Carbon-Dating Your Consignment Purchase

Silk Dress: Sass & Bide (Consignment, Labels Lately) | Blouse Worn as Cardigan: Dolce & Gabbana (Consignment, Tokio 7) | iPad Case, Worn as Clutch: Coach | Sandals: Lanvin (Consignment, Tokio 7)
Silk Dress: Sass & Bide (Altered; Crystal Neckline removed. Consignment, purchased in Atlanta) | Blouse Worn as Cardigan: Dolce & Gabbana (Consignment, purchased in New York) | Hoop Earrings: NIQUEA.D (Papyrus) | iPad Case, Worn as Clutch: Coach | Sandals: Lanvin (Consignment, purchased in New York)

When you shop luxury consignment, knowledge is power. Many shoppers fall victim to the assumption that if an item “designer,” it automatically is tasteful, classic and worth the splurge.

This is untrue. Despite the millions of marketing dollars spent to convince us otherwise, high-end brands can churn out garbage, just like every other company on the planet. When you’re shopping consignment, it can get more complicated — because there’s a mix of older and newer pieces from each brand. To cull the cream from the chaos, it’s helpful to have a passing familiarity with trend timelines: Some items are hopelessly dated, sculpted by trends that have curdled, like spoiled milk.

I try not to buy anything more than 5 years old — unless it’s a proven classic or valuable vintage. If you’re trying to guess how old a consignment piece is, imagine which celebrity would have worn it — and when.

When I spotted this brown silk dress by Sass & Bide on a recent trip to Atlanta, it teetered dangerously toward the “Do Not Buy” column, thanks to a neckline was completely encrusted in tacky, fake crystals (think Paris Hilton, circa sex tape release).  My sister commented that it looked like a “bad homecoming dress.”

These dresses have similar details to the Sass & Bide dress, which helped me narrow down the year it was created. Left: Nicole Richie's ribbon-tied straps in 2004. Right: Natasha Gilbert's brown gown at the Costume Institute Gala in 2005.
These are images are from one of my fashion scrapbooks, which I often reference to track trend timelines. These dresses have similar design details to my Sass & Bide consignment dress, which helped me narrow down the year it was created. Left: Nicole Richie’s ribbon-tied straps in 2003/2004. Right: Natasha Gilbert’s brown gown at the Costume Institute Gala in 2005.

Based on the design details, such as ribbon-tied straps and the aforementioned crystals, I guesstimated that the Sass & Bide dress was made in the mid-aughts (2004–2007), which broke my 5-year rule. But I loved the way the matte silk draped and floated. I loved the ribboned details, which provided dimension and “swoosh.” I wondered: Could this dress be saved — without the crystals? The dress only cost $30, so I rolled the dice, made the purchase and took it to my tailor.

Left: The dress, with the crystal beading intact, in the Fall 2005 Sass & Bide RTW fashion show. Right: The same dress 9 years later, with crystals removed.
Left: The dress, with the crystal beading, in the Fall 2005 Sass & Bide RTW fashion show. Right: The same dress 9 years later, with crystals removed.

When you’re shopping consignment, don’t be swayed by designer cachet. Try to pinpoint the year of origin before you buy, and determine whether the piece is past its expiration date. And lastly, have a vision — and the right tailor.