If you're like me, you don't get fashion inspiration from magazines and celebrities; you get ideas from social influencers and bloggers.
Recently, I discovered an even better way to get blogger style — by actually buying the clothes off their backs! Enter Poshmark, the e-commerce site that lets influencers sell their lightly used fashions directly to fans.
Here's my experience shopping on Poshmark…
You can get a Poshmark account via your Google account, email, or Facebook.
They ask for your sizes, but thankfully that doesn't limit browsing sizes bigger or smaller.
Next, you're prompted to select a few favorite brands.
Then you're ready to shop!
The first item I found was this $17 top I snapped up from Leah Vernon.
The top fit great but I didn't fall in love with it.
Which brings up an important point: All sales on Poshmark are final.
From the site: All sales are final on Poshmark. However, we take an active role in each and every purchase made on Poshmark to ensure both the buyer and seller have a great experience. A buyer may open a case with us if they don't receive their item or the item they receive is not as described within the listing. This means a buyer cannot return an item they purchased on Poshmark if the item simply does not fit, if they no longer want the item, or if the item was delivered later than expected – as long as the seller accurately described the item in the listing.
Click here to read the full return policy.
The second item I bought was from Reah Norman, a plus-size stylist.
Included with the Rebdolls jumpsuit that I bought from her was a sweet note.
The one drawback, however, was that Norman advertised the product with a brand image rather than one of her own.
I paid $25 for the sleeveless jumpsuit that was totally new with all labels and tags intact.
It even came in the same bag that Rebdolls shipped it to Norman in.
This was really on the mark for my personal style.
The jumpsuit is still on the Rebdolls site and is currently marked down to $29.75.
Next, I found two things I loved on Katie Alexis' Poshmark.
Alexis is an army veteran turned fashion blogger. She also used images from brands to advertise the products I bought.
The first item I picked up from her was this Simply Be jacket in a size 20 for $70.
This one was a bit risky since it's more expensive and there was no photo of her wearing it to get an idea of fit, condition, and style.
Overall it was pretty comfortable, if a bit snug on my arms.
When I saw the last two items I bought from her, I literally screamed.
They were extremely similar to a denim set that sold out on ASOS.
This size 20 jacket, which I paid $80 for, wasn't missing any pearls or rhinestones.
First test: passed with flying colors!
The size 22 jeans cost me $50 and fit like a glove around the waist.
The legs were a bit long so I decided to cuff them.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Poshmark is a great alternative to traditional retail. Pros are that you can find items that sold out before you could buy them, and bloggers have reps to protect so it's in their interest not to mark up prices or lie about the condition of the pieces they sell.
On the negative side, if the size isn't a match, you can't return or exchange. But then again, you could create your own Poshmark and re-sell the no-gos!
