by Mia Zarrella, Entertainment Contributor
Gone are the days where you lied about wearing your older brother’s monogrammed sweatshirts and blushed about sporting your cousin’s faded Gap jeans.
Hand-me-downs might have once been a source of embarrassment, but times have changed and people are proudly sporting their second-hand clothes.
Now, when you inquire about a person’s outfit you might get a response like this: “It’s vintage Fendi, found it in this little consignment shop in Providence. Bought it for $30! What a steal!”
When you thrift shop, you don’t know whose clothes you are wearing, but the new outlook is “who cares.” So, before dropping a down-payment on a new coat, try shopping consignment. After all, you know what they say about another man’s trash…
In Rhode Island, finding handed-down retail treasures is not as hard as one may think.
Wish Newport, 435 Thames St., Newport
Wish Newport is a designer consignment boutique for women. Carrying brands spanning from an extensive collection of preppy designers like Lilly Pulitzer, Elizabeth McKay, and J. Crew to high fashion designers like Fendi, Hermes, Burberry, and Prada. Wish is the quintessential Newport consignment boutique.
Second Time Around, 294 Thayer St, Providence
Second Time Around is an upscale chain of consignment shops stocked with various high fashion vintage pieces from designers like Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Marc Jacobs, and 7 For All Mankind. STA has 36 stores in 12 states with one here in Providence. The ideal store if you’re looking for a variety of styles and decade fashion.
Savers, 201 Branch Ave, Providence; Wampanoag Mall Shopping Center, 1925 Pawtucket Ave; 24 Universal Blvd. Warwick
With even more variety is Savers. Operating in 330 locations, Savers sells diverse brands of clothing for all genders, ages, and occasions. The thrift store also sells antiques, books, and other home decor. Savers shapes their business around reducing waste, recycling materials, and then reusing them, and any unsold items at Savers are either recycled or sent to third world countries.
Vintage to Vogue, 523 Thames St., Newport
Vintage to Vogue is bursting with accessories and garments old and new, so you can purchase a dress from the 1920s and a last season Marc Jacobs purse at one location. And according to the locals, Diane Keaton, Whoopi Goldberg, Barbara Streisand, and Sharon Stone have all shopped V to V.
The French Bulldog, 850 Main St. East Greenwich
Meticulously organized and free of the clutter that often comes with secondhand shopping, The French Bulldog stocks their racks with high quality retail and new pieces everyday, including— but never limited to— Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Coach, and Prada. Their slogan: “A consignment shop for the unique.”
And that is just what you will be after shopping consignment. Thrift shopping lends itself to finding artifacts that are no longer being produced and thriftily (no pun intended) purchasing pieces that were once expensive. And in case you haven’t heard, vintage is in.
