At 77% Off, This Art Historian and Overalls Authority Found The Batsheva Dress of Her Dreams—Four Years Later
Another sartorial love story
We all know there’s no high quite like the feeling of finding an *exact* item you’ve been coveting on the resale market for way less than the original. It feels like magic! It makes you believe in the virtue of patience all over again!
That’s why, when I saw Sarah Isenberg’s (follow her, ofc) IG post about scoring a Batsheva dress for 1/4 of its original price, I knew she had to come on Long Live. I included her expertise in this Vogue story about how to style overalls. In short, there’s nothing this woman can’t do.
When did you first hear about Batsheva? What about the brand spoke to you?
According to Instagram, I've been following the brand since 2019, so it was probably around then that I discovered them. I think I really resonated with the vintage adjacent ethos and the American Girl Doll esque silhouettes. Also, I loved that Batsheva Hay herself started the brand as a way to make chic-but-frum outfits for herself and other modestly dressing Jewish women. She basically took my tweenage dream to start a fashion brand creating trendy clothes for orthodox Jews without it all having to be long denim skirts (though those seem to inexplicably be back in style these days???) and made it a reality.
Where did you discover the dress in question?
According to my research (looking back at the date stamp on my photos) I found this dress on September 14, 2019 at 11:27 am. I tried it on at Frances May, a small boutique of independent designers in Portland, Oregon.
Do you have any other examples of seeing something you want and waiting to find it secondhand?
Yes! So many things. I honestly try to find things second hand first, because it's usually cheaper that way, and better for the environment too. Mostly these days I'm looking for archival Meadham Kirchhoff pieces, since they can only be found second hand cos the brand no longer exists. TMEadham Kirchhoff making funky, playful clothes at a really formative time in my life which is why I feel so drawn to them still as an adult, but also to this day I've never seen a brand that can hold a candle to their artistic imagination. They did this amazing Topshop collab collection in 2013 that I have saved searches for on every retail platform known to man. They're generally few and far between, and go for a lot when they come up for sale. I've only been able to recently start collecting their pieces— one of the perks of being a grown up with disposable income. The first was a pair of shoes I got in 2021 for $35, a steal for what they normally go for. Last spring I found one of the dresses on Poshmark for $80, which basically marked 10 years since the original collection dropped, so I guess you could say I waited a decade to find that dress.
How much were you willing to pay? Did you have a range in your head?
As a general rule, I try not to spend more than $100 on an item of clothing, unless it's something really rare/unique/special etc. With enough patience and research, I'm usually able to abide by this. For this dress, I knew when I saw it on TRR I could wait for it to go on sale for around the $100 mark, since there were others of it in different sizes on the site. I watched it drop to $180 to $144 to $127 to $102, which is finally when I pulled the trigger.
Any tips for shopping picks secondhand? Do you use saved searches, etc?
I've had a lot of success recently on The Real Real by just going to brands I love and sorting them by price low to high. It's how I got a Shrimps coat last fall for 90% off. I also love shopping influencer's closet sales/Instagram Story sales. Usually they price things very inexpensively, cos they've got it for free or are trying to just get rid of stuff when they've got too much. That's initially how I started collecting from small brands (such as Batsheva) when I was broke in college and couldn't afford to pay full retail.
How do you plan to wear the dress?
Well, I bought it initially with the intention to wear to my friend Maddie's wedding next month! But I know I'll get so much use out of it before and after that. For the wedding, I have this incredible For the Ages purse which is made from the exact same silk moire material as the dress, so I'll probably wear those two together, with my white mary janes that I like to call my communion shoes. I love a full monochrome look, so it's kismet that these two things from different brands are the exact same color and material. I also want to try to dress it down next week for my roommate's magazine launch party, so I think I'll try it with my silver Wales Bonner x Adidas sneakers and my Puppets and Puppets black and white cookie purse. I'd also love to try it as a skirt, with just a sweater on top.
Archived Outfit
Don’t tempt me with a good time! (Searching for Batsheva across multiple resale platforms.) Here’s the best of curation.
A collab between the brand and Laura Ashley—fun! Under $100.
Bride alert! This is so fun for a wedding look. Half the original price on Poshmark.
Ok these shoes! But really, this dress. This is a 16 on Poshmark!
POV: This is your new spring coat. It’s $172 and moire.
The question is: will I buy this before the letter goes out? Only time will tell.
We love a strong shoulder! This is a 14 and $150 on Poshmark.
Plus, so much on TRR, so just have a little browse and let me know what you find.
Honorable Mentions
I promise a huge list of books I’ve read in the next letter, it’s just that I have to dart to meet my little sister to shoot content for a brand I LOVE and time is limited.
Talked about this on IG + TT, but this is my fav product of last year. Talk to your skin person, but mine, Elizabeth Hand, loves it.
Also! Thingtesting just launched something very cool—check it out here, mention Erika sent you, and get two weeks free.
Thank you for reading Long Live. It means so much to me. You can shop my favs here, follow along on Instagram + Tiktok, shop my Notion template, and as always, respond to this dispatch for my direct line x