Designer Consignment Stores in New York City by Cynthia Rosenfeld
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New York City’s Upper East Side may be synonymous with Park Avenue princesses and the high fashions of Fifth Avenue but all that glitters here need not break the budget of upwardly mobile gals with more aspirations than hard cash. A wonderful web of consignment stores hides just off the main drags, full of fabulous and often unworn hand-me-downs from the world’s style setters at a fraction of their original retail price.
Hop the 6 Train to 77th Street at Lexington Avenue where A Second Chance (1109 Lexington Avenue, 2/F) will be the first store window to catch a true shopper’s eagle eye thanks to vintage Louis Vuitton luggage that’s unfortunately not for sale. Inside this closet size warren of designer delights, a showcase full of Chanel jewellery includes pretty pearl stickpins and a pristine Hermes black crocodile clutch that no one will know you didn’t inherit from your grandmother. Cyber shoppers may already be familiar with this ever-changing inventory, thanks to their Ebay boutique (User ID: ASecondChanceResale).
Head north and round the corner at 81st Street. You will soon spy the black awning at Margoth (218 East 81st Street), another sliver of a shop packed with panache. The selection here meanders from the Paris runway’s butterscotch suede Christian Dior biker jacket to less intimidating offerings such as Juicy Couture jeans.
A few doors down, things get exclusively up-market at Tamara's Pret-A-Reporter (235 East 81st Street) perhaps the classiest resale boutique in town, with pieces consigned from private collections as far away as Houston and Beverly Hills. About one-third of the merchandise is brand-new, with the tags still on an oversized Courreges black patent leather handbag that retails in Paris for about ten times the price and unworn Marc Jacobs orange platform sandals. No one will ever know these didn’t come straight from Marc’s own atelier.
Keep walking east to uncover more branded babes for women and men too at the Designer Resale trio of shops (311, 322 & 324 East 81st Street) where this writer spied the black nylon Prada raincoat of her dreams.
For the next bevy of discount shopping opportunities, turn west towards Central Park but before relaxing on the green grass, take your greenbacks to Bis (1134 Madison Avenue at 84th Street) where a natural leather overnight bag from Il Bisonte is ideal for toting your ‘new’ purchases back home. Racks of well edited pieces include a super sexy Herve Leger little black dress, a Celine wife-beater wool tank and a Gucci low-waisted khaki pantsuit that will get hoist anyone up the corporate ladder.
Next door at Encore (1132 Madison Avenue at 84th Street) you’ll find two floors crammed with brands from Citizen jeans to a never worn heavy Prada coat that will fashionably carry you through any winter south of the North Pole.
Circle back south towards the Metropolitan Museum of Art but detour to the equally colourful items at La Boutique Resale (1045 Madison Avenue at 80th, 2/F) where the Upper East Side’s largest collection of Pucci skirts and slip dresses require a super slender size 2 figure.
Brides on a budget can still fulfill their Vera Wang dreams thanks to the wedding dress salon next door at Michael’s (1041 Madison Avenue near 79th Street). This consignment duplex stocks dozens of puffy white fantasy frocks, some brand-new which makes one wonder what happened. Never mind, at these prices just be content to let someone else’s love loss be your designer gain!