The Real Real, arguably heaven in a website, from its wide selection of designer handbags to cheaply priced love shack fancy dresses, there is something for every shopper. Sutton and I have bought our fair share of items from the Real Real, some amazing and others awful. Ever since my first purchase, my Kate Spade wallet that cost me $30 in 2020, Sutton and I have made a combined 19 purchases on The Real Real (13 being mine and the other 6 being Sutton’s). While you may think this website is out of your price range, most of the time The Real Real actually lists an item 100-200 dollars off its original price. The items you can find on the site are gold, but you have to hunt. The other thing is that you have to be quick to get the item because it can go on hold at any moment. You may find your dream dress in the perfect size and in great quality but lose your opportunity to purchase it because you misplaced your wallet at that exact time. When you come back to it later, the truth is it will likely be sold. Another plus, the website is updated daily. This is war and you can never let your guard down you will leave with nothing. In reality, I do have a couple of favorite shops that I tend to look through on the app. For vacation days, I look towards Farm Rio, Poupette St. Barth, and Augua Bendita. For formal events like semi or prom, I look at ALC, For Love and Lemons, and Amur. You will be sure to find a popular dress hundreds of dollars off. I found my prom dress, originally 700 dollars, for $220. You will only find steals on this website. However, know that to get your money’s worth you may need to spend a larger amount of money than you may normally do, its worth it in the long run.
Tips to make sure you make a good purchase on The Real Real
- Check the dimensions
The Real Real is infamous for being deceiving when it comes to how clothing items fit, especially dresses. When It comes to dress length make sure you know what your preferred length is on you. For example, I have bought multiple dresses, thinking that they would be short, but I was sadly disappointed to see that they go down to my knees. Make sure you measure the dress length on your body that you would prefer, for example, I like 31 inches maximum for a mini dress. Also, make sure you check waist length, many items are listed as an extra-small end up having larger waist sizes than expected.
2. Try to find pictures of the dress on models online
Many pictures of clothing posted on the website never show the clothing on actual models, so finding a picture of a model not only gets you an idea of what the dress looks like but also its length and flow. An example is with Amur dress I bought, I was convinced to purchase it because of the model pictures I had online. The mannequin pictures themselves looked odd-fitting and pretty weird.
3. Zoom in
Another common misconception with many items on the real real are the print and color of dresses, as well as stains and tears. A few items may look like a great deal, but in reality they have a stain or some part of the dress is broken. Make sure you zoom in on each part of the item to make sure it’s up to expectations. An example is one time I bought a dress that had sequins, but never checked to make sure the sequins were covering the entire dress. Sadly I was disappointed to receive a dress missing an entire section. Be careful!
4. Check the condition of the item
Finally, make sure when buying your item to check the quality of it. The condition is listed on the sidebar with ratings, “Fair, Good, Very Good, Excellent, and Pristine”. Pristine usually means new with tags, or how many resellers title NWT. Excellent describes items that don’t have the tags on them but usually are in near-perfect condition. Very Good signifies the item has barely any wear, most items are labeled as this on the website. Occasionally very good items might have a few issues. Good means there is significant wear to this item and it looks pretty worn. I honestly don’t recommend buying anything below good because the item’s quality drops to quite poor. The final one is fair, Don’t buy items that are fair unless its bags, these are always really old and usually out of style.
5. Filter your search
Another Big tip is to filter your search to ensure that you find specifically what you are looking for. Make sure you specify if you are looking for a dress or a bag, the size you want, and the price range you want. The most important thing to remember is that there is only one size per each item, meaning that if you find your dream dress you wish can quickly crumble when you find out that its a size too big or small. Filtering the search engine to your size can fix this instantly.
Due to The Real Real being either a hit or miss, there are a few items from our purchasers that really stand out.
Spring dresses
Nothing is better than a cool brightly colored dress for when it’s warmer outside. While these dresses can be found on all websites, purchasing through The Real Real shoppers can purchase something no longer made or that is marked down greatly. Perfect for your upcoming spring break trips and summer concerts I highly recommend buying some good dresses on the real real. These dresses will also likely be high quality and are bound to last longer than others. Brands I recommend to look up: ALC, LoveShackFancy, Alice and Olivia, For love and Lemons, and Rococo Sand.
Prom
Having bought both of our prom dresses from this great website, if you are looking for something obscure and hard to find, I highly recommend it. A lot of the time you do have to hunt for a dress that really looks good, but usually there are a few speckled throughout the maxi dresses. Also, when you are looking for dresses make sure to look at specific brands including, ALC, Bronx and Banco, and Amur. These are right on trend and you are sure to find something that will blow your date away on prom. Most of these dresses will go quickly so make sure you act fast when you locate your dream dress.
Shoes
Having purchased two pairs of golden gooses myself on The Real Real I highly highly recommend buying second-hand shoes. While some may look worn many shoes look brand new. And even if worn many shoes, for example, golden gooses are made to look dirty, so to blind eye it’s their natural look. Buying these shoes meant to look dirty or worn is the best way to do it on the real real. This makes sure that you will not be surprised when your item delivers more worn than it looks in the picture on the website, saving you from the hassle of having to return this item. Good brands: Golden Goose, Isabelle Marant, and Laufler Randal.
Bags
The Real Real is more like a hobby than a shopping website. Most of the time I find myself scrolling on the site during my classes. Looking through Hermes birkin bags or Prada totes and obtaining a persona where I can actually afford these 100,000 dollar bags. However, in the wake of these random and mostly unattractive items, you may be able to find a couple of hidden gems, ones you can add to your likes and save for future purposes. I do not have much experience in the bag department of the Real Real as I have only purchased one bag from there (My silver Marc Jacobs Snap Shot bag). Since then, this bag is my prized possession and the only bag I will leave the house with. I do know that the website is never short on their bag storage, and designer stores ranging from Prada, Goyard, and Louvitton. These bags come in the best quality and are almost always on sale. If I were to purchase a designer bag I would purchase it here.
Final Remarks
Please do yourself a favor and log onto this online site. You will not just be looking at one store but hundreds at a time. The only thing you will need is patience and then you are bound to finding your dream outfit. Update these sites constantly and you will have first dibs on the dress of your dreams, count on that.
