Mack on Leave: How I Shop Poshmark
A capsule newsletter on motherhood, though this post has nothing to do with babies.
If you know me even a little bit you’re well aware of my preference to shop secondhand. When I lived in the suburbs I would go to Savers weekly just to finger the fabrics in search of silks, linen and cashmere. I find something so fulfilling about hunting and gathering my wardrobe.
For better or for worse, most of the secondhand shopping I do in New York is *highly* curated by professionals whose job it is to seek out the best at thrift shops and resell their treasures. This has resulted in some seriously cute finds, but not without a price!
So where do I go to seek out the adrenaline rush of a good deal? Poshmark of course.
We’ll talk more about this later.
Family Lore was the Guest of a Guest AND Bad Bitch Book Club pick for October— that is how much I was willing to bet on Elizabeth Acevedo’s adult debut. This is a the story of family of women with magical gifts, among them is Flor, who dreams of people’s death dates. The story takes place in the days leading up to the living wake she has decided to plan for herself. Though I made my life more difficult by listening to this book (so many narrators), I still really enjoyed it!
You, With a View is among the most popular romance novels of the year amongst my community and I absolutely get it. It’s enemies-to-lovers in the best way (academic rivals) and has a strong social media storyline that was pretty realistic and not at all cringe. I found this one surprisingly steamy (keep in mind i’ve been celibate for 6 weeks) and the chemistry between the characters was great! It probably won’t make my top 10 romance novels of the year list, but I can definitely understand the hype.
Down the Drain aka the Julia Fox memoir did not disappoint— and I had HIGH expectations. Her life has been so full of chaos from the day she was born that no bullet point celebrity gossip article could possibly capture the essence of Julia Fox. She grew up around where I live in NYC, and while last week I felt extremely confident in my plans to raise my son in this area, now I’m thinking I should run for the suburbs. IMO this is a must read, but first watch her apartment tour on TikTok which is what made me intrigued instead of indifferent about Julia Fox. Also this book further proves my theory that in order to be famous you need to have an absolutely crazy upbringing, or you’re a nepo baby.
Next week i’ll be reviewing Full Moon Over Freedom by Angelina M Lopez & The List by Yomi Adegoke.
Death Becomes Her (1992) is about two women; an aging actress (Meryl Streep) who discovers an immortality treatment and her long-time rival (Goldie Hawn) who wants to see her dead. This movie is a perfect pick for the month of October in a spooky-not-scary way for my fellow chickens. Though while it’s about as camp as it gets, but it’s also Shallow-Hal levels of fatphobic. I hear they are making this into a Broadway show, however, and I think with some updating the play will be absolutely sensational.
Love at First Sight (2023) Portia from White Lotus falls in love at an airport after missing her flight in this Netflix original movie. While the concept is pretty cute and the movie is certainly watchable, I did find it nearly impossible to distinguish her character Hadley from her previous role. Also, weirdly, there is also a living wake in this movie. I watched it at the same time I read Family Lore and I was so surprised by the commonality.
My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997) Nobody (except maybe Meg Ryan) did it better than Julia Roberts in the 90’s. A fun fact about me is I used to be obsessed with her as a child and cried when my parents wouldn’t let me see Erin Brockovich (2000) in theaters— a good call seeing as I was 7. Anyways, I had never seen My Best Friend’s Wedding (gasp) until last weekend and it actually really held up to 2023 standards. The premiss is that a woman’s ex boyfriend and male BFF is getting unexpectedly married to a 20 year old he just met (played by Cameron Diaz.) She’s asked to be in the wedding and spends the whole movie trying to break them up. I can definitely see why this one is a classic.
Cozy Earth pajamas are my FAVORITE, and not just because I am an affiliate (use code MACKINSTYLE40 for 40% off!!) I have tried many “high quality” pajamas over the last few years and they are by far the best. I’m currently wearing a size XL (12/14) and was repping the large before the baby (8/10.) I would say they are true to size, but size up if you’re unsure.
It’s no secret that J.Crew is having a moment. This gold slip dress would work for nearly every occasion, but i’d recommend it with a black sweater over it for a day-to-night look. You could go with a cropped cashmere sweater if you want to give it a maxi skirt aesthetic. Since practicality matters most for me, footwear wise, I’d go with these black mary janes flats. Top it off with ruffle socks (from amazon sorry) and a black headband.
Back to Poshmark, and yes I am going to give you a few tips for free before gating the rest behind a paywall. While most of these tips work best if you share similar taste to myself, I think they are applicable to anyone who has a grasp on their own personal style.
Tip #1: Know Your Audience. Unlike it’s cool younger sister Depop, Poshmark is unaware of how chic it is. The sellers on there largely consist of two groups: millennials cleaning out their closet and professional thrifters looking to turn a profit. Both are equally beneficial. While there are some people on the app who are precious about their belongings and will only let go of them for a steep price, most are just trying to clear inventory. Use this information to embolden you to make low-ball offers. Start around 50% off the asking price, and see where you land. Often I just toss out a slightly offensive $20 offer and see what happens. You’ll be surprised how often these offers are accepted (I’d say 20% of the time!)
Tip #2: Search NWT first. Before I expand my search to include all conditions, I always seek out NWT (new with tags) items. This is most important when I’m looking for something like jeans, because I want to make sure they aren’t altered or shrunken. Also (and obviously) this means the quality is still in tact. While you might assume that I would opt for only buying shoes NWT (and I do seek that out first), the best deals on shoes are ones that are worn once before the seller has buyers remorse.
NWT doesn’t always mean insanely expensive, a lot of the time these items were purchased final sale or someone missed their return window. Likely they just want to make back some of their money.
My favorite thing to search NWT? J.Crew cashmere!!
Tip #3: Look for what is plentiful. I love the Sam Edelman Loraine loafers. They are comfortable, classic and look good with almost everything. I don’t, however, feel the need to pay full-price for them. While they retail for $150 online, I have never paid more than $60 for them. Anything that is available at every mall in America will be widely available on Poshmark (and always for a competitive price.) This is how I have managed to get all my cotton Polo Ralph Lauren sweaters for very cheap. Other brands that are super widely available include Free People and Aritzia.
Hotter tips below the paywall.