The Chicest Way To Save On Luxury Fashion? Check Out Bessette

For London-based expats Alli Sims-Peter and Vanessa Mace, a formative time working at MatchesFashion (RIP) as stylists and private shoppers saw their relationship bloom from work wives to future co-founders. During their time at the e-commerce platform, the duo would eagerly count down the days until the legendary staff sample sales, where covetable garments would be priced for less than a cup of coffee. An idea also formed: Could they transform the traditional notion of a chaotic sample sale into a refined online experience? And so Bessette was born.

“On the worst and most stressful days, we would just keep telling ourselves ‘We have to go for it and get started on this,’” Sims-Peter recalls, referring to the turbulent period before MatchesFashion was eventually shuttered. From the get-go, they knew that their elevator pitch not only made high-end fashion more accessible for a large audience; it also helped solve the pervasive industry issue regarding excess stock.

Bessette, a name both tipping its hat to the endearing style of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy and “besat,” a Scandinavian word for “obsessed,” went live in March 2024. The premise almost sounds too good to be true. Each week, on Monday at noon ET, a desirable selection of product will hit the site. These edits have it all. Think the type of chunky silver jewelry from Lié Studio and CompletedWorks that you just admired on an Instagram influencer. Suede and leather belts from Róhe and Toteme that you’ll turn to every day. Classic, but never boring, handbags from The Row, Ferragamo, Jil Sander, Neous, and Métier London. Cult-favorite boots, sandals, and flats by Alexander McQueen, Alaïa, Magda Butrym, and Le Monde Beryl. There’s also items from recent runways and timeless garments from Leset, By Malene Birger, Khaite, The Frankie Shop, and Wardrobe.NYC, to name but a few.

As any fashion-lover can attest, sample sales are the de facto way to secure both day-to-day investment pieces and special occasionwear alike, without having to face the wrath of your accountant. But what if you’re not in a major city, where these sales typically take place? Or even if you are, who can justify lining up at 5 a.m. to ensure you snag something in your size? This is where Bessette has found a whitespace. While typical in-person sales are a glorified supermarket sweep with Black Friday levels of hysteria, filled with items with no visibly marked sizes, Bessette procures the samples directly from the brands and then zhuzhes them up to enhance the shoppers’ experience. “We shoot at least once a week,” says Sims-Peter, explaining how she and Mace, along with their small team, restyle and re-merchandise product on a model. Thanks to their elevated taste, discerning eye, and keen sense of what customers want, a browse through Bessette feels like a meander through a chic multi-brand online department store. Albeit with one extra sweet bonus: stock is always up to 80% off.

For their true bootstrap endeavor and labor of love, U.S.-born Sims-Peter and Canada native Mace are still entirely self-funded, though when we speak on Zoom, Mace confirms that they’re readying to start pitching for external investment soon in order to take the company to the next level.

Thanks to some viral TikToks and Instagram Reels, Bessette has already been making waves and landed in front of the right IYKYK tastemakers online. At present, shoppers are pretty evenly split between the United Kingdom, where the company is headquartered, and the United States, with an additional small percentage of customers located in continental Europe and beyond.

Up next, Sims-Peter and Mace are dreaming of what a physical extension of the platform could look like, with hopes for pop-ups in London and New York this year. A sample sale, but with better manners? We’ll happily watch this space.