Why There Are So Many Celebrity Closet Sales Happening Now

"Everybody's closet has a story," Candace Bushnell, the author of Sex and The City, says. The story behind an individual piece can be as imaginative and exciting, especially when it's vintage because it's already embedded with memories and a prior life. Shoppers are increasingly finding this to be true, evident in the rise of thrifting and vintage shopping not just due to economic reasons. There is something compelling about clutching something storied and unique. But what if the item was also owned by a celebrity?

Shopping straight from the closets of stylish celebrities is a growing phenomenon in the world of second-hand shopping, pleasing both fans and stars looking to clean out their wardrobes. From Chloë Sevigny to Jemima Kirke, Chloe Fineman, and Bushnell, stars have been dipping into their closets to find items to sell, making some of their fans' and fashion lovers' dreams come true. Celebrities often own hard-to-find and custom pieces, meaning shoppers can purchase something coveted on top of its allure from being owned by a celebrity. 

Each celebrity closet sale has its own format, with some being held in-person like Sevigny's "Sale of the Century” during the summer, which put on by former Vogue staff writer Liana Satenstein. Actor Jemima Kirke held a closet sale in the spring, and for both, shoppers waited for hours to get a glimpse at coveted pieces. (Some even paid for a "line sitter," someone who holds a spot in line in exchange for cash. With closet sales like Sevigny's, filled with gems, a line sitter might just be worth it.) Yet online vintage shopping platforms are hosting them, too, like The RealReal and Vestiaire Collective who provide this experience for those who cannot make it in person.

For Bushnell, who recently hosted a closet sale with Vestiaire Collective, said the story behind each piece being sold is paramount. As a longtime lover of vintage fashion, owning second-hand pieces has been part of her repertoire going back to the '80s when living in New York. This even holds true throughout the several seasons of Sex and The City, with costumes by Patricia Field: “Of course, the tutu that Sarah Jessica Parker wore in the pilot of Sex and the City was a vintage piece. Vintage has always been a part of my fashion world extending to TV," Bushnell says.

While the author may not have been on the screen herself, her New York story is similar in many ways. Bushnell told us about a fabulous top she's selling, with an even more fabulous story behind it: “I wore the Miu Miu top to the Sex and the City 2 premiere. I lived downtown and would frequently stop into Miu Miu. I was looking for the perfect outfit for the event and that top with rhinestones I paired with a short leather skirt was the one. I remember coming around the corner at the premiere and seeing throngs of people lining both sides of the street, it was such a special moment. I just love that top and kept it for a very long time.”

Bushnell’s sale with Vestiaire Collective is exclusively online, but others with the platform have been more expansive. Saturday Night Live comedian Chloe Fineman and her fashion publicist friend Sara Larson held a closet sale in New York in October with Vestaire. With pieces available both online and in-person (and proceeds going to the nonprofit When We All Vote), all the best elements of a good closet sale were at play. “This is the third sale I’ve done with my friend Sara Larson, and now that we’re down to the nicer pieces, Vestiaire has been amazing to partner with because I’ve been able to sell fancier stuff I couldn’t sell on my own,” Fineman tells L'OFFICIEL. Rosie Huntington-Whitley, Jessica Chastain, and Laura Dern have also featured in celebrity closet sales with Vestiaire Collective.

Zooming out, the opportunity to shop for fashion feels ever-present, whether in ads that pop up while browsing social media or when walking down the street and being bombarded with billboards and enticing signage. There are countless ways to buy clothes, and the never-ending carousel of fashion trends encourages us to. Second-hand shopping is at least lauded for being better for the planet, as it doesn't directly contribute to new materials and items being made. Celebrity closet sales offer an even more distinct way to shop, offering the chance to score unique pieces from a style star (while letting celebrities clear out their wardrobes with intention).