How To Cure Wardrobe Regret
If you are anything like me, you might experience acute ‘wardrobe regret’ on a regular basis.
‘Wardrobe regret’ happens when you are trying to choose an outfit, and instead of finding the deciding item to tie the whole ensemble together, you pick up something you bought, and now regret.
My biggest regret is currently a pair of beige, super-tight DKNY trousers that I wore once (thinking about the ensuing photos still makes me profoundly uneasy), but they would look great on someone else, perhaps with a little more height.
Some common circumstances under which you might end up with something similar are:
- When a shopping experience has made you realize with startling clarity that, to achieve happiness, you need a whole new look immediately: starting with an item that goes with literally nothing else in your wardrobe.
- When you love an item yet they don’t have it in your size, but you buy it anyway as it will compel you to lose weight or maybe with thick socks those boots will fit.
- When shopping online with wine.
You will stare at the mistake with deep disappointment – there it is, obnoxiously taking up valuable wardrobe space, serving no purpose and you don’t know what to do with it…
However, your mistake could be someone else’s treasure, and visa versa. There are a whole host of websites wherein you can sell your unwanted items and make your money back, or just pick up something fabulous. Here are the best three:
COVETIQUE:
Covetique is the daddy of online designer resale in the UK. Invested in by ASOS and loved by many, Covetique takes the hassle out of selling in a curated, luxury online environment. You can make money without leaving your laptop with their courier service, and don’t have to faff around taking pictures or writing a description, as they do all the hard work for you. However, in exchange for their trouble, Covetique take 37.5% of the final sale (exclusive of VAT), leaving you with about 55% to keep. This is definitely worth it if you are selling a well-kept investment piece, like a handbag, watch or coat, but your jeans and t-shirts may be better off somewhere else (unless you have 20+ items to sell at a time, in which case they offer a reduced commission rate of 30%). Shopping-wise, Covetique is absolutely top notch, with a huge brand database (designer only), super-fast shipping/returns, and hundreds of hardly worn, beautifully presented pieces at a fraction of their original price.
VESTIAIRE COLLECTIVE:
Vestiaire Collective is a French resale company that have recently branched into the UK. TVC has an exceptionally large brand database that ranges from high street to designer, and thousands of international members who you can liaise online with prior to a sale. Commission starts relatively low at 15%, but strangely enough increases to 33% for the cheapest item bracket on the website (0-£50), which seems a little mean considering these are the customers who presumably need money the most. For those of you looking to shop, TVC has a great selection of bloggers whose wardrobes you can shop (Camille Charriere’s is to die for), and exclusive vintage and couture pieces from the likes of Chanel and Louis Vuitton. However, shipping can be slow, many items are poorly photographed and incorrectly priced… and the majority of the customer service team are French, which can be charming but problematic.
DEPOP:
Depop is a relatively new app that allows you to sell your unwanted items directly from your phone. Like TVC, Depop doesn’t do brand discrimination, so you will find anything from Cos to Celine. The App is easy to use and runs smoothly, and has a huge international database, including big-time bloggers such as Chiara Firagni. Depop is brilliant in its slick design, simple format and total ease of selling, but buying is more problematic – items are categorized by tagging, so you have to be very specific about what you are looking for. There is also a lot of spam. For instance, a sneaky user could tag a New Look skirt as #Prada to get more views, so wading through this can be frustrating and long-winded.