you, but they need to be able to give helpful feedback when you try things on (via photos or in real life). Honesty is a plus, and so is honesty that doesn’t hurt your feelings so badly that you never want to talk to them again. Ideally, this person knows you well enough that they’ll be able to talk sense into you when you swear you’re going to wear something that you definitely won’t. It’s also a bonus if they can gently push you out of your comfort zone and suggest new or interesting things for you to try.

Simple Tip #2: Shop with a plan. Aimless shopping can be fun and spark creative purchases, but if all of your shopping is of the aimless variety, you're probably going to wind up with a wardrobe full of things that don't go together. Balance fun shopping with “I’m on a mission” shopping. Sometimes you need to focus your efforts on finding a couple of work-appropriate dresses, or a comfy pair of walking shoes. I keep a running list of clothing items I’d like to acquire during the current or upcoming season. This keeps my wishlist top of mind. Don’t forget to ask yourself strategic questions when shopping, like “What am I going to wear this sweater with?” or “Does this dress capture the essence of what I want my style to be?”

Simple Tip #3: Try things on, even when you think they might not work. Obviously, use common sense here. If you know that anything mini-length looks terrible on you, don’t waste your time repeatedly trying on mini dresses. But looking at something on the hanger is really no substitute for trying it on. Sometimes that sleeve you thought looked weird on the mannequin is actually great once you put it on your real body, or that boxy cropped sweater has a nice drape and flow against your waistline compared to how it looked on the hanger.

Simple Tip #4: Don’t fall for the myth of variety. How many times have you bought something because it was different from everything else you had, but you never really wore it? It’s totally okay if most of the items in your wardrobe resemble one another in style - in fact, it probably means that you know what you like, and you know what works for your body. There are plenty of opportunities to introduce variety into your outfits without reinventing the wheel, like choosing new colors in your palette, accessorizing with jewelry or scarves, and playing around with different necklines. There’s room for outlier pieces, but make sure they fit into the larger context of your style, and that you’ll actually be motivated to leave the house wearing them.

Simple Tip #5: Photograph your outfits. Seeing ourselves through the lens of a camera can help us to be more objective about what we and our clothes actually look like. You can photograph yourself in a mirror, set up a tripod, or have someone else take your photo. Pictures can help us see what is and isn’t working about an outfit, from fit and proportion issues to colors that don’t quite make sense together. It’s also really convenient to to be able to look back on your outfits over the years. Bonus: Combine this tip with tip #1, and find a trusted person to give feedback on your outfit photos.

How to Create a Capsule Wardrobe That Isn't Totally Boring

How many times have you read a capsule wardrobe guide suggesting you construct your wardrobe out of only navy, white, and khaki? 

Or for the more adventurous: black, cream, and forest green?

How many times have you read a capsule wardrobe guide suggesting you run out and buy a khaki trench coat that is surely going to become a wardrobe staple?

Honestly these guides bore me to absolute tears, and have since long before I’d ever even heard of color and style analysis. 

The problem with these guides is that they are boring. They are SO boring. And in being so boring, they squash any semblance of the creativity, individuality, and excitement that can be present in getting dressed every morning. You might not have to think about your wardrobe at all, but are you even going to like it?

You can work with a limited color palette, a limited silhouette, and/or a limited number of items and be very, very happy with your wardrobe. I’ve done so for many years.

But the secret is to get clear on what YOU - you personally, not the person being paid to write an article with sponsored links - look good in, are comfortable wearing, and feel excited by.

If that happens to be a palette of black, cream, and forest green with a khaki trench coat thrown into the mix, then more power to you.

If not (or if you just don’t know how to turn those things into a functional capsule), I have some tips for you:

1. Yes, you should pick your neutrals. In a limited wardrobe, juggling too many neutrals can get complicated and annoying, unless you’re really into mixed neutrals/metals (which is totally valid). For most people, this comes down to making choices between white or cream, black or brown, and silver or gold. Don’t forget about metallics. They can be really impactful as elevated neutrals, especially in shoes and bags.

2. Choose your favorite flattering colors. When you wear the colors you look good in, your outfits get an immediate boost with little effort. You may want a rainbow of color in your capsule wardrobe (which is where working with a specific season can give you a lot of flexibility), or you may want to limit your palette to a few specific tones. Maybe you want to work with a few neutrals and a color, or a few colors and a neutral. Think about how your chosen colors will work together in terms of specific pieces. Will you wear neutrals on the top or on the bottom? Will you use colors in your accessories? Pinterest (or even the color combo strip on your TCI swatchbook if you have one) can be great resources for this. Don’t just look at clothing, either: think about color palettes you’ve seen in the wild that appeal to you.

3. Choose your silhouette(s). Most people favor a couple of silhouettes in clothing, and it makes sense to limit your capsule to those silhouettes for the greatest permutations of mixing and matching. If you don’t already know your best proportions and silhouette strategy, this where a Personal Image Analysis can come in handy.

4. Think seasonally. Your ideal color palette and silhouette strategy may change according to the weather. In the summer, I live in fit-and-flare dresses or bodycon midi dresses. In the winter, I love cozy sweaters with jeans or nice leggings. Think about the colors and styles you gravitate toward season-by-season, and consider having a spring/summer capsule and a fall/winter capsule for maximum flexibility.

5. Examine your lifestyle. Do you work in an office? Do you work from home? How often do you go out socially? Do you spend lots of time in your yard? Are you riding public transit? Are you engaging in public speaking? Do you have little kids who are frequently wiping peanut butter on you? Practical considerations will heavily influence the clothing you need and the clothing you will actually wear.

6. Be honest with yourself. Do you have anywhere to wear a trench coat? Do you even like trench coats? If the answer to both is yes, then buy a fabulous one. If the answer to either question is no, they are not an essential item in your capsule wardrobe and you should skip them. Likewise, make sure you’re not purchasing for your fantasy self who has her own show on Netflix. A little romanticizing of our wardrobes is wonderful, but you should be purchasing for your real life, not your fantasy one.

7. Balance repetition and visual interest. A wardrobe full of solid colors and plain textures can feel uninspired, but you might be worried that if you jazz up your capsule pieces, people will notice how often you repeat your clothing. I personally don’t care if people see me in the same colorful patterns all the time, but I know that some people want to keep their capsule wardrobes interesting while still flying under-the-radar. If that’s you, look for textures like rib or cable knits, crepe, or shirring/smocking. Neckline details like cutouts, embroidery, lace, buttons, or contrasting trim can be subtle but impactful. And don’t forget the sleeves: bishop sleeves, dolman sleeves, split sleeves, or cuffed sleeves can make a plain blouse feel more intriguing. Accessories, particularly colorful ones, can be very effective for spicing up simple outfits.

8. Be flexible. There are no hard and fast rules. You can do whatever you want! How well your capsule works for you, and how happy it makes you, is much more important than the specific number of pieces you have in your capsule. Maybe you choose to limit your clothing pieces but not your accessories, or you have an actual uniform that you wear every day. The only person your wardrobe needs to work for is you, so take the inspiration that speaks to you, and leave the rest behind.