I am unashamedly quite a bit of a label snob; I have a champers taste in clothes and accessories on a beer budget. I also genuinely believe that certain brands quality is much better than the K-mart or Primark shops ranges, and buying a Ralph Lauren white shirt that will easily last me ten years if treated properly, not go out of style and compared to the same top purchased elsewhere that falls apart at seasons end or goes out of style, common sense always favours the designer shirt.
Very little of the clothing I purchase has anything to do with trends or fads, I love classic pieces. And the minimal amount of pieces I DO purchase that I know may go out of style soon I have a remedy for that too. Having landed a job in customer service in a rather upscale department store in my 20s and needing an appropriate wardrobe fast, my mother let me in on her secret she had taken advantage of for years. Supporting three kids on her own but having the same taste for style, fashion and designers that I do, she took me to her secret place.
There is special shop, in a small, upscale town, in a small house painted red, with a pretty little sign outside on the porch, which said only ‘Georgies’. Nothing else was indicated, no sign of whether it was a private accountant, a day-care, a hair dresser, nothing. But it was west Michigan’s best kept secret for women like my mother and now, me. Georgies is what was called a ‘consignment’ shop. Over here they are referred to as ‘dress agencies’. And what made Georgies special was the fact that the location was where the crème d’ la crème of west Michigan’s elite lived. Not where they shopped, not where they worked, it was where they had giant, glorious mansions, all set deep within wooded acres and manicured lawns, secured with gates. To find a shop in this community was unusual but also serendipity. It meant these women had no further than their long driveways to venture to drop off last season’s runway designer clothing, handbags and shoes.
It wasn’t long before I had my very first Gucci bag, Christian Dior skirt suit, and classic Burberry trench, all three together for the price of one skirt or blouse from the very shop I was working at. After that, there was no turning back. I was dressing just as expensive and fashionable as the women I was assisting on a daily basis, and I often wondered if the latest Gucci sweater they were wearing would be at Georgies next payday, and it very often was. Needless to say, I STILL 20 years later still own that trench, and its classed as vintage and also one of the most coveted pieces I own, especially since Burberry no longer offers the option of a zip out wool liner, making it still the most versatile coat I have ever owned.
But…what about the clothes I would occasionally purchase for a season only, knowing that it would be a longer or shorter hemline next fall on the runway? Georgies was where I often brought MY own designer bits and her rules were strict but also very fair. It had to be clean, well taken care of, in great, almost new condition, and resalable. Her rates were as good as her prices. I always recycled my wardrobe and spent even less than before refreshing it.
So today I’ve written about my love affair with designer things and how I’ve found a way to satiate that desire and stay within a budget, my part two of this will be about the changes the last 10 or so years has had on dress agencies/consignment shops and if they are still worth it in the age of eBay giant discount warehouse shops, end of season and sample sales. Are they? My opinion tomorrow. Cheers!!
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