Anna Sui style on a thrift-store budget
Forgive my limited Canva skillz. I’m no graphic designer!
I’ve been obsessed with Anna Sui for a few months now, but obviously only the privileged few can afford to drop $1,000 on a dress (ok yes i picked the most expensive one and some of her dresses are ONLY $500). High fashion designers know this, so of course there are cheaper options for us commoners — collabs with Target and Starbucks, cosmetics, a lovely coffeetable book I got for Christmas, etc.
But to REALLY get that Anna Sui style on a cheapo budget (especially stuff you can wear vs. just use/display in your home), ya gotta get creative. And by that I mean searching for Anna Sui-adjacent/lookalike pieces on Poshmark, ThredUp, at Goodwill, etc.
First, a quick primer on Anna Sui’s ~lewk.~ The consensus seems to be that her style is rock-n-roll plus, like, a whimsical and feminine vintage vibe. A little punk, a little flirty. Mod ‘60s, flowy ‘70s, ‘90s grunge, 2000s butterfly clips all blended together. It’s girly but also edgy and she always includes nods to interesting cultural/historical eras. For instance, her fall 2024 runway looks were inspired by Miss Marple and are VERY librarian-chic. (Old lady detectives forever!)
Overall, there are a few themes:
Purple and black with maybe some red, fuchsia, navy, or teal accents
FLORALS, especially roses in a sort of ‘90s Betsey Johnson way, and bold ‘60s daisies
Butterflies
A hint of whimsigoth - unicorns and other magical elements, grays, celestial stuff, sparkles, etc.
Art Nouveau-esque swirls and ornate borders
Lace and other embellishments
Black and white stripes
Lots of layers, patterns, and flouncy frills
Bold, chunky lettering/fonts (at least on her branding—not her actual fashion)
FLUEVOGS (seriously, I think most if not all of her runway models wear them)
Let’s be real. I can’t afford even secondhand Anna Sui, but I am an avid online thrifter. Here’s what I looked for:
Purple. You’d be surprised how little purple clothing isn’t sports-related! I guess manufacturers/designers rely on basic-ass, popular colors like blue, red, black, white, and beige. Even pink seems easier to find than purple! (Thanks, Barbie.) After spending WAY too much time looking at purple nail polish online, I found the perfect one: Choreo Queen by Essie. It’s on the violet/blue side and reminds me of the purple that Olivia Rodrigo used in her Guts era.
PATTERNS like paisley, florals, patchwork, and (to a lesser extent) stripes
Ruffles and tassels
Flowy feminine shapes like babydoll tops/dresses
Anything that looked vintage-y
I have to brag—I scored this puppy for $7 on Poshmark:
IS Faded Glory a sad, uncool brand found at the likes of (I dunno) Walmart, Target, Fred Meyer, or a dying department store? MOST DEFINITELY. Do I care? Not at all. Because no one knows when you’re wearing it, and your personal taste and how you style things matters more than the actual brand you’re wearing! (You can’t buy taste!) Ahem. Off soapbox now.
Anyway, I also snagged this lil buddy for $16:
I seem to have better luck on Poshmark, where sellers are individual people who might respond to my questions about fabric/measurements, as opposed to ThredUp, where they don’t give a shit if measurements are wildly inaccurate.
Fully addicted to Poshmark at this point, I spent WAY too much on this dress (let’s not talk about it):
Anyway, if you wanna thrift Anna Sui-inspired pieces, I’d say ignore brand names and focus on the overall vibe! It takes more time and effort, but it’s so satisfying when you do find something—and it’s less than $1,000 😉