I NEEDED to read this because some of your thoughts have been bouncing around in my brain without being able to communicate it. Specifically the way you describe the lack of satisfaction when online shopping. I, too, do 75-90% of my shopping second-hand and the hunt via TRR/Vestiaire/Poshmark is the real fun. Sometimes if a piece has been on my radar for months then it can feel worthy.
Also, your description of seeing a girl that intrigues us is literally the description of early aughts influencers. Modern influencing is murky in the way that women aren’t always wearing their own clothes that they bought and love. Occasionally I still feel that jolt of curiosity from a random Pin on Pinterest from an influencer that has yet to reach the place where she is predictable.
Hi! This is great. Yes, not all secondhand shopping is detrimental! And I fully agree: If you are waiting and scanning for something for a long time, there's great payoff and it feels worth it. Also, places like eBay or Poshmark...the user sometimes waxes poetic and it feels a bit raw so things may feel a bit more exciting than the sterile world of flat shots and no-context descriptions. And, I think though we have hit a point where we are passively shopping online as if we are browsing the news. It's so easy to get a killer deal at your doorstep...like next day! It's almost like faux renting at the rate things bought online get resold--if you're lucky they don't marinate in the back of your closet!
Yes re: early aughts influencers. The commenter below Lily brought a good point, too. And yes, it was social media that I think killed the majority of magic. We know too much for our own good! I remember I'd SIT on Tommy Ton's blog and look at Emmanuelle Alt and her crew at fashion week and was in complete awe. Alessandra Codinha, too, who was on The Sartorialist and with whom I worked with later at Vogue. These women were just living their lives...caught off duty. It blew my mind.
"Everyday aspirational" or whatever adjacent term ended up being bastardised to mean small, disposable luxuries like a Starbucks cup but I like your version better, the idea that it indicates a wardrobe that's actually just a regular woman's way of moving through the world. the early 00s were so not it for me - love the 90s, 00-03 not so much - but this sense of seeing women and girls as they really were or as they actually dressed and thought was a HUGE part of the appeal of fashion blogs in the mid-late 00s for me (they really weren't around before that, or were red carpet focused thingies). I remember going on the Sartorialist or Facehunter or Style Bubble in like early 2006 and the experience just reset my brain in some way, like 'these normal people are really living their lives and dressing in interesting ways that make sense for them', obvo that didn't too deep into the 2010s and everything became spon-con and instagram (sorry to say it) but the early days of that were magic, and only possible with a different internet.
As for shopping, I feel like the opposite of you on that - I like doing my secondhand shopping online, specifically on ebay which is like its own little rabbit hole and feels more personal - my favourite was a seller whose item description sections contained a mini-history of the Italian silk mills used by the designer whose pieces she was selling and always ended with the note saying "I am weak and must have money for shopping". You'd never get that on poshmark! But I'm also a delayed shopper, and that helps with things not feeling trivial.
Hi! Yeah...the early days were magic. Then we got too smart for our own good and $$$ got very involved, which always perverts natural beauty. I said above I absolutely loved Emmanuelle Alt and her crew...and it was incredible to see these women--out of an editorial who weren't celebrities--just living and doing.
And shopping: There is a huge difference between thoughtful shopping and, yes, passive shopping, which is possible anywhere and anytime, but it is more prevalent online and can be unfulfilling. I noted in the above comment that I think sites in which we can see context from the lister and a flair of their personality...that really can make the experience more meaningful. It really depends. It's more passive online shopping and the amount that we are doing it that is freaking me out...I wrote an article a while back about the joys of eBay and how my mom injects a poetic tinge into her listings: https://www.vogue.com/article/ode-to-ebay-the-original-resale-site
I remember reading that article! The element of personality you described on ebay is what keeps me there - I shamelessly check out any available background details of people's listing pics too, whether it's furnishings, pets or bookshelves (I am nosy and I love seeing what books people read, I've read quite a few 'seen on ebay' books this way). re: shopping, I find putting the thing on ice/leaving it in my cart for a few hours or days helps to cool off most of the 'must buy this NOW' frenzy and force me to consider whether I actually want it. I've saved the pounce-and-pay strictly for items I've been obsessing over for years, whether that's a sundress from Sainsbury's (supermarket) or a S/S 2008 Prada skirt, and that seems to work nicely so far. Impulse shopping is the kind that's usually mindless, and it's also one that's fuelled by media/social media culture now, probably unavoidably :/
re: fash blogs, the early days up to about 2009, felt a touch more egalitarian - readers weren't "followers", not so much obsession with stats, you found other blogs via personally-curated blogrolls and not an algorithm - and then of course, the facebook like button and twitter etc came around and quantified things/changed everything. It was too good to last, really, it was far too much to expect a bunch of amateurs to keep pouring their hearts into their blogs for no profit forever, especially after the financial crisis.
I love this dedication to eBay. And that’s why I love these resale sites where it’s user generated imagery because of those freaky little background details...I can always tell if an item is shot in Eastern Europe thanks to bedspreads, rugs, and curtains. Also when the eBay sellers are the models themselves...incredible touches with a context. We are seeing their world. It’s a tiny little story--and that matters.
I also love what you say that readers weren’t “followers”. They were what you said: readers. Follower implies blind dedication without depth.
I do have hope, though, for the future of writing and consumption, even if it is in tiny, tiny slices.
Anyways, Lily, I absolutely love your layered brain! I look forward to seeing more of what you’re saying and what you’re thinking!
Region-wise furnishing recognition, that's some serious listing recon skill! And yeah, I think it is that tiny slice of connection that makes it so appealing still because there's a real person on the other end of the screen just trying to get their stuff sold, whether it's as a business or just a wardrobe clearout. It's ironic that money corrupted every kind of social media, but in a weird way the openly transactional nature of the site keeps ebay honest, for the savvy anyway (I assume we all know how to sidestep the shady usuals).
and thank you for the kind words and for putting up with my ramblings in your comment section! I'm with you in hoping we do get a revival of text-based/written internet this decade, it makes sense for fashion to prioritise images but I think it's poorer for the decline in verbal expression.
I NEEDED to read this because some of your thoughts have been bouncing around in my brain without being able to communicate it. Specifically the way you describe the lack of satisfaction when online shopping. I, too, do 75-90% of my shopping second-hand and the hunt via TRR/Vestiaire/Poshmark is the real fun. Sometimes if a piece has been on my radar for months then it can feel worthy.
Also, your description of seeing a girl that intrigues us is literally the description of early aughts influencers. Modern influencing is murky in the way that women aren’t always wearing their own clothes that they bought and love. Occasionally I still feel that jolt of curiosity from a random Pin on Pinterest from an influencer that has yet to reach the place where she is predictable.
Hi! This is great. Yes, not all secondhand shopping is detrimental! And I fully agree: If you are waiting and scanning for something for a long time, there's great payoff and it feels worth it. Also, places like eBay or Poshmark...the user sometimes waxes poetic and it feels a bit raw so things may feel a bit more exciting than the sterile world of flat shots and no-context descriptions. And, I think though we have hit a point where we are passively shopping online as if we are browsing the news. It's so easy to get a killer deal at your doorstep...like next day! It's almost like faux renting at the rate things bought online get resold--if you're lucky they don't marinate in the back of your closet!
Yes re: early aughts influencers. The commenter below Lily brought a good point, too. And yes, it was social media that I think killed the majority of magic. We know too much for our own good! I remember I'd SIT on Tommy Ton's blog and look at Emmanuelle Alt and her crew at fashion week and was in complete awe. Alessandra Codinha, too, who was on The Sartorialist and with whom I worked with later at Vogue. These women were just living their lives...caught off duty. It blew my mind.
"Everyday aspirational" or whatever adjacent term ended up being bastardised to mean small, disposable luxuries like a Starbucks cup but I like your version better, the idea that it indicates a wardrobe that's actually just a regular woman's way of moving through the world. the early 00s were so not it for me - love the 90s, 00-03 not so much - but this sense of seeing women and girls as they really were or as they actually dressed and thought was a HUGE part of the appeal of fashion blogs in the mid-late 00s for me (they really weren't around before that, or were red carpet focused thingies). I remember going on the Sartorialist or Facehunter or Style Bubble in like early 2006 and the experience just reset my brain in some way, like 'these normal people are really living their lives and dressing in interesting ways that make sense for them', obvo that didn't too deep into the 2010s and everything became spon-con and instagram (sorry to say it) but the early days of that were magic, and only possible with a different internet.
As for shopping, I feel like the opposite of you on that - I like doing my secondhand shopping online, specifically on ebay which is like its own little rabbit hole and feels more personal - my favourite was a seller whose item description sections contained a mini-history of the Italian silk mills used by the designer whose pieces she was selling and always ended with the note saying "I am weak and must have money for shopping". You'd never get that on poshmark! But I'm also a delayed shopper, and that helps with things not feeling trivial.
Hi! Yeah...the early days were magic. Then we got too smart for our own good and $$$ got very involved, which always perverts natural beauty. I said above I absolutely loved Emmanuelle Alt and her crew...and it was incredible to see these women--out of an editorial who weren't celebrities--just living and doing.
And shopping: There is a huge difference between thoughtful shopping and, yes, passive shopping, which is possible anywhere and anytime, but it is more prevalent online and can be unfulfilling. I noted in the above comment that I think sites in which we can see context from the lister and a flair of their personality...that really can make the experience more meaningful. It really depends. It's more passive online shopping and the amount that we are doing it that is freaking me out...I wrote an article a while back about the joys of eBay and how my mom injects a poetic tinge into her listings: https://www.vogue.com/article/ode-to-ebay-the-original-resale-site
I remember reading that article! The element of personality you described on ebay is what keeps me there - I shamelessly check out any available background details of people's listing pics too, whether it's furnishings, pets or bookshelves (I am nosy and I love seeing what books people read, I've read quite a few 'seen on ebay' books this way). re: shopping, I find putting the thing on ice/leaving it in my cart for a few hours or days helps to cool off most of the 'must buy this NOW' frenzy and force me to consider whether I actually want it. I've saved the pounce-and-pay strictly for items I've been obsessing over for years, whether that's a sundress from Sainsbury's (supermarket) or a S/S 2008 Prada skirt, and that seems to work nicely so far. Impulse shopping is the kind that's usually mindless, and it's also one that's fuelled by media/social media culture now, probably unavoidably :/
re: fash blogs, the early days up to about 2009, felt a touch more egalitarian - readers weren't "followers", not so much obsession with stats, you found other blogs via personally-curated blogrolls and not an algorithm - and then of course, the facebook like button and twitter etc came around and quantified things/changed everything. It was too good to last, really, it was far too much to expect a bunch of amateurs to keep pouring their hearts into their blogs for no profit forever, especially after the financial crisis.
I love this dedication to eBay. And that’s why I love these resale sites where it’s user generated imagery because of those freaky little background details...I can always tell if an item is shot in Eastern Europe thanks to bedspreads, rugs, and curtains. Also when the eBay sellers are the models themselves...incredible touches with a context. We are seeing their world. It’s a tiny little story--and that matters.
I also love what you say that readers weren’t “followers”. They were what you said: readers. Follower implies blind dedication without depth.
I do have hope, though, for the future of writing and consumption, even if it is in tiny, tiny slices.
Anyways, Lily, I absolutely love your layered brain! I look forward to seeing more of what you’re saying and what you’re thinking!
Region-wise furnishing recognition, that's some serious listing recon skill! And yeah, I think it is that tiny slice of connection that makes it so appealing still because there's a real person on the other end of the screen just trying to get their stuff sold, whether it's as a business or just a wardrobe clearout. It's ironic that money corrupted every kind of social media, but in a weird way the openly transactional nature of the site keeps ebay honest, for the savvy anyway (I assume we all know how to sidestep the shady usuals).
and thank you for the kind words and for putting up with my ramblings in your comment section! I'm with you in hoping we do get a revival of text-based/written internet this decade, it makes sense for fashion to prioritise images but I think it's poorer for the decline in verbal expression.
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