Secondhand Chic

At Everybody's, a Manhattan secondhand shop, clerks are becoming used to hordes of shoppers stampeding through the doors each Thursday--the day a fresh supply of items goes on sale. Business has been so good lately at the Junior League Bargain Tree in Portland, Ore., that the store closed down one Saturday for lack of merchandise. At the flea market on the grounds of Miami's Tropicaire Drive-In Theater, stalls are booked an unprecedented two weeks in advance. The latest trend in shopping, apparently, is the shift to thrift.

Business at flea markets and thrift shops has doubled, and even tripled, in recent months. At so-called "resale" shops (where the owner and the stores usually split the sale price), customers are streaming in not only to buy goods but to place clothes and furniture of their own on consignment. Much of the secondhand spirit stems directly from the recession. Explains Jane Kulian of the Salvation Army's Red Shield Store in Evanston, Ill.: "Many of our customers are people out of work." Adds Nancy Webster, owner of Nancy's Resale Shoppe in Dallas: "Loads of people who just a few months ago didn't even know these kinds of shops existed are coming in regularly to look for a bargain."

Some of the bargain hunters could well afford to shop in regular stores, but they have discovered that secondhand can be chic. Says one thrift-shop regular: "My husband is a doctor and we have a maid, so obviously I am not forced to buy in thrift shops. I find it fun. The atmosphere is much friendlier. Everybody is in it together." Mrs. Lee Campbell, who runs Fig Leaf in Arlington, Texas, agrees. "They're bringing in their friends now," she says. "Once, they may not have wanted anyone to know exactly where they found the bargain." Ruth Pollitz, a volunteer salesclerk at the Thrift House for the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies in Manhattan, notes that her shop is "like a club. They come here to get connected." Moreover, she adds, "we're selling dreams. People like to imagine where a piece came from, what kind of house it was in."

Treasure Chests. Secondhand shoppers are discovering that thrift shops are often treasure chests of remarkable goods. Coats with real mink collars are sometimes found among last year's ratty tweeds; Ming vases have been discovered on shelves next to neo-Woolworth butter dishes. Emily Cadra, manager of Everybody's, recalls the time a customer paid $4 for a small glass nut dish, then announced triumphantly that it was made by Steuben. Another customer returned to gloat that her 50-c- string of pearls had been resold for $50. Veterans of thrift shops generally agree that there is only one major hazard of secondhand shopping. As Jean Halla of Evanston, Ill., puts it: "Don't put your coat down and walk away. Somebody is likely to buy it."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.