Resigned To Consign
Last week I spent two days shopping in Los Angeles with Jslow and writer/stylist/stylish Rhianna, whom we met while shopping at Acne Studios during one of our Fashion Week shopping excursions. She started work at the new Dover Street Market in New York on Monday. Rhianna is a consignment junkie. Jslow and I are just plain junkies. We need retail rehab to ween ourselves off the quick full-price fix.
When I was young, like Rhianna (depressingly, she is less than half my age) I too was resourceful and scrappy as my tastes far outpaced my secretarial salary; I lived at Marshall’s and Ross (the horror!) and thrift shops, waited for year-end clearance sales, and when I did pay full price, relied on lay-a-way. This strategy provided me a very fun, very chic, and very affordable wardrobe that got me promotions and boyfriends. Through the years and better paying jobs, I started to gorge on more full-price apparel. My closet became obese, and my hangers sagged, full of expensive dead weight. I’d suffer fashion hangovers the mornings after evening trips to “Overpriced and Expensive.com”. And so off we went in Jslow’s mom-mobile to scour consignment shops in tony Santa Monica, West Hollywood and Brentwood, where the rich and famous discard their designer cast-offs after a few wearings before they move onto the next New Thing.
In Santa Monica, we got lost in Great Labels, a nondescript storefront on a nondescript stretch of Wilshire. At first I found this small, cramped store overwhelming, as you have to dig through the stuffed racks to unearth that fashion gold. I ended up with a Moschino Cheap and Chic Floral Coat, Norma Kamali cobalt blue trench, and an Emanuel Ungaro lamb fur collared velvet evening duster, which at full price would have totaled over $3,000. I paid $422. Andrea Waters, the owner, could not have been nicer and more helpful, making me feel even better about my purchases. We then hit 3020 Designer Resale, in the charming hamlet of Brentwood Village, which looks and feels more like a boutique than a typical consigner. They carried a finely edited selection of top labels including some very pricey gems (Including a Shearling Chanel bag for $12,000.) Here too the ladies behind the register were warm and welcoming. I scored a $50 Alexander Wang skirt and Y-3 track jacket, full price $1,500, here, $225.
Our last stop was Decades on Melrose, co-owned by Cameron Silver and Christos Garkinos, who star in “The Dukes of Melrose” on Bravo. Cameron himself sashayed through sporting a giant suede poncho, price tags fluttering in his wake. And these price tags are steep, as Decades peddles in high-end vintage couture. But boy what fun. I walked out with a beautiful pair of Balenciagas pictured above. The heels were a steal. I was exhilarated by our day of bargain hunting, and still facing sticker shock of the best kind. I woke up the next day without a fashion hangover (well, I did have a champagne hangover, but that’s another story), but with a bounce in my step and a vow to make consignment a large part of my shopping life. Although I’m angry at myself for wasting so much money over the years, I’m happy to learn a much better way to afford and enjoy style in a much more meaningful way, especially at a time of such excess and waste.
I can’t wait to dive into the world of consignment here in my hometown of San Francisco. Cris, here I come. Watch this space to follow my journey. And in case you missed it, Jslow posted on the consignment scene in New York and online, which I highly recommend you revisit here. While you’re at it, you may want to ask Jslow to share some of her Los Angeles finds, which include an extraordinary Alexander McQueen floral blouse and Lanvin dress. Rhianna, thanks for the retail rehab. I’m really hoping not to relapse.
You all look so FAB! I wish I could’ve joined! Paula, I can’t wait to hear about the consignment shops you’re going to visit in SF so that I can check them out! Why did you cut off your face in that photo? You’re still doing your makeup right? Happy Holidays to you and Jen! xo
Stacy! Paula is still doing her make-up and she looks amazing. Who knew she had eyelashes!
xxJ
Hey Stacy! Ha, I took that “selfie” in the morning, in PJs, pre-makeup and hair! Yes, still doing a modified version of the makeup, and will let you know when I head out to explore SF consignment shops. Happy holidays, or “Pauladays” to you too! xoxo
Glad you had a nice time Paula!
You ladies look great and Rhianna sounds amazing (and not to mention – what a job!!!)
xo
J
PAULA!!!
LOVE THIS POST. its amazing. you’re amazing. jen’s amazing. dying over the rehash.
love how you cali girls are smiling and i, in true ny fashion, am not. olivier would be proud.
IF/WHEN you feel a relapse coming on…feel free to call my hauteline 😉
xx
RHIANNA! Thanks much for the kind words — I’m loving my new finds and lease on affordable luxury. Loved getting to know you and will be fascinated by the fashion and world adventures your life journey takes. Hope your first week at Dover was amazing. Happy Pauladays. xoxo