I know I am late to the Poshmark game, even for a Canadian, but lets start with what may be an obvious confession: I was a skeptic. I’ve been an off-and-on eBay user for the better part of 2 decades, but as my thrifting has taken off, I have used online resale platforms less and less as a means of purchasing clothing. Online resale cannot compete with thrifting on price, and I am fortunate to live in an area where thrifting offers excellent choice for my size and style preferences. I did look at Poshmark when the app was first launched in Canada, since I had heard American friends extolling its values, but was not immediately impressed. Price-wise, it was no better than eBay while the selection was worse. Months passed, and I ignored the app despite the fact that friends like Sherry (from Save Spend Splurge) continue to rave about the great deals they were finding through it.

Well, I am ready to change my tune.

I am not sure what prompted me to open the app again recently, but I was immediately struck by how many more listings were suddenly available – even for my more niche designers of interest. The app took some getting used to – it’s not as intuitive for me as eBay, and has a worse search function – but it has features that I do like a lot. My favourite is the option to “like” a listing; it’s equivalent to placing it on your eBay “watch list” with the added bonus that the seller will often extend you a “special offer” (i.e. discount) within a short time frame later to entice you into buying the item. Personally, I prefer responding to an offer versus making one first, so this system works well for me. Moreover, I like the offer process as a whole better on Poshmark than eBay (even when I am the one making the first move). It’s so easy, in fact, that I have often made lowballs offers not expecting them to be accepted and … oops, they were. [Sidenote: always bid responsibly, of course.]

Having purchased a half dozen items over the past month – I know, I know – I feel like I’ve got enough experience under my belt to share my thoughts here with other potential fellow Poshmark newbs. [Are there any? LOL!] First up, let me reconfirm: Poshmark cannot compete with thrifting on price alone. Even with the shipping discount that the app offers ($12.99 flat rate shipping through Canada Post which is CHEAP, let me tell you, here in the Great White North, sigh), prices are inevitably higher. I have a concrete example of that: the Zara floral crop top I shared recently. I looked it up on Poshmark after experiencing regret over not thrifting when the opportunity first came up. There was one listing for $20; even had I been able to negotiate a discount, with shipping, it would have cost more than double than what I ended up paying at Value Village. That being said, there are other ways in which Poshmark is a valuable resource, which I am going to address below.

Second, as with any resale platform, you have to come in armed with knowledge. You have to know your measurements, and not be afraid to ask for more information from sellers, because you cannot rely on sizing alone. On the whole (and there are plenty of exceptions), Poshmark sellers tend not to be as consistent as eBayers about including measurements in their listings, but they seem to be promptly responsive to questions. I also check prior messages on an item to see if someone else has already asked for measurements – they usually have. You also have to know your brands and what they are worth – both in terms of retail, and how much you’re willing to spend. I’ve noticed that certain brands are more popular on Poshmark, in the sense that they resell for a higher percentage of retail value; it’s worth “shopping around” to other resale platforms to see if you can get a better deal or, indeed, wait for a sale at the retail store. As I mentioned, it’s super easy to get sucked into a offer/counteroffer scenario, and I find that it helps to have a firm bottom line in place so you avoid later buyer’s regrets.

I haven’t had quite enough experience yet to share tips and tricks for finding cool deals on Poshmark, but here is my general approach to using the app: (1) looking up listings for higher end designers that are hard to find in my local thrift stores; and (2) looking for very specific items that I haven’t had luck thrifting over a number of months.

Examples? Why, of course.

This Dries Van Noten skirt is my favourite Posh find to date. Stock photos don’t do it justice; just wait till you see my outfit later this week. I “paid up” for it a lot, if you use thrift prices as a benchmark, but this is a piece that I would likely never find in new condition at a thrift store. Mine came with the Nordstrom tags still attached, and I paid about 10% of the retail price – a bargain by consignment standards. DVN is my favourite designer, and this is a very “Dries” piece, if that makes sense. I adore it.

Similar story with this Marni top (another favourite designer):

Basically, I stalk all new listings regularly, and “like” the ones that are both appealing AND listed at a decent price. For my top designers, anything under $100 warrants further attention, but the number is flexible depending on the designer, the piece, and the likelihood of finding something similar at thrift. Then I either wait for the seller to make me an offer, or make an offer of my own. I ended up scoring this blouse for $30CAD plus shipping, which was a very nice surprise.

In terms of the second category of items I stalk on Posh, this Gap sweater is a good example:

This isn’t a pricey designer item, but I am personally obsessed with Gap novelty stripe sweaters, and this specific piece reminded me of Kenzo’s tiger designs. It’s not a style I have ever seen in thrift stores here, and while I may one day find it there, I was willing to pay a premium to get it NOW. Again, I was able to negotiate the price down to something I felt was reasonable (compared to what I would pay on eBay or local consignment) and I went for it.

Another example is this Target dress:

I wrote about this last week, but I have been wanting a star print dress for a long time and my first choice – by Valentino, sigh – has not been easy to track down (at thrift or otherwise). Nor, surprisingly, has a good alternative. So I pulled up a list of star print dresses on Poshmark, and looked for one that met as many of my requirements as possible, for the lowest price possible ($15CAD plus shipping). Voila. I am very happy with this piece, and while I may eventually upgrade it – should the elusive Valentino come across my path – I am quite content with it in the meantime.

If you’ve been a longer term Poshmark user, I would love to hear your thoughts on the app: how you use it, your best finds, etc. And please share tips and tricks with the rest of us in the comments too!

The Short(s) of It

It’s been a while since I’ve done an Adventurer-inspired outfit, and these recently thrifted faux leather shorts gave me the push I needed for it. Initially, I tried to do a sort of “hypebeast”/streetwear inspired outfit, which as you can tell from my inability to even use the right reference language, was doomed to fail because that’s not really my wheelhouse. It did get me thinking about what “effortless” means to me in the context of clothing, which is a post for another day. Instead, I decided to challenge myself to style these shorts in a way that better suits my aesthetic. Even if the result is less trendy or cool, this felt like “me” and not a costume. Plus, any chance to wear my Jo March vest makes for a good day in my books.

Starry Night

I have been obsessed with a star-print Valentino dress for what feels like ages, though in reality it’s only been about a year or so. I have been unsuccessful in hunting down the original, so I recently caved and bought this Target dress as an experiment. It checked off most of the relevant boxes: the length (maxi), the feel (dark boho), the fabric (it has a poly chiffon-like overlay which gives it the right amount of floatiness even if not the ideal quality), and the print (not too big, not too small, not too regular). And, honestly? Other than the quality, I really like this dress. For $20, it fills this star-print dress-shaped hole in my closet really well. And I love wearing it and playing around (creatively speaking) with it. I can think of so many ways I want to wear it, especially heading into fall/winter. The best part is that I can wear it to work, considering my WFH situation, so bring on the dark fairytale outfits!

Formula Repeater

I am very fond of this particular wrap/belt combo so here it is again over a different dress this time. If it ain’t broken, etc. It works so well with the arty flair of the dress, adding texture and some subtle visual interest without competing with the bold print. And it’s a nice way to ease into transitional dressing, which is just around the corner for us.

Last week Monday was National Thrift Shop Day, but that’s pretty much every day around here. There are many reasons why I love to thrift, and I am fortunate to live in a place with a thriving thrift scene. Even as popularity of thrifting has surged in recent years, stores are still overflowing with inventory and plenty of cool finds. If you follow some of my fellow Edmonton thrifters, you know I am not an exception; I am constantly marveling at the neat things that others find, and it motivates me to hunt for my own treasures.

This is probably as good a segue as any into looking at my best thrift scores from the past month.

Y3 Adidas bag

I wasn’t too familiar with Yohji Yamamoto’s Adidas collab, but then a funny coincidence happened. A few days before my thrift visit, while out for a walk in our neighbourhood, I saw someone carrying a backpack with the Y3 logo. Out of curiosity, I googled it once I got home, and that’s how I learned about the line. So when I spotted the Y3 logo on this bag at the thrift store days later, I immediately went for a closer look. Even though it’s a mass market collab, you can tell from the quality of leather and stitching that it’s pretty good quality. I researched a bit and found out this was a bag from 2007 – and I was even able to find what I think is a picture of it from the runway. Pretty neat, eh?

GAP Rainbow Heart sweater

I am low key collecting GAP rainbow stripe sweaters (I have 3 soon to be 4 others) so I was pumped to find this version. I don’t typically wear stripes but there is something so cheerful about wide stripes in rainbow colours that I find hard to resist. They also provide a nice, graphic contrast to many pieces in my closet, and add just a touch of whimsy that doesn’t feel too twee for me.

Jimmy Choo shoes

Not my first time thrifting Jimmy Choos, but always exciting to find a pair in my size. I like that these are more of a kitten heel; if and when I got back to the office, they will be part of regular rotation. Jimmy Choo and Manolo Blahnik are my two fave designer shoe brands for looks and comfort. This pair was almost brand new, with a portion of the original Holt Renfrew sticker still on the sole; while I did pay up a bit ($25), it was still a great deal.

Zara crop top

Not all my favourite finds are designer. This Zara crop top is a case in point. I spotted it a while back at VV, but balked at paying $10 for it. But it haunted me. I even looked it up on Poshmark, only to realize that it would cost more. So, I went back the following week and, luckily, it was still there. I paid the ten damn dollars and have no regrets. I have a feeling this will be one of those “surprise” super versatile pieces that I will be happily styling for years.

Tulle skirt

Ok, yeah, not the most versatile piece. But I am obsessed with tulle skirts at the moment, and this one makes me so happy. My dream is to some day own a fluffy Dior or Comme des Garcons tulle skirt, but in the meantime I will happily take this Boohoo version for $6.50 and play around with it.

MCM candle holder

This on the other hand, was something I grabbed so fast, your head would have spun if you saw it. I’ve been looking for a MCM candle holder exactly like this one for ages, after seeing it on a vintage reseller’s Instagram. They resell for $200CAD and up, which was more than I could justify, so I had kinda resigned myself to never getting one. Plot twist! I have never had much luck in the candle aisle before, especially at Goodwill, so this was a huge and pleasant surprise. I paid $15 and I couldn’t be happier.

Eileen Fisher top

I haven’t thrifted Eileen Fisher for a while, as my local stores have started marking up prices on this brand a lot. Most EF pieces I see are rather bland, and I don’t want to spend $20 and up for plain basics like that. But while technically plain, I guess, this tunic top is anything but boring so it was worth the $15 price tag. I love velvet – always feels so luxe – and the silk side panels (not visible here, sorry) are a nice detail.

In other news, this past month I finally starting experimenting with the Poshmark app (as a buyer) and I think I may need to do a whole separate post on that experience because it’s been … interesting. Stay tuned.