By Matt RadlerContributing Writer
Plucking clothing from the racks and then discarding it, Evanston residents Brittany Young and Carolyn Retty made their way down the aisle of the Salvation Army Thrift Store, 528 Kedzie St. Bright jackets from the ’80s and vintage T-shirts rubbed elbows on the overcrowded rack as the search continued.
“I wonder who owned this stuff, what happened to it,” Young said, pulling out a bright yellow-and-black-striped sweater. “Half the fun is finding something that is not available in any normal store, like this.”
For Retty, Young and other customers this winter, the secondhand stores of downtown Evanston present an unpredictable, relaxed and occasionally very rewarding alternative to big-name retailers.
While the Salvation Army might be the best-known secondhand store, downtown Evanston offers a number of them, from other charity-backed shops such as the Thrift House of Junior League to private consignment stores like Classy Closet.
All the stores are within a few blocks of each other and the CTA Main Street station. With holiday promotions, low prices and charitable contributions, secondhand shops allow customers to give, receive and give back this December.
At Thrift House of Junior League, 920 Chicago Ave., a holiday sale is set for Dec. 16. The store offers items at a wide range of prices, from $2 for a T-shirt to hundreds for vintage coats.
Maria Doughty, president of the Evanston Junior League held one up, a spotless long blue and white coat.
“This is Elizabeth Arden couture from the 1950s,” she said. “Back then someone would have paid two, three thousand dollars for this.”
The store’s profits benefit community youth programs and the Evanston Women’s Shelter, which the Junior League renovated this fall.
Manager Maureen Aicullo said students account for as much as 25 percent of the store’s business, often buying vintage clothing at a considerable discount compared with what they would have paid elsewhere.
“We try to get more of the newer stuff and a little vintage built up, but it goes so fast,” Aicullo said.
Offering even higher-end and vintage clothing is Classy Closet Consignments, 701 Washington St., where owner Emanuel Wilder carries everything from $2 silk scarves to $1200 fur coats and Armani suits.
Heading into the holidays, Classy Closet starts a sale that runs from Nov. 24 to Christmas and cuts most prices down by 50 percent.
“People are shopping for other people (during the holidays), and they want something new,” Wilder said. “It’s very competitive. People are looking for a deal.”
Wilder prices expensive clothing at one third of the item’s original sale price, with additional cuts if there’s damage or flaws in the clothing.
Across the street from Junior League at 915 Chicago Ave., the ORT Resale Store does little business with students except around Halloween. The store sends its profits to the Organization for Rehabilitation and Training, a charity that opens and operates technical schools in the United States and Israel.
Store manager Walter Rodgers said the holidays can be an especially slow time for secondhand shops.
“To get a second-hand gift would not make the receiver too happy,” Rodgers said. “So things slow down a bit as we get closer to Christmas, while the retail market is booming.”
The biggest benefit to being in the secondhand business is how the store helps the community, both Doughty and Junior League store manager Susan Sigler said.
“This store is hands-down, bar none our biggest fundraiser,” Doughty said. Sigler agreed.
“Something that a person would have to go without in a retail store, they can afford here, so we can help both our community and our customers,” Sigler said. “It’s a win-win. That’s what I call outreach.”
Reach Matt Radler at [email protected].
