Sue McCarthy has seen inside some of the most beautiful closets in the world, ones that store such high-end brands as Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Prada.
She’s met Oprah and Heidi Klum, starred on a hit reality show on the Style Network, dined with clients in the Italian countryside, and even perused the closet of an actress (she won’t reveal who, of course) known for her role in a popular ’90s TV show.
Get a weekly dose of home and style inspiration
Subscribe to the St. Louis Design+Home newsletter to explore the latest stories from the local interior design, fashion, and retail scene.
Now, McCarthy has written a memoir—titled Good, Better, Best—retelling some of her adventures as the queen of upscale resale in St. Louis.
She opened her first store, Women’s Closet Exchange, in 1991, where she flipped the resale model by buying outright rather than consigning from sellers. The business, which she operated with her two daughters, went on to attract customers and sellers from around the globe—and even spurred its own reality show, Resale Royalty.
In 2016, McCarthy made a tough decision: She closed Women’s Closet Exchange to focus on The Vault Luxury Resale in Brentwood.
Asked why now was the right time to bring her life story to the page, McCarthy says that after Resale Royalty ended, “everybody wanted more. We’ve had these spectacular closets that weren’t featured [in the show], so we pulled some of the really good ones, and I told the stories.” With a laugh, she adds, “I call it lady porn.”
In Good, Better, Best, McCarthy recalls trips to Paris, Las Vegas, New York City, and Chicago, where’s she’s met with a wide range of clients, from socialites to call girls. Along with one of her daughters, she’s found original Birkin handbags, gowns worn on the Hollywood red carpet, and endless amounts of designer shoes.
“I’ve always seen the book as a movie,” McCarthy says. “When you’re reading the book, you can just see it. They come to life, all these great closets.”
So is a movie in the works? “We’re talking about it,” she says coyly. “We can’t say much, but we are talking about it.”
She does reveal whom she’d want to play her daughter Diana, though, recounting one trip to New York’s Upper East Side. “We’re in one of these fabulous buildings doing a closet,” she recalls, “and we come down in the elevator and as we’re walking down a hallway, going in one direction with all of our goods, Jessica Chastain comes by in the other direction. Diana taps me on the shoulder and says, ‘Should I tell her?’ We’ve always said Jessica Chastain should play Diana.”
Good, Better, Best is available online and via Amazon. The Vault Luxury Resale (2325 S. Brentwood) will host a launch party for the book on Thursday, August 2.
