When her two children, aged 6 and 9, kept growing out of their clothes, Anna Ermel started wondering if there was a smarter way to buy their clothing.

“It definitely got me thinking about ways to save money and recycle,” Ermel said. “People spend a lot of money on clothes, and they don’t necessarily want to just throw them away.”

That’s why she and co-owner Chaya Gordon Burstyn decided to start their own children’s consignment shop, Threads Boutique, which opened its doors on Tuesday.

The boutique, located at 1304 Chicago Ave., features boys and girls clothing, shoes and accessories, as well as other parenting items such as diaper bags and strollers. Gordon Burstyn said they only consign items that are in “new or like-new” quality, from brands such as Gap, Ralph Lauren and The North Face. The pair, both mothers, said they are dedicated to making quality children’s clothing affordable.

“We handpick every item to make sure it’s on-trend or on-style for children’s clothing,” Gordon Burstyn said. “We have a really great inventory at a fraction of the price.”

The boutique prides itself on being accommodating, Gordon Burstyn said. Customers who can’t visit the shop during its hours — Tuesday through Friday and Sundays — will have the option of setting up an appointment to buy or consign clothes.

Gordon Burstyn said that with as quickly as children grow, parents should not have to throw out new clothes, but instead could allow them to be recycled — making a bit of money along the way.

Paul Zalmezak, an Evanston economic development official, said consignment and resale shops are environmentally friendly, something that will likely be appreciated by Evanston residents.

“There is a certain environmental friendliness associated with it and there is also a certain frugality associated with it,” he said.

Zalmezak said there was a children’s used clothing shop in the area, called Hand-Me Downs, but its Dempster Street storefront closed last year, creating a need in the community for this sort of store.

The area is also popular for boutiques and resale shops in general, Zalmezak said. ORT Resale Shop and The Thrift House, which is run by the Junior League of Evanston-North Shore, are both near the new shop. Gordon Burstyn said that considering the closure of Hand-Me Downs, the only children-specific consignment shop in the neighborhood, there was a hole in the area that they wanted to fill.

“We’re very excited. We’ve been watching all the moms with strollers walk past and peek in,” she said.

Skokie resident Kayla Avraham said she was excited to hear about the store after she found herself with unused clothes her three kids had grown out of.

Avraham, who has already consigned clothes at the boutique, said the idea is popular with young moms in Evanston, and that being able to sell old clothes in-store was much easier than trying to do so in Facebook groups or online.

“They make it super easy to do,” she said. “It’s a pretty good place for one-stop shopping.”

A previous version of this story misidentified the women in the photo. She is Chaya Gordon Burstyn, co-owner of Threads Boutique. The Daily regrets this error. 

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