Common Mistakes People Make Buying Rick Owens

The big one, hands down, is buying based on your usual size from another brand instead of actually checking the size chart for that specific piece. Sounds obvious once someone says it, but it’s still the number one reason people end up returning something or wearing a piece that just never sits right. Past that, most of the other mistakes come down to not really understanding what the brand is going for before you spend the money on it.

Assuming Your Normal Size Just Carries Over

This causes more returns than everything else combined, honestly. A lot of pieces run oversized on purpose, lean on European sizing, and just don’t map onto whatever size you’d normally grab somewhere else. Someone who’s a medium in every other brand might need a small here, or the complete opposite, depending on the piece and the cut.

The fix is easy, people just skip it anyway. Check the size chart for the exact item of officialrickowens.com , not some generic brand wide chart, and compare it to your actual measurements instead of whatever size label you’re used to.

Buying the Look Without Thinking About Your Own Body

Some people fall for the aesthetic first and worry about fit later. A dramatic oversized coat that looks amazing on a tall, lean model in a lookbook photo doesn’t automatically look the same on every body type. That’s not a flaw in the clothes, it’s just a gap between what you saw in a photo and how proportions actually behave on different builds.

Trying something on, or at least reading reviews from people with a build similar to yours, saves you from that letdown where a piece looks great online but feels off once it’s actually on you.

Skipping the Care Instructions

A lot of pieces use treated leather, coated fabric, or heavier denim with specific finishes that need more careful handling than your average clothing. Buying without checking the label, or just assuming you can toss it in a normal wash and dry cycle, is a really common way people damage something within the first few months of owning it.

This matters more here than with most brands because so much of the appeal is in a specific finish or coating, and that stuff doesn’t survive careless washing.

Buying It Purely for Resale

Some people treat every purchase like it’s a guaranteed investment. Reality check, only a small slice of rare or archive pieces actually hold or gain value, most current season stuff loses value on resale just like typical designer clothing does. Buying with resale as the main motivation, instead of because you actually want to wear it, usually ends in disappointment when the market doesn’t play along.

If resale ends up being a nice bonus down the line, great. Just don’t build the purchase around that assumption.

Writing Off DRKSHDW Completely

People sometimes assume mainline pricing is the only real way into the brand and skip DRKSHDW without realizing what it actually is. It’s not some watered down knockoff, it’s a separate line, priced lower, built with simpler construction. For a lot of people it’s honestly the more practical option day to day, not just a cheaper stand in.

Ignoring it because it feels like “not the real thing” comes from misunderstanding what the line is in the first place.

Buying Secondhand Without Actually Checking Details

Prices and demand swing a lot in the resale space, which means buying secondhand carries more risk than a normal retail purchase. Not asking about real measurements, actual condition, or authenticity before handing over money is how people end up with something that doesn’t fit or isn’t what they thought they were getting.

Asking for real photos, actual measurements, and honest condition notes before buying secondhand avoids most of the headaches people run into here.

Questions People Ask

What’s the easiest mistake to avoid? Trusting your usual size from somewhere else instead of checking that specific item’s size chart. This alone causes more fit problems than anything else on this list.

Is DRKSHDW actually worth it compared to mainline? Depends what you want. It’s its own line with its own construction and pricing, not a lesser version of the mainline stuff, and it works well for people wanting something more everyday.

Should I expect a piece to go up in value? Not really, no. Most current pieces lose value on resale like typical designer clothing, value holding steady mostly applies to specific rare or archive items.

Is buying secondhand actually riskier? More risk around fit, condition, and whether it’s authentic, mainly because there’s no real return process like you’d get buying new. Checking details upfront cuts that risk down a lot.

Can bad care actually ruin these pieces? Yeah, careless washing or drying can mess up treated leather or coated fabric noticeably faster than proper care would. Reading the label before that first wash matters more here than with most clothing.

Bottom Line

Most mistakes people make here come down to skipping stuff that feels small in the moment, sizing, care instructions, understanding what a specific line actually is, but that ends up mattering a lot later. Slowing down enough to check the real size chart, read the care label, and buy because you actually want to wear the thing instead of flip it later avoids basically every regret people run into with this brand.