[ChrissyM]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucy92 a big new goodwill is having a grand opening this week!! its on commonwealth avenue right by Boston University. (i believe the address is 985) can't wait to check it out...

is this on the kenmore side of BU or going toward BC?

i wonder what is going in the space where the jasmine sola outlet was...
has that already been filled?
it's been a while since i was over that way..

[lucy92]

chrissym, im pretty sure that the goodwill is going in where the jasmine sola outlet used to be on commonwealth avenue...

the place where jasmine sola used to be on newbury street is now home to a jasmine sola-lookalike store (they seem to have the exact same merchandise) the store name is just a string of numbers. i never see anyone in there. i think the jasmine sola owner should have just stuck with his lingerie idea. bet it will go out of business soon. i think his name was irrepairably harmed by the scandal...

[ChrissyM]

thanks lucy.. i was wondering if that was where it was going..

[punky]

I have some pictures from my visit to:
Artifaktori
22a College Ave, Davis Sq.
Somerville 617-776-3708

[it-boy's nature]

Can anyone tell me anything about Bobby's? Pardon me if it's already been brought up (I searched the thread, but no luck) but I was told about it by a friend and he said it's located on Thayer street in the South End. I dont really know how to get there but I wanted to know if it's any good before I even bother.

It's a vintage shop and I'd love to check it out.

[punky]

Yelp is good for stuff like that.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/bobby-from-boston-boston

[it-boy's nature]

Thanks alot Punky !!! And if anyone has had personal experiences with this store, please let me know too.

[punky]

Has anyone gone to the Sowa Market yet this year? Was it busy? Were there lots of Vintage sellers?
http://www.southendopenmarket.com/

[punky]

Myself and a few other tfs members will have Vintage booths set up at Baked Fresh. So it will be like shopping all our stores in one place...vintage heaven.
http://www.southendopenmarket.com/bakedfresh.htm

[lucy92]

boston.com

Thrifty and nifty

Their designer labels are secondhand, but consignment shops' deals are first-rate

October 2, 2008
Rough economy or not, fashionistas love their designer labels. These days, some of the savviest shoppers are staking out consignment shops in search of top labels at steep discounts. "The resale industry has always been recession-proof," says Adele Meyer, executive director of the National Association of Resale and Thrift Shops, most of whom have seen sales increase by about 30 percent between April 2007 and this past April. More people, Meyer says, are combing their closets for items to cash in - and filling in their wardrobes with previously owned high-end goods. So what's in stores? We checked out a handful of local shops to see what they've got and what we could get for $75. - AMI ALBERNAZ
The Closet
For the past 30 years, The Closet (175 Newbury St., Boston, 617-536-1919) has been a beacon for high-end bargain hunters. Dolce & Gabbana and Marc Jacobs share racks with fun if less familiar names. For shoppers, there are a few guiding concepts - skirts here, menswear there, size markers thoughtfully placed, but for the most part, rummaging is part of the game. This time of year, as many as 600 pieces come in each day, says manager Robert van Giels, guaranteeing an ever-changing selection.
The Closet accepts designer consignments that are less than two years old and in perfect condition. Many items are marked down after one month, but higher-end brands like Louis Vuitton and Chanel are generally exempt. The consignment period is 60 days, and sales are split 50-50. Consignors are paid monthly, rather than at the end of the consignment period.
WHAT $75 BUYS: At $88, the shiny red Prada sneakers that caught our eye were woefully off-limits. An elegantly tattered, peach and red-flecked Bebe blazer ($33) and a flouncy Easton Pearson skirt ($44) come in just two bucks over budget.
Poor Little Rich Girl
If it's vintage you seek, head to Davis Square and Poor Little Rich Girl (255 Elm St., Somerville, 617-684-0157). Racks sorted by decade (1950s through '80s, and a sparser one labeled "From the beginning of time to the 1940s") stand alongside a table of vintage cowboy boots. Chunky vintage jewelry is displayed throughout. The store also stocks a funky assortment of contemporary wares, anchored by standards from J. Crew, Gap, and Banana Republic. Overstock new items round out the selection.
First-time consignors and those who have not consigned within the last three months need to make an appointment. Vintage items (at least 25 years old) and new items (no more than three years old) in perfect condition are accepted. The consignor gets 40 percent of the selling price, or can use the payment as store credit and receive an additional 20 percent discount. Items are kept for 60 days; unclaimed items are donated.
WHAT $75 BUYS: With so many choices, it's tough to decide. We settle on a vintage red straw hat ($34), a pair of turquoise-and-gold screw-on earrings ($14), and beige crochet culottes from the 1970s rack ($28).
Encore Exchange
Though it's been around for more than 40 years, Encore Exchange (318 Harvard St., Brookline, 617-566-4544) is easy to miss. The tiny shop is nestled in Coolidge Corner Arcade, a structure that even those living in Brookline might pass. At first glance, the wares seem aimed at an older set - sober linen tops, floral scarves - but on closer inspection, the selection becomes more eclectic.
A fringed, studded leather handbag and a hand-painted Italian leather number perch on a shelf above the clothes. A wide black Swatch watch sits in a case of vintage jewelry.
Prices start low (a $5 basket with sweaters, scarves, and miscellanea) and reach into the low four figures (for the fur coat rack behind the counter).
Most of the clothes are no more than 2 1/2 years old. Consignors may pick up unsold items after 90 days, or they are given to charity. Consignors receive 50 percent of the sale price.
WHAT $75 BUYS: The day we visited, a Betsey Johnson spring dress with a netted overlay was a must-have ($44.95), as was an olive suede belt ($27.50).
Karma Designer Consignments
In the North End, Karma Designer Consignments (26 Prince St., Boston, 617-723-8338) boasts something for everyone. There are pieces from high-end designers, about half of which are consigned, as well as one-of-a-kind and vintage pieces that owners and twin sisters Joy and Judy Catuogno scout out themselves.
"We have a lot of samples and things from boutique close-outs, which we can bring in at a lower rate," Joy Catuogno says. Soft summer dresses from a San Francisco designer hang alongside consigned Marc Jacobs, Diane von Furstenberg, and Betsey Johnson wares. Vintage cocktail dresses and costume jewelry round out the selection. For tight budgets, a $10-$20 rack features steeply discounted Ann Taylor and J.Crew. The sisters accept high-end consignments (Gucci, Dior, Chanel) by appointment. The consignment is 90 days, and sales are split 50-50.
WHAT $75 BUYS: A silk Diane von Furstenberg tank top ($60) is tempting. Then it's difficult to decide between a black "Naughty in the North End" T-shirt ($15) and a pair of flats ($10).
Turnabout Shoppe
West of the city, the Turnabout Shoppe (30 Grove St., Wellesley, 781-237-4450) is a mecca for high-end consignment. Racks of neatly displayed Chanel jackets greet visitors at the entrance. Co-owner Herb Kutzman points out one that originally cost $5,000 to $6,000, but is being sold for $950.
"The more expensive something was, the better the buy," Kutzman says. "If we price something too high, people won't buy it."
Vera Wang and Oscar de la Renta share space on the shop's gown rack, (the same rack from which gowns were purchased for both of Bill Clinton's inaugurations in the '90s). The handbag selection is similarly star-studded: Fendi, Bergdorf Goodman, Hermès. Upstairs is a room dedicated to shoes (Dell'Aqua, Escada, Chanel); another to pants, skirts, and sweaters; and another to outerwear.
The Turnabout Shoppe accepts consignments by appointment. Items should be no older than two seasons, and are displayed for one year. Sales are split 50-50.
WHAT $75 BUYS: Our budget didn't stretch so far here. An adorable pair of rose-colored, red-buckled Anne Klein flats ($90) were just out of reach, but a tan and periwinkle Coach purse ($70) fit the bill.

[ChrissyM]

thanks for the article/review lucy...

maybe consignment shops will be a better place for me to spend my lazy shopping days in this terrible economy...
i can't resist a good bargain

[lucy92]

lucky magazine's november issue had a 3 page shopping guide for boston. here's what they said about our vintage stores. (luckymag.com)

Café Society

This carefully considered vintage clothing store in Brookline focuses on evening-worthy cocktail dresses. Proprietress Betsey Brooks puts pieces from as early as the 1890s out on the floor—though most of the inventory can be traced to the '40s and '50s—and ensures that every one is impeccably preserved. You won't find a single missing button, stain, or ragged hem in the mix.
131 Cypress St., Brookline, 617-738-7186
Abodeon

Owned by a furniture designer and a Houston Museum of Fine Art veteran, this 10-year-old institution is exactly what a great midcentury-modern home store should be: There are burnished walnut coffee tables and Danish consoles, but they're really just a backdrop for the winning selection of finishing touches: Carved '60s nesting bowls and ceramic coffeepots share the shelves with new picks, like Iittala mugs and flatware.
1731 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-497-0137

Bobby from Boston

In a city known for its classic attire, this vintage resource has achieved icon status: Its contents could outfit the cast of School Ties many times over. Bobby Garnett has been traveling the world for 30 years, snapping up striped college scarves and boiled wool ski sweaters, which are perfectly arranged in a charmingly retro-clubhouse setting. He recently started sourcing equally timeless womenswear, like '50s cocktail dresses and ladylike heels, too. Those who ask can visit his 5,000-square-foot warehouse, 12 miles north of Boston in Lynn.
19 Thayer St., South End, 617-423-9299

Twentieth Century Ltd.

Thousands and thousands of costume-jewelry pieces populate the cabinets at this subterranean Charles Street space. Collectible Chanel earrings and Miriam Haskell pins are here, but the real draws are the neatly labeled trays of coral necklaces, engraved lockets, and pearl studs. Don't miss the bins of $10 steals.
73 Charles St., Beacon Hill, 617-742-1031

[lucy92]

continued...

Cambridge Antique Market

Just across the street from the Cambridgeside Galleria mall, this antique market—located in a rickety 18th-century building—sprawls across five floors, housing more than 150 vendors. The inventory is widely varied, from costume jewelry to huge oil paintings to furniture from the early 1900s. There's enough to hunt for here to keep you busy for days.
201 Msgr. O'Brien Hwy., East Cambridge, 617-868-9655

The Garment District

This famous Cambridge vintage warehouse is broken down into several departments, but to our mind there are only two that matter. Those who like a good dig should hit the ground floor's Dollar-a-Pound (where the owners estimate they sell several million pounds of apparel a year) before heading upstairs to the women's section, where a trove of about 40,000 pieces awaits. They're all neatly sorted by color and style, which makes it easier to take in the sheer mass of offerings. And almost everything is under $15.
200 Broadway, Cambridge, 617-876-5230

[lucy92]

new store!!! (from boston.com)

Reuse and recycle. Both are familiar concepts when it comes to thinking about vintage and secondhand clothing. But rescue? That's something altogether different. It somehow suggests a more concerned and invested approach to cast-off clothing, and it's the philosophy behind Rescue, a new buy/sell/trade boutique in Allston.
The idea for the store came to Jeralyn Mason, 27, a native of Salem, N.H., when she was studying in New York City and working at the well-known secondhand shop, Beacon's Closet.


"It's a pretty huge buy/sell/trade store," she said. "I worked there for about four years, and that was when I started having the idea of doing my own thing."
With so much competition in New York and frequent complaints from her brother Paul, 25, who lives in Allston, that there wasn't anything like Beacon's Closet here, the siblings decided to fill a shopping void by opening a store in the neighborhood.
"In New York there are a few buy/sell/trade stores, and in San Francisco there are a ton of them . . . but as far as I know there are no others in Boston," Jeralyn Mason said. "The appeal of buy/sell/trade is that you can just come right in with a pile of clothes - they don't have to be the greatest clothes or anything - and you can get some cash immediately. Or you can trade this pile of clothes you don't want anymore for a few pieces that are brand new to you. It's like cleaning out your closet, but you also get new stuff."
Unlike other consignment or secondhand stores, Rescue's buy/sell/trade model gives customers their cut right away: 30 percent of their garments' proposed selling price in cash, or 50 percent in store trade.
"We just felt like with all the college students, especially in Allston, not wanting to spend full price on clothes is obviously an issue," Mason said. "And being able to trade them and get new stuff cheaper or get some money when you're broke and have to pay rent is going to appeal to people."
It isn't your parents' thrift store, Mason pointed out; she added that Rescue's approach is to focus on quality. "We don't want to have some disgusting, dirty, old-smelling thing for a dollar," she said. "We want to focus on nice things that are good quality that are modern styles. Even if they're vintage it's something that's trendy right now."
They also have designer labels on offer, and new items from lines like In God We Trust and Cheap Monday. Prices run from $5-$7 on the low end, to about $140 on the high end.
Sounds perfect for anyone who has a healthy respect for clothes. Because the truth is, sometimes you have to break up with a favorite shirt. But you don't want to throw it away. You just need someone to come along and rescue it.
Rescue, 252 Brighton Ave., Allston. 617-202-3838. www.rescuebuyselltrade.com

[dreamecho]

Exciting!!

And it's only a few blocks down from Urban Renewals... Bargains times two!

Thanks, lucy!