My eyebrows stayed raised while reading through this entire article. As a lifelong thrift & vintage shopper, your sentiments on Bode's popularity hit me hard. People have often looked down upon me and openly told me they couldn't possibly buy pre-owned garments because "that's filthy." What's truly filthy to me are the practices of modern brands that charge high prices while employing sub-minimum wage staff or straight up human slaves.
I feel you! I think there's a lot of misconceptions about secondhand shopping and despite having so much knowledge at our fingertips, the "whataboutism" on the internet doesn't always open the door to more people understanding how expansive and beneficial the "used" industry is (and can be) beyond thinking something pre-owned is "gross."
A huge part of starting this little corner of the internet was to show my friends how many great things are already floating around this planet, waiting for a new chapter of life. I think for many, it just takes exposure and showing people how it can not only help save the planet, but express our individuality by not shopping at the same five stores everyone else is.
Really appreciate you putting pen to these thoughts! I honestly struggle with all luxury brands in the same way, especially knowing how easy it is to dress similarly without forking over multiple months' rent. Like you said, you could sew in a Bode tag in a $3 sweater and no one would know the difference. I so deeply and fervently believe that you don't need to spend a lot of money to have good style so the idea of spending what luxury brands charge has always heen absurd, and almost insulting to me.
I regularly use brands like Bode, The Row, and Khaite as inspiration mainly because it *is* so easy to find pieces in the vintage and secondhand world that emulate that luxury without luxury prices.
I also lived in New York for five years and lol'd when you mentioned fart-sniffing because YES. My first job there was as a costume PA & shopper for a TV show and I would regularly go to Tom Ford, Bergdorf, Loro Piana. I love fashion and styling but am pretty plain when dressing myself and every time I walked in I felt the same eyes you described. Not only judging but so *bored*. Seems harder to hold that ground than to just let go and be open. And of course, this is not a blanket statement, I also met lovely fashion folk, but it's hard to unpair the 'not worthy' feelings from that time in my life.
These are very scattered thoughts but all of them to say: I agree and appreciate your thoughts. And also YOUR FINDS. Which are unreal and gorgeous and perfect proof of your point. ❤️
"Not only judging but so *bored*. Seems harder to hold that ground than to just let go and be open."
THIS!!! The trying-so-hard-to-be-this-effortless-and-cool thing -- I'm OVER IT.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! It's so refreshing to hear from people who are in the industry/adjacent to it that don't fit into the mold that everyone else tries to. It honestly was a huge factor in me stepping away from my styling career only three years in -- I struggled daily to remind myself that my style was good enough even if it wasn't all designer brands because it was ME and I can't imagine still slugging away at a job where you're surrounded by people are just bored expensive carbon copies of one another.
I'm beyond over people buying luxury for the flex when it's obvious that expensive clothes don't mean quality and definitely don't mean you're better than the rest of us! I had a client who only wore The Row and Khaite and when I tell you that just means black turtlenecks and trousers like you can buy from 50 other brands.... but she definitely thought her net worth = self worth and it was all a little twisted and sad.
"To me, the Bode trouser just feels like most Ann Taylor silk pants from the 1990s.."...This is utterly BRILLIANT and on the nose.
FWIW, I went into that same Bode store after what I believe we still, even today, call "a power meeting", thus unusually head to toe in The Row, even carrying a freaking Birkin, and I still got the same judgy silent treatment. My business partner, who was impeccable and much cooler than me in Visvim and Paynter, was treated worse. (He now calls the brand "Borede".) As they say, it's not you, it's them.
Think you’ve captured my exact reaction to that apartment tour 😂😂 once went on an unhinged rant after forcing friends to watch it at a party 😶🌫️ but also, how do you make a 3-leg stool that TIPS OVER? And then brag about it?! Basically sums up my wariness around this brand - feels like a lot of form over function to me. At least with vintage pieces I know they’re well made enough to last, and they often come with their own unique backstory or hints into the lives of prior owners - no branding content needed!
I’m Australian so we won’t see Bode here for another 20 years (as far as I know we don’t have The Row here unless it’s on Pitt St in Sydney) and our vintage market is pretty bleak too. Very unlikely to unearth any international lux brands in our op shops. I do love Etsy but the shipping can be prohibitive. The point I’m making is I love content like this because Aussie fashion is such a different (often equally as beautiful) beast but I love these perspectives from across the pond. Your Bode capsules are perfection.
I had no idea that the Australian fashion landscape looked so different -- thank you for sharing your insight and experience! It's fascinating to think that shipping, customs, duties, import fees, etc still prevent things from being accessible in an age where we assume we have everything at our fingertips. There's got to be some amazing vintage treasures floating around Australia waiting to be found!
Oh for sure we have some incredible Aussie designers like Alannah Hill, Lisa Gorman but they've been bought out by Factorie X which is a gross mass fashion conglomerate. My modern favourites are Alpha 60, Kow Tow, Variety Hour and Yevu.
Thank you!! When I mentioned in my fashion circle that I didn’t like Bode their response was " i thought you liked vintage?" I’m not the Bode customer and truly the Bode customer actually shops true vintage. She’s not buying the Bode sailor pants for $600 she’s buying an actual sailor’s pant of a Ebay!!
Wow, so well articulated. My husband and I discussed this a lot in re: Bode as we planned our Montana wedding with a “western cocktail” dress code (we are both from the West).
Thank you for sharing these thoughts, and I think I clicked on every link. 😍
My eyebrows stayed raised while reading through this entire article. As a lifelong thrift & vintage shopper, your sentiments on Bode's popularity hit me hard. People have often looked down upon me and openly told me they couldn't possibly buy pre-owned garments because "that's filthy." What's truly filthy to me are the practices of modern brands that charge high prices while employing sub-minimum wage staff or straight up human slaves.
I feel you! I think there's a lot of misconceptions about secondhand shopping and despite having so much knowledge at our fingertips, the "whataboutism" on the internet doesn't always open the door to more people understanding how expansive and beneficial the "used" industry is (and can be) beyond thinking something pre-owned is "gross."
A huge part of starting this little corner of the internet was to show my friends how many great things are already floating around this planet, waiting for a new chapter of life. I think for many, it just takes exposure and showing people how it can not only help save the planet, but express our individuality by not shopping at the same five stores everyone else is.
Really appreciate you putting pen to these thoughts! I honestly struggle with all luxury brands in the same way, especially knowing how easy it is to dress similarly without forking over multiple months' rent. Like you said, you could sew in a Bode tag in a $3 sweater and no one would know the difference. I so deeply and fervently believe that you don't need to spend a lot of money to have good style so the idea of spending what luxury brands charge has always heen absurd, and almost insulting to me.
I regularly use brands like Bode, The Row, and Khaite as inspiration mainly because it *is* so easy to find pieces in the vintage and secondhand world that emulate that luxury without luxury prices.
I also lived in New York for five years and lol'd when you mentioned fart-sniffing because YES. My first job there was as a costume PA & shopper for a TV show and I would regularly go to Tom Ford, Bergdorf, Loro Piana. I love fashion and styling but am pretty plain when dressing myself and every time I walked in I felt the same eyes you described. Not only judging but so *bored*. Seems harder to hold that ground than to just let go and be open. And of course, this is not a blanket statement, I also met lovely fashion folk, but it's hard to unpair the 'not worthy' feelings from that time in my life.
These are very scattered thoughts but all of them to say: I agree and appreciate your thoughts. And also YOUR FINDS. Which are unreal and gorgeous and perfect proof of your point. ❤️
"Not only judging but so *bored*. Seems harder to hold that ground than to just let go and be open."
THIS!!! The trying-so-hard-to-be-this-effortless-and-cool thing -- I'm OVER IT.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! It's so refreshing to hear from people who are in the industry/adjacent to it that don't fit into the mold that everyone else tries to. It honestly was a huge factor in me stepping away from my styling career only three years in -- I struggled daily to remind myself that my style was good enough even if it wasn't all designer brands because it was ME and I can't imagine still slugging away at a job where you're surrounded by people are just bored expensive carbon copies of one another.
I'm beyond over people buying luxury for the flex when it's obvious that expensive clothes don't mean quality and definitely don't mean you're better than the rest of us! I had a client who only wore The Row and Khaite and when I tell you that just means black turtlenecks and trousers like you can buy from 50 other brands.... but she definitely thought her net worth = self worth and it was all a little twisted and sad.
"To me, the Bode trouser just feels like most Ann Taylor silk pants from the 1990s.."...This is utterly BRILLIANT and on the nose.
FWIW, I went into that same Bode store after what I believe we still, even today, call "a power meeting", thus unusually head to toe in The Row, even carrying a freaking Birkin, and I still got the same judgy silent treatment. My business partner, who was impeccable and much cooler than me in Visvim and Paynter, was treated worse. (He now calls the brand "Borede".) As they say, it's not you, it's them.
I guess it really just is ~the vibe~ in there!
Think you’ve captured my exact reaction to that apartment tour 😂😂 once went on an unhinged rant after forcing friends to watch it at a party 😶🌫️ but also, how do you make a 3-leg stool that TIPS OVER? And then brag about it?! Basically sums up my wariness around this brand - feels like a lot of form over function to me. At least with vintage pieces I know they’re well made enough to last, and they often come with their own unique backstory or hints into the lives of prior owners - no branding content needed!
Love a good "home tour roast session" at a party - I feel like I've definitely done the same thing lol
I’m Australian so we won’t see Bode here for another 20 years (as far as I know we don’t have The Row here unless it’s on Pitt St in Sydney) and our vintage market is pretty bleak too. Very unlikely to unearth any international lux brands in our op shops. I do love Etsy but the shipping can be prohibitive. The point I’m making is I love content like this because Aussie fashion is such a different (often equally as beautiful) beast but I love these perspectives from across the pond. Your Bode capsules are perfection.
I had no idea that the Australian fashion landscape looked so different -- thank you for sharing your insight and experience! It's fascinating to think that shipping, customs, duties, import fees, etc still prevent things from being accessible in an age where we assume we have everything at our fingertips. There's got to be some amazing vintage treasures floating around Australia waiting to be found!
Oh for sure we have some incredible Aussie designers like Alannah Hill, Lisa Gorman but they've been bought out by Factorie X which is a gross mass fashion conglomerate. My modern favourites are Alpha 60, Kow Tow, Variety Hour and Yevu.
So many new to me brands -- thank you for sharing!
This was really well done! I have the same feelings about Bode as you write about. And agree about the 90s Ann Taylor pants!
Thank you for reading!
Agreed 1000000%. THANK YOU for saying what we’ve all been biting our tongues on for a minute
Every Bode item looks like an exact copy of something vintage. Zero creativity.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to dress in 1930’s dresses all day, but like the brand looks like they sell costumes.
Thank you!! When I mentioned in my fashion circle that I didn’t like Bode their response was " i thought you liked vintage?" I’m not the Bode customer and truly the Bode customer actually shops true vintage. She’s not buying the Bode sailor pants for $600 she’s buying an actual sailor’s pant of a Ebay!!
That vintage pj set is giving Pocahontas ‘The Virginia Company’ vibes and I want it
Wow, so well articulated. My husband and I discussed this a lot in re: Bode as we planned our Montana wedding with a “western cocktail” dress code (we are both from the West).
Thank you for sharing these thoughts, and I think I clicked on every link. 😍
Thank you for reading! Also, a western cocktail Montana wedding sounds like a visual delight!!
Our guests slayed! Some pics here: https://x.com/karahaupt/status/1681399922359189508
These are incredible!!