The answer is, it may surprise you, simply YES!
You CAN dress in the latest designer clothes without breaking your bank account.
Check out TheRealReal.com
If you don’t know about them not only you are wasting money either by only buying cheap clothes (and looking like you ONLY shop at Walmart instead of when you want to) or you are overspending on expensive clothes at designer stores.
Of course if you have a personal shopper then you can skip this review.
Based in the U.S., RealReal authenticates and sells designer clothes and accessories for sale online and in their stores.
If you buy from RealReal you are buying genuine designer brands.
They ONLY carry top designer brands, usually at half or less than the “list” prices you see in designer stores or the top department stores and not everyone lives close to a Neiman Marcus.
How RealReal Works
How does RealReal do this? Well some of the clothes they sell are lightly used as you would find in a thrift store, the difference being that few thrift stores carry Lanvin, Ferragamo, Gucci, and such.
When they do you are likely to find they are knock offs.
RealReal takes these used designer goods on consignment. Everything from suits and dresses to handbags and $50,000 watches.
Other items are absolutely new complete with all the correct labels.
RealReal Consignment or New?
How do you know which is which? Simple, RealReal carefully describes every item detailing any problems with used items and also guaranteeing that those listed as “pristine” are either new from the designer house or unworn.
I have been self-employed for most of my working life having gone quickly up a corporate ladder and found I didn’t like the climb or the view from up there. Therefore I stopped wearing a wrist watch, tie, or suit.
Occasionally I feel the need to dress like I really am a successful C.E.O. of a corporation and not the janitor.
So while I own only one suit so I either get the best, including accessories or I buy the cheapest.
RealReal – Why Mail Order?
For me it would be a 100 mile one way trip to a store that carries
good clothes. Also, they never fit just right so I would need to make several trips to a good tailor.
I also buy very cheap clothes from Temu for everyday wear but
I already reviewed Temu. I will include some price comparison for
their clothes – I recently bought 3 pair of decent cargo pants for $35 total.)
But the same week I spent $300 on a new cashmere sports coat marked down from $980.
Over the past year on RealReal I got a Lanvin French designer suit made in Italy for $900. It is new and had a list price over $5.000.
The suit was absolutely new with all the proper tags and insignia, never worn but probably a size they had trouble selling or perhaps it was 6 months out of style.
RealReal – Shoes
I Also bought two pair of new Tod shoes (driving shoes and Chelsea Boots) – very soft and comfortable and Ferragamo driving shoes but I returned those (for free) – for me they were too stiff to be comfortable but they were genuine and very high quality (among my many careers I used to work in a shoe factory.).
All the shoes were a minimum of 50% off and all were obviously new.
RealReal seldom (if ever?) has original packageing such as shoe boxes but the shoes came in draw string bags, one Ferrari Red (and marked Ferrari), the other in a white RealReal bag, again high quality.
The Lanvin suit came in a quality suit bag with Lanvin hanger.
RealReal – Today!
Today (Friday as I write this) three sports jackets for $350 arrived – they had been ordered Tuesday.
All were top designer brands, one new, two very slightly used – as described in the listings.
Total new list prices were $1,800, one wool, one linen, and one
cashmere. One was Lanvin – Paris, one was Hermès, the other Ami
(Alexandre Mattiussi Paris.)
RealReal – Returns
Clearly marked, photographed (from several angles where appropriate), and described, most RealReal items are eligible for free return. Only the most heavily discounted items ~ 80-90% off are usually ineligible for return and refund.
Even then you can send them back for consignment sale and you will get a percentage back or credited to your account.
Sizes are mostly European and can be a bit off for US buyers – that happened with the first Lanvin suit I ordered but it was eligible for return and I just got the next larger size. With new items there are sometimes several sizes available.
Therealreal.com has physical stores in the U.S. but they will ship to 60 countries including Australia.
So, whether you have a closet full of designer clothes and handbags you no longer want or you are looking to have top quality designer items without taking out a second mortgage, check out RealReal.
BTW, although I am not a purse person my wife bought some very fine jewelry and what she insists are called “crossbody purses” from RealReal and they were all exactly as described.
I never really got the idea of spending $9000 for a purse that looked to me like half the ones at Walmart but I do see the rationale of carrying a $9000 purse that only cost $900.
Designer clothes are durable, very well made, and, when you are only going to wear them once in a while you can justify owning one really nice suit.
Give TheRealReal.com a look, you might not see anything you would want but they appear to get thousands of new items every week.
As with any of these sales sites you will get scores of emails and promotions but you can always opt out of those and you might find something in those which are just what you want.
