This shopper is happy with the low price on this skirt at a Kansas City consignment shop.
It must be in the genes. My daughter works part-time at a Kansas City consignment store, just as her grandmother did for many years. As prices skyrocket, it’s trendy to give a second life to clothing that’s ”gently worn” and still high style. Grandma is on a first-name basis with Saks and Nieman, but has supplemented her stylish wardrobe with pieces from Act II, a high-end designer store in Kansas City, where she worked part-time.
As a teenager, my daughter got started on her “vintage” clothing buying spree at The Wasteland on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles in 2001. We were turned on to the area by my good college friend Jan, who also took us to the huge Aaardvark’s Odd Ark in Pasadena. (Yes, there are three As in a row.) My daughter was hooked! I did well myself, grabbing a great black leather motorcycle jacket for $11.
On the Country CLub Plaza, a Kansas City Star photographer captures Mrs. L. in his lens for a Fashion Focus.
There’s something about the word “vintage” that makes used clothes sound fabulous. The whole re-sale shopping experience has inspired new euphemisms for used, old, recycled, cast-off, outgrown, discarded and unwanted, but who cares? You can get some great stuff!
My daughter’s consignment shop is mid-range and has been selling infant, children’s and women’s clothing and accessories for more than twenty years. She buys or uses her store credit to get a batch of “new” clothes a couple of times a month. She also consigns clothes she no longer wants. What she can’t consign she’ll take to a thrift shop. She’s so hooked on “vintage” fashion and its affordability, she barely thinks of buying new. In the Kansas City area, there are more than a dozen clothing consignment shops and dozens of thrift shops.
Shopper outside The Wasteland consignment shop on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles.
She and her boyfriend, both recent college graduates, also have been hitting the neighborhood garage sales. They have a “new” stereo, “new” bike and plenty of other thrifty finds. Link to a New York Times story about consignment shops: When Conscience and Closet Collide
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1 Comment
June 13, 2008 at 10:25 pm
I would recommend Pete n Repeat to everyone. It’s so fun, I like to think of myself as a treasure hunter. With the saved money, we then go across the street and easily spend $20 for coffee and lattes!