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There are two very different ways to buy designer fashion secondhand.
The first is to chase the names everyone already recognizes. This can be satisfying, especially when the object is exceptional, but the market has usually done the math before you arrive. The logo is legible, the demand is established, and the price often reflects both.
The second way is more interesting. You look for the label whose design language is stronger than its current cultural volume. You buy the jacket because the cut is extraordinary, the shoe because the line is strange in exactly the right way, or the knit because it has an identity that does not need a monogram to explain itself.
Resale demand changes quickly. The RealReal’s 2025 report, for example, identified Isabel Marant as a major comeback label after a sharp rise in searches. That is the reminder: a brand can sit quietly in the secondary market until a new generation learns how to see it.
The names below are not guaranteed investments, and not every piece from any designer is worth buying. Think of this as a point-of-view list, not a stock tip. We are looking for design value, wardrobe value, and the possibility that the market has not fully caught up.
Fashion people do not consider Dries Van Noten obscure, but the secondhand market can still treat portions of the label more gently than its textile intelligence deserves. This is especially true outside the most obvious runway pieces.
Look for print combinations that should not work but do, dense jacquards, thoughtful menswear, fluid trousers, embroidered evening pieces, and coats with quiet complexity. Dries is useful because the clothes are expressive without requiring a complete costume. One printed shirt or richly colored jacket can change the temperature of everything around it.
Best secondhand targets: outerwear, print shirts, skirts, trousers, knits, and earlier menswear.
Marni is at its best when color, proportion, and material feel slightly off-center. The label can make a sensible coat strange with one curve, or turn an apparently awkward print into something deeply wearable.
Secondhand Marni is broad, so edit hard. Look for the pieces that carry a clear idea: sculptural jewelry, graphic shoes, unusual color stories, painterly prints, cocoon shapes, and strong early-to-mid-period ready-to-wear. Skip the item that is relying only on the label. Buy the one that could be recognized across a room without it.
Best secondhand targets: coats, dresses, jewelry, shoes, print separates, and unusual bags.
Minimalism is often mistaken for simplicity. Good Jil Sander shows the difference.
The interest is in the exactness: the shoulder angle, the length of a coat, the negative space around the body, the way a trouser breaks, the quality of a seemingly plain fabric. Because understated clothing photographs less loudly than logo pieces, excellent Jil Sander can be overlooked in crowded resale feeds.
Look closely at labels and era, but do not become so label-archaeology obsessed that you ignore the garment. The best buy is the piece that creates a line you cannot easily find elsewhere.
Best secondhand targets: coats, tailoring, trousers, crisp shirts, leather goods, and knitwear.
Martine Sitbon’s work has the kind of romantic intelligence that resists a single keyword. It can be sheer and severe, soft and rock-adjacent, feminine without becoming polite.
Look for bias-cut dresses, velvet, lace, translucent layers, narrow tailoring, and pieces that feel like they belong to a person with excellent records. Rue du Mail, the later label, can also surface at approachable prices and deserves the same close inspection.
These are clothes that reward styling. A delicate Sitbon blouse under a hard jacket, or a fluid dress with blunt shoes, feels more current than a literal revival look.
Best secondhand targets: dresses, sheer blouses, velvet, tailored jackets, and evening separates.
Whether vintage or modern, knowing how to tell if clothing is good quality can transform your style.
Quirk BOUTIQUE, is located at 112 West 9th St. #200 Los Angeles, CA 90015
When you shop with the knowledge of how to tell if clothing is good quality, you ensure lasting satisfaction with your purchases.
Ultimately, understanding how to tell if clothing is good quality empowers you to choose wisely and invest in timeless pieces.
