Consignment Downtown: Second Time Around

Second Time Around at 262 Mott Street consignment as cool as its boutique -- brand neighbors like Rebecca Taylor.

This NoLita spot is so popular that you need to make an appointment to consign. Thirty-minute and hour long appointments go quickly.
1. Tags - still "fresh from the store" - these boo-boo buys will yield the most cash.

2. Call in advance to see if they are "full" - consignment shops are well-stocked right now. Try again in a month to see if stocks are depleted and they have room for more.

3. Scout the location in advance - No need to drag all your goodies - for example a downtown shop of the same chain may offer hipper labels than an uptown one, which may have more classic brands and styles.

4. Rejected? - Ask the consignee questions - find out if they are the right brand, style for the store, condition of item, or if they would the be welcome at another time of year.

5. Consign early and often - mid-March for Spring/Summer and mid-August for Fall/Winter

Mostly for women, but men check out the tie selection if you are in the 'hood of this Massachusets-based emporium of more than 20 stores.

http://www.secondtimearound.net/

~n. brenner

Consignment Shop Virgin: Report From the Front - Michael's Consignment Shop

Don't be intimidated by the steps leading to this high-end consignment shop nestled along the ladies-who-lunch brand flagship stores on Madison Avenue. With labels like Hermes and Chanel, I expected to see a few older women hauling heavy purses, with brand names so expensive, that I had only admired them at Bergdorf as if visiting an exhibit at the Met.

Michael's is a bustling interactive high-end, cool-girl exhibit with sparkly St. John, Milly, and Balenciaga in the mix. All ages and social strata have discovered the joys of cash for clothes that were using up valuable NYC closet space - the solution to an instant Gilt-gone-wrong finale sale purchase, or sample sale finds that seemed too cheap to pass on. There are many regulars here who are both buying and selling. One lamented the Prada coat that was there only a few days before - and "walked away." Her tip: if it's a beauty, buy it - it's unlikely you'll spot it twice. Fingering a Missoni, she said, "what's there to think about? A Missoni speaks for itself." Another regular suggests googling consignment shops in upper-crust neighborhoods for best selections and noted there were several nearby.

If you own any designer names - from the big leagues like Chanel to Louboutin, or the the Bergdorf 5F ones like Milly, Diane von Furstenberg, Shoshanna or Nanette, this may be your sample sale salvation. Tips for consignment shop virgins: Call in advance to determine which brands they accept. Bring in current season only. Make sure to mothball or store your winter goods and bring them back in the Fall. Prepare yourself for rejection. Cute or crazy? The ladies at the shop will decide. That oh so hot Louboutin color that you waited five hours to buy at the sample sale, but can't stand in for more than a nanosecond may not make their carefully curated cut. Merchandise is typically priced at 1/3 of retail, and then you can expect half of the profits - although prices are marked down if they do not sell. One source so far has discovered $300 this season from a recent closet cleaning.

If you're in buying mode, check out their eveningwear upstairs- for this category of merchandise it's unlikely you'll find better prices, unless you're married to a Saks sales associate. Pause before blowing multiple c-notes for Blahniks as some seem more shop-worn than gently. Happy Hunting!

michaelsconsignment.com
1041 Madison Avenue @ 79th Street

~nancy brenner

July 25-Aug. 7: Sale at Designer Resale

Semi-Annual Summer Sale
Saturday, July 25 - Friday, August 7
Designer Resale, 324 E. 81st St. (212-734-3639)
Gentlemen's Resale, 322 E. 81st St. (212-734-2739)
20%-70% off famous designer brands for women & men.
20% off selected jewelry.

...and remember, I successfully "consigned" some shoes here, and you can too! Just make sure you have top brands or you will be rejected mercilessly.

Designer Resale Sale, Feb 7 - 20

Designer Resale, the...well the designer resale/consignment store that is incredibly picky in what they take (but they did take my Betsey Johnson embroidered flats and quickly sold them -- netting me a take of $22) is having their Winter Semi-Annual Sale. Prices SLASHED 20-70 percent! Famous designer brands for women AND men. And wait! The sale actually extends until Feb. 21-22 when prices will be SLASHED up to 80 percent!

If you haven't stopped in yet, go to E. 81st Street between 1st-2nd Aves.

With brands including Hermes, Prada, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Fendi, Armani, Versace, YSL, Burberry, Christian Dior, etc. you would think that they'd have more up to date marketing materials - the sale notice I received in the mail has a drawing of a man and a woman in their sassy designer duds, and it reminds me of the movie "Working Girl," or "Big." Not a great first step in an effort to get the trendsetters in your store, guys. I'm surprised the woman isn't wearing a headband.

Economy Got You Down? Consign THIS!

Whether or not your finances have been impacted by this plummeting economy, now is a great time to get rid of the goods in your closet and home, and make some money while you're at it. I have begun to do this during the last year or so, and while I have not gotten rich, it has given me a sense of pride, as though I am building my cred as an independent business woman. A "wee"bay, if you will.

And a funny thing happens - the stuff you think nobody would ever buy, goes in a blink, while the stuff you are sure that people will be dying for is e-ignored. Examples - I have been trying to get rid of a chair for a year to no avail, but my speaker stands and 18-year-old Nakamichi stereo receiver got snapped up in less than 3 days after posting them on craigslist.

And, on the flip side, if you are relatively broke and in need of some new items, shopping this way is not a bad way to go. Especially if you are in dire need of couture.

For example, La Boutique Resale with its three NYC locations (one UWS, two UES) is both a great place to GIVE (i.e. consign) your gently used top designer fashions and BUY such items - and right now during their winter sale you can score such duds at up to 70 percent off (through March 15).

Plus, if you have a postcard from them like I do, you can get additional 10 percent of your total purchase. I have gotten a few things here this way, even I give into Fendi, Escada and Dior from time to time...

My First Consignment: Designer Resale

In a continued effort to fit all of my apparel into the smaller, temporary dwelling, I did some real sole-searching and parted with a few items that I have been hanging onto for various (strange) reasons. For the first time in my life I thought I'd give the consignment route a shot - I mean why not make some cash on the side? So I pulled out shoes, a suit, a dress, skirt, pants and a shirt and hustled them over to Designer Resale Corp. on 324 East 81st St. Cutting to the chase - the above pictured Betsey Johnson flats were the only thing they accepted. Haha... I guess this is what happens when you are so fashion-forward that the labels you are a slave to are unappreciated by the masses. So I skipped myself on over to the Spence-Chapin Thrift Shop at 1473 Third Ave. and donated the rest...

Convoluted Sale at La Boutique Resale

...but a sale nevertheless!

La Boutique Resale, a resale consignment shop where I have scored some fab duds, is having their Summer Clearance Blowout Sale now through August 31, when prices will be slashed up to 70%. If you get "the postcard" you can also take an additional 10% off of your total purchase...um...excluding 60%, 70%, and over 70% off items; excluding all handbags...oh and wait...not to be combined with other coupons/offers. Hang on...10% off taken after all other deductions calculated. Phew. Talk about disclaimers!

La Boutique Resale - Madison Ave.

One of the best things about being a woman living on the Upper East Side - or so I have been told - is the easy access to scores of resale/consignment shops filled with last season's top designer castoffs.

So this past weekend among the Puerto Rican Day parade, I did my own parading along a few Madison Avenue blocks. After perusing Dolce & Gabbana (where, incidentally, there's a 40% off sale on shoes, bags and 'ready-to-wear') and falling dangerously in love with a pair of $275 sunglasses, I came upon La Boutique Resale. I think that is French for "The Resale Boutique."

Located on the second floor of 1045 Madison Avenue, LBR immediately struck me as particularly well-organized, something I very much appreciated. It is basically run and set up like a real-live retail store, making it very easy and enjoyable to peruse...and ultimately BUY. A brilliant marketing tactic, indeed.

While many of the choices seemed a bit "old" at first blush, a bit of digging revealed some fresh gems. I scored the pictured Nanette Lepore skirt for $47.20 and Fendi shoes for $74.40. I also purchased a brand new Andrew Urbain top for $35.40 - who knows how old it actually is, but it goes with the outfit! So for a total of $157 I own my first Fendi anything, my first Nanette L. skirt and my first (and probably last) Andrew U. anything. Not a bad accidental score.

Other locations include: 803 Lexington Ave. @62nd St., 2nd Fl. and 160 W. 72nd St. near Broadway (for men & women). The store manager explained that the west side location has "younger" styles and that I should go check it out. Bless him.

Ina meany miney moe

Hey, I've been meaning to write about Ina, the designer consignment store in Noho and Soho and all around the town. It's basically full of rich people's incredibly expensive castoffs - Marc Jacobs, Gucci, Jil Sander, etc. after those fashions become obsolete (two months after they are bought).

"What's with the attitude, Guerilla Shopper?" you might be asking yourself.

Well I'm kind of tired and cranky, but I also sat next to a saleswoman while getting a pedicure at Haven this summer, and upon realizing she worked at Ina, I began to ask her about the store. I was interested in the kind of merchandise they accepted, if there were parameters for what they would and wouldn't take, etc. I was truly interested because I have some Smithsonian-worthy 80s pieces that I have considered saving for a rainy day. Well, Ms. Ina lady was incredibly curt and condescending. Little did she know I was a bitch with a blog.