Saturday Consignment Shopping Adventure

In advance of her visit, friend Lauren agreed to my "let's go check out some consignment and upscale secondhand stores for my blog" plan. (Thanks, Lauren.) So at 10:30 on Saturday morning, we headed in the direction of Chamblee, Georgia. For those of you unfamiliar, if you thought of 285 as the face of a clock, Chamblee would be just south of 1 o'clock.


The destination: My Sister's Closet (5350 Peachtree Rd.; Chamblee, GA).

To be honest, the first two minutes in the store gave me a so/so vibe about the place. Some front-of-the-store items looked less young than we'd envisioned. And we hoped that the first item we picked up (a pink Dana Buchman trench coat) didn't have a price ($180) reflective of the rest of the store. Would the rest of the store be expensive and stodgy?

Lauren models the Dana Buchman trench (too big... and a lot too expensive).

Good thing our first impression was wrong!

We were given a quick rundown of the store by Tee, the fabulous and fashion saavy owner. While pointing out the shoes, purses, hats, furs, vintage duds and other clothing, Tee shared a little background on the shop. Many of the items were gently loved (versus previously worn) and some items may have been worn by their clothes horse previous owners only once or twice before showing up in My Sister's Closet.

Lauren and I spent the most time in the shoe and vintage sections of the store. Tee let us know that she's been doing more in the vintage clothing arena. And she had some fabulous items to boot! Fedoras, fur stoles, maxi dresses and more — this area was a lot of fun to explore. The shop is bigger than it looks with many eclectic and fashion-safe items to choose from.

In my opinion, these were the find of the day. Never-worn, plaid, platform Michael Antonio heels for $20. New shoes by this guy are $55 and up. Lauren had to take these home with her.

One of the vintage shoe sections.

Oooh shoes from Gwen Stefani's L.A.M.B. line (I was too nervous to ask about price).

I think I could be a hat girl... maybe not this hat... hmmm.

A basically new $80 Louis

Lauren, are you regretting not buying this super cute early-90s Express dress for $18? Super cute.

Lauren and super cute dress, pictured with shop owner Tee.

I bought this deep purple (lined) vintage velvet dress with a cinched waist ($34). I didn't buy the white belt — hoping to instead snag a purple or beige satin ribbon and brooch to secure it with. I feel like this is evening wear for Mad Men's Joan.

While Tee said they carried items "ranging from two dollars to two thousand dollars," we didn't see many items in the under $20 price point. We did see some fantastic high-end items such as some L.A.M.B. platforms ("straight off the runway in New York"), barely used Louis Vuitton purses and designer costume jewelry.

Yes, there was a variety of casual and sportswear from the likes of Banana Republic, J. Crew and Ann Taylor Loft, but I'd stick to The Nearly New Store and its prices for those items. The real fantastic finds here are the vintage dresses, footwear and accessories (the belts and hats were rather fabulous). I'm a sucker for all of these (and would like to see what else Tee brings in), so I'll be back. Lauren also gives a two thumbs up.

Pros: something for all tastes and budgets, an owner's unique eye and fashion sense

Cons: a slightly confusing store layout, possibly prices that have too large of a range for the budget shopper

(Check out My Sister's Closet's Web site to get a better feel for their offerings: http://www.mysistersclosetonline.com/)

Part two of our gently-used adventure later this week...