Narnia: An Oldie But Goodie Vintage / Resale

At 161 Rivington St. resides Narnia, a vintage/resale shop of utmost quality that I had not visited for eons.  While there's something earthy and almost Southwestern about it, it works in the big City.  They're having a super mega sale at 129 Rivington right now, but I'd skip it if I were you and go to the mothership, (with your bank account healthy and strong).

Also, on a sidenote, the guys at Change of Season in the East Village have closed up shop, gone to Italy and will be back in action on January 22 with a whole new monster load of last quarter's high-end couture for less.  Mark your calendars!

Anti-Black Friday: Roundabout Resale

Big Box Not Your Style? Skip the line-cutting, smack-downs and requisite pre-dawn wakeups.  Try Roundabout at 113 Mercer St. (between Spring St and Prince St) this Friday. High-end boots straight from boutiques, excellent condition clothes and select vintage typically 1/3 of retail. A group of  women came in with their driver from Connecticut for discounted designers includin Prada, Ferretti, Chanel, and Balenciagia - one of them left wearing her brand new boots.  Check the lower level for contemporary lines like Nanette Lepore, Cynthia Steffe - the Bergdorf 5F brands.
This Roundabout store is one of four in the area (two in Greenwich and one on the UES). Don't be a turkey this Thanksgiving - check for an eclectic selection.

~Nancy Brenner

2/6-2/19: Designer Resale & Gentlemen's Resale Semi-Annual Winter Sale

Our favorite consignment/resale shop on the UES (324 E. 81st St.) is featuring 20-70% off famous designer brands for men and women.  Or if you're feeling frisky, wait til Feb. 20 & 21 for the blowout sale when prices will be reduced up to 80%.

La Boutique Resale Gives You Gas Money

I found La Boutique's sale tactic to be somewhat amusing:

"Bad economy, inflation & high gas prices got you down? Come in for some retail therapy" and "FREE GAS to move your ass!"

No I'm not kidding.

So, if you spend more than $60 you get $5 in gas money and if you spend $250 you get $20.

With locations at Madison and 80th, Lexington and 62nd and 81st between 2nd & 3rd, I wonder how many of their customers actually drive...

But what the heck this and other sales are going on through August 31. I have scored large here before, so it is worth the "drive."

La Boutique Resale...Sale

La Boutique Resale, the high-end resale shop located thrice:

• Madison and 80th
• Lexington and 62nd
• 81st. between 2nd & 3rd Ave...

...is having their "Winter Clearance Blowout Sale" now through March 9. Prices slashed up to 70 percent.

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...

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.

Housing Works - At Auction

I love the display windows at Housing Works on E. 23rd St. I think because they convey the message of demented domesticity, which is really the truth of the matter when it comes right down to it. Incidentally, they also often have some really great stuff - clothing and furniture - that is not available for sale, but is available for silent auction.

While I have never partaken (partook?) in said silent auction activity, I did look into it briefly one time...and have considered doing so again. You need to go into the store and put your name on a list with the amount of money you are willing to spend on the particular item(s) that you are interested in. Then, after the auction closes, I believe they determine the "winner" by looking to see who was willing to pay the most.

I know that this may not be exactly accurate and some of you may be thinking to yourselves, "this is common knowledge, what is this ditz talking about?" but humor me as I am just finding my way through life and this big scary town one day at a time. That, and I suppose I should have done a bit more reasearch on this before I decided to write about it.

Anyway, I think I decided to not pursue the silent auction approach with much fervor as people are willing to spend absurd amounts of money on other people's trash in this town. Go to Michigan with a van and get some real deals on antique furniture - prices that would make even the Salvation Army in NYC laugh.

But when all is said and done, remember Housing Works mission: "to ensure that adequate housing, food, social services, harm reduction and other drug treatment services, medical and mental health care, and employment opportunities are available to homeless persons living with AIDS and HIV and to their families as they define them."

So it is most certainly money well-spent.