Pressing a returned blazer to my face in my own dressing room and deciding, calmly, whether another woman’s second life on that fabric is acceptable to me — that’s how I stopped thinking of secondhand as a compromise. It wasn’t the price tag that convinced me. It was the fact that the clothes arrived looking new.
Last month I discovered that you can buy retired Nuuly pieces — the ones that finished their life in the rental pool — directly through Anthropologie’s resale section. Higher-quality pieces from brands I already shop, at a fraction of their original retail prices. So I placed an order: two statement winter coats, two dresses, a sweater, and a pair of corduroy pants. Six pieces, so I’d be judging a pattern, not a single lucky finder. Spoiler: I was impressed.
First, What Is Nuuly?
If you haven’t heard of it: Nuuly is a clothing rental subscription from URBN — the company behind Anthropologie, Free People, and Urban Outfitters. You rent a selection of pieces each month, wear them, send them back, and swap your assortment the following month. Design denim, new-season dresses, the real thing, on a rotation. If you fall for a piece, you can buy it at a discount — and when a piece is retired from the rental pool, select items become available secondhand through Anthropologie’s resale section, described as “gently used and washed.” You can browse the current selection on the Nuuly Resale storefront at Anthropologie, and see how the rental side of the business works on the Nuuly site. I’ve never been a subscriber, but I’ve always respected the logic of it — and then the logic of the resale side went straight to my heart.
Why I Finally Said Yes
Here’s what I’ll confess: secondhand shopping was not a place I looked first. It wasn’t that I was opposed to it. It was that my brain simply didn’t go there when I needed a coat. And then there’s the quiet question — has another body worn this before me — which I used to want to ignore forever.
Two things changed. I’ve been more budget-focused lately, without giving up the pleasure of dressing well — finding ways to spend less without sacrificing style became a game I actually enjoy. And I realized something: if people pay subscription fees for clothes worn by others, I was already comfortable with the premise. The question was only ever about condition.
There’s one practical detail I want to be honest about up front: retired Nuuly pieces are final sale. No returns. I know this may make you cautious. It made me cautious too — and it’s exactly why I ordered a mix of six different pieces instead of one, so any disappointment would be a data point, not a whole experience.
What I Ordered
I chose the order deliberately, the way you’d build a test capsule: a range of prices, a range of silhouettes, and two outerwear pieces — because outerwear is the one category where I can rarely justify a full-price purchase. My biggest question when the parcel arrived wasn’t whether I’d like everything. It was whether anything looked like it had already been worn a lot.
Here’s what came through, with the retail price and what I actually paid for each.
The Porridge Blaze Sweater Dress — retail $150, paid $39.95
The most unique piece of the order, and the one I noticed had a life: it’s white, and not blindingly bright white. That’s the extent of it. No staining, no marks — just the kind of softness that suggests previous wear rather than damage. Still looks incredible, and I was thrilled to open the parcel and find it so close to new.
Sizing: I’m 5’3″, my usual sizes run XS to S, and this Small was generous enough that I could have sized down — I kept the roomier fit on purpose.
The Pistola Arlo Polo Sweater — retail $148, paid $19.95
This one I’m still slightly in disbelief about, because I’d ordinarily pay several times what I did here. It feels incredible on, it’s slouchy in a way that will still hold its shape, and it drapes exactly the way I want a sweater to. A short-sleeve polo I’ll reach for at least twice a season — and with this price, the math does the talking for me.
Sizing: the Small I ordered falls slouchy; get your true size if that’s your preference, or size down for a cleaner line.
The Drop-Waist Midi Shirt Dress — retail $178, paid $24.95
The one I immediately became an evangelist for. I love a shirt dress from Anthropologie, and this is my first in a drop-waist cut. It arrived looking brand new, and it carries a 5-star customer rating on Nuuly, which I know from experience correlates with true fit. My only regret is that it comes in multiple lengths and colors, and I bought one. The value, against what I’d normally spend on a dress — even on sale — genuinely surprised me.
Sizing: the Small, Petite had no meaningful stretch through the middle, so I’d order your true size, no adjustment.
The Line + Dot Ginger Long Overcoat — retail $221, paid $39.95
The honest one. The color is beautiful — the ginger tone is genuinely gorgeous — but the cut overwhelmed my 5’3″ frame. It’s thick and beautifully made, it just doesn’t do me confidence. A friend who rented the same coat through Nuuly had the exact same experience, which tells me it’s the cut, not my personal interpretation. Would I buy it again? No — but at this price, it’s the kind of piece I could pass on at retail without tears.
Sizing: I would have tried a size down, though I suspect the oversized drape is inherent to the line.
The AVec Les Filles Shawl-Collar Coat — retail $228, paid $39.95
Now that one. I love everything about this coat: the roomy structure, the weight of the fabric, the way it closes thick enough to cover layers underneath. It’s a winter piece through and through — if you live somewhere these coats are unthinkable, skip this one — and I already see it on me with my most casual and my most polished outfits. This is the winner of the order.
Sizing: it falls oversized even buttoned over thick layers, so size down one for a still-generous fit.
The Pilcro The Yaya Corduroy Crop Flares — retail $148, paid $19.95
The one where I laughed at the mirror. Not the style — the sizing. They arrived with the original tags still intact, the quality is genuinely nice and soft, and honestly, I nearly ordered a second pair in a corrected size. I ordered my regular 26P in the crop length: the waist ran small enough that I should have gone two sizes up, and the crop length needed to be a full regular. I had the answer the whole time — the sizing feedback in the customer reviews on Nuuly — and I should have read it. The lesson: get the size right on these, and the value is extraordinary.
Sizing: run two sizes up at the waist and take the full length. These have no room at the waist.
The Honest Tally
Four of the six pieces became immediate keeps. One didn’t fit. One wasn’t quite right for me. But not a single one was rejected because of its condition — and going in, I assumed that would be the deciding factor. My keep-or-not decisions came down to fit and personal taste, and those are decisions I’m far more comfortable making than condition roulette.
What I’d Tell You Before You Order
- The value is the headline. Some of these land at roughly a tenth of full retail — the sweater dress at $39.95, against $150 at retail, is the clearest example. For the pieces you love, that speaks for itself.
- Everything is quality you’d trust long-term. I don’t buy clothes to wear once and forget them. These arrivals, at the prices they carry, belong in a real wardrobe — closet-cary, cost-per-wear math does the rest.
- It’s gentle on the planet, quietly. Every piece that lives a second life is a small act of sustainability. It matters, and it’s underappreciated.
- Secondhand doesn’t have to be a scavenger hunt. I love shopping online rather than digging through racks, hoping my size is still hanging. You get the feeling you’re looking.
The cons, honestly:
- Final sale. Nothing is returnable if the fit, the style, or the condition isn’t what you hoped. That’s the gamble — and it’s the one I’d weigh carefully for outerwear specifically.
- Condition can vary. “Gently used” is the official description, and mine all arrived in genuinely excellent shape. But under the rental model, occasionally items slip through. Read the reviews.
- Shipping is $7.95. Some of us prefer to pay more upfront to avoid it — I’m one — but at this depth of discount it matters less, as long as you batch your order into one shipment.
My best tip for sizing before you buy: search the piece directly on Nuuly before you order. The rental-side reviews — fit, length, how it sits on a body like yours — are the closest thing to a fitting room you’ll get. Read them the way you’d read a technical spec sheet.
So, Would I Order Again?
Yes — and I already have. Four big wins from the first round. And I’ve noticed something I think is worth naming: after this order, secondhand stopped being a fallback and started being a primary channel in my thinking. I’ve started looking at other secondhand and consignment options I wouldn’t have touched before. I’m still in the learning phase, but I’m not going back.
Price you don’t mind losing + condition you’d trust = a purchase you can make without a second thought
A Note From Isabelle
When you stand in front of a rack and hesitate, sometimes that hesitation isn’t about the piece — it’s about the price attached to the quality you know is there. You don’t need a bigger budget to wear beautiful clothes; you need a channel that charges differently. This one, for me, charges differently.
Style isn’t about becoming someone else. It’s about finding where the piece lands on you — and leaving the rest in the coat closet.
Say hello in the comments: what’s the best thing you’ve ever bought secondhand?
Keep reading if you’re in the middle of building with intention:
• Three formulas I’d actually use to build a capsule that works for you
• Cost-per-wear: I did the math on what my closet actually costs me