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Reliable Sourcers

The summer fashion feeding frenzy is on, forcing hardcore customers to cut deals with a shadow network of sourcers who hunt down the season’s “sold-out-but-not-really” must-haves from Miu Miu, Chanel, The Row, Pucci, Alaïa, and more.

Kelly Levian, Gab Waller
Not surprisingly, sourcers chase many of the same items, creating a kind of hall of mirrors by posting on social media how many requests they’re getting for a particular piece. Photo-Illustration: Puck; Photos: Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for WSJ. Custom Events/David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images/Courtesy of Brands
Sarah Shapiro
June 24, 2025

It wasn’t so long ago that personal shoppers were the preserve of the very rich, or the very famous, or some combination of the two. Later, department stores offered personal shoppers as a loyalty play: a way to keep their high rollers in the store and spending, lubricated with second-rate champagne and coos of approval. But then social media, pandemic lockdowns, and the expansion of direct-to-consumer businesses upended those models, and forced shoppers to go rogue.