To all the brands I've loved before
A farewell to Mara Hoffman — plus, secondhand summer picks from other gone-too-soon lines.
After 24 years, Mara Hoffman is calling it quits and shutting down her eponymous clothing line. (Speaking of lines, I can only imagine how long the queues will be outside her sample sale, running through June 9 in Soho.)
I was bummed to hear the news, as it seemed like Hoffman had really hit her stride with last summer’s breakout hit, the popcorn dress. And, if her final Spring 2024 line is any indication, the brand was poised to appeal to fans of The Row and Jenni Kayne alike this season.
Mara Hoffman spring 2024 ready-to-wear
Hoffman’s is not the only brand I’ve mourned recently.
Leisurewear line Entireworld closed shop as soon as offices started opening up again post-pandemic.
Mansur Gavriel’s clothing line seemed to peter out before it even got started (thankfully, their leather goods are still going strong).
And Kore Swim, a women-owned swimwear brand, closed in 2021 after nine years of making swimsuits I actually enjoyed wearing.
Mansur Gavriel spring 2018 ready-to-wear
If, like me, you’re not ready to say goodbye to these brands, this post is for you. Below is a guide to finding each designer’s best summer styles on resale sites.
Mara Hoffman
If you’re planning on spending the weekend with your feet up and a tub of ice cream (oh right, you’re not eight months pregnant? Just me?), then you might be missing out on the Mara Hoffman sample sale. Fortunately, her clothing is easy to source secondhand.
Almost too easy. Searching sites like ThredUp for Mara Hoffman turns up a lot of the brand’s earlier styles, which are less beachy minimalist and more Coachella-core circa 2010.
The key to mounting a streamlined search is to filter by fabric (think linen, cotton and silk) and color, and/or sticking to sites like The RealReal and Vestiaire Collective, which are more curated than ThredUp and Poshmark.
Here are some options.
Cotton gauze jumpsuit (size S, $122):
Organic cotton sarong (size M, $116):
Cotton midi dress (size 8, $149):
Linen blazer (size XS, $147):
Tencel-linen pants (size 8, $115):
Maxi dress (size XL, $140):
Hemp cut-out dress (size XS, $148):
Linen maxi dress (size L, $58):
Entireworld
For a moment, Entireworld seemed…on top of the world, as an up-and-coming leisurewear line at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. You can find their pieces for a song on sites like Poshmark and The Real Real.
I recommend searching ‘Entireworld’ + ‘set,’ as matching sets were their sweet spot.
Cotton-linen sweater set (size M, $32):
Ribbed pants (size S, $36):
Organic cotton cords (size 4X, $23):
Green sweats set (size XS, $60):
Mansur Gavriel
It’s hard to know where to start with Mansur Gavriel’s short-lived line, as every piece is tailored to perfection and cut in the most luxurious fabrics. Search ‘Mansur Gavriel’ on any resale site and filter to the clothing category and you’ll see what I mean.
I’m preemptively envious of whoever nabs this coordinating cashmere set:
Cashmere sweater (size S, $238):
Cashmere pants (size small, $168):
And for those of you still keeping the coastal grandmother trend alive through the summer season, this jacket’s A-line shape elevates the typical shacket silhouette:
Linen jacket (size 2, $196):
Kore Swim
Not to be dramatic, but if I could wear one swimsuit brand for the rest of my life, it would be Kore. I wore Kore pretty much exclusively on my honeymoon to Portugal in 2019, and was gutted when the brand announced it was closing shop two years later.
Fortunately, Kore was distributed through retailers like Free People and Anthropologie, so you can still find quite a few pieces secondhand. Here’s a selection of one-pieces; for bikinis, you may have to source the top and bottom separately.
Also, yes: I’ve bought and worn used swimsuits (including vintage ones) and lived to tell the tale. The trick to reducing the ick factor (and lingering chlorine smell): soak them in a laundry-safe cleaning vinegar like this one.
One-piece (size L, $50):
One-piece (size M, $94):
One-piece (size M, $45):
Lastly, I couldn’t in good conscience publish a post about summer styles without linking to a few warm-weather packing tips.
recently posited that when it comes to holiday packing, less is more:And
of posted her packing list for Mexico (+ she has an entire series on packing light):