ThriftDog: Minneapolis and St. Paul Thrift, Vintage and Consignment Shop Reviews: Turn Styles, Eden Prairie, MN

Reviewed 6/15/2013

This is one of my favorite consignment shops ever and the reason I started this blog . Oh yes, friends. It all began on a dark and stormy still-not-spring May day in 2013 when, in my existential despair at the weather, I happened into Turn Styles in Eden Prairie in an effort to find meaning in my life again when - lo and behold - there sat, on the abundantly stocked purse rack in front of me, a beautiful, gleaming silver Betsey Johnson tote with the tags still on, sporting that wonderful black and pink floral Betsey Johnson lining, retail price on the tag $98.00, being offered for $17.00. When I asked the girl behind the counter why, she turned the bag over and pointed to a scratch about as long and visible as my arm, running straight down the front. Figuring that, for the price, I could just wear the bag with the scratched side towards me, I purchased it anyway. Upon further inspection in the car, I noticed that it was not a scratch at all marring the beautiful bag, but simply a long smear of some mysterious gook that, in the wrong light, looked awfully scratch-like. Got it home, rubbed it down with a towel, and -- voila! I had a brand shiny new, perfect $98.00 Betsey Johnson bag. For seventeen bucks. Delirious with joy, I thought, "I have to start a blog and share these amazing finds of mine." The rest, as they say, is history, and I've been carrying that shiny silver tote everywhere since that magical, long-ago day a couple of weeks ago.

But enough about me. To quote SNL's "Stefon", this place has everything - Dooney Bags, Coach Bags, Fake Prada's (even a real one from time to time), New Balance and Sketchers sneaks, Juicy Couture, Adidas, Charlotte Ronson, - all the delicious, well made and gently used high-end castoffs those Eden Prairie rich people so graciously toss out for our benefit. Now, of course, you can't find all of these brands all of the time - it is consignment, after all - but I've never not been there when they didn't have at least a dozen real Dooneys and a few nice Coaches stored safely beneath their locked glass counter. And if you are skittish about knowing how to tell the real thing from the fabulous fake, Lynn, the store manager, is happy to give you a quick lesson. Lyn and her staff have always been very friendly to me, which I have to say is unlike my experience with some other Turn Styles Consignment stores, where the staff can be quite rude (St. Paul, are you listening?).

This really is one of those shops where you can get lost for hours, especially if you stop at their next-door housewares shop first (which I'll review soon). It is best suited to those of us who want to dress funky but well, with fun but well-made clothing by higher-end quality and designer brands, for a thrift shop price. Can't be done, you say? Hello, I just bought a black Charlotte Ronson hoodie sweater here for six bucks. A pair of grey and plaid New Balance sneakers, perfect condition, for $8.50. And my seventeen dollar Betsey Johnson bag. They have a huge, well picked selection and a nice big store with decent background music, as well as quite a few clean fitting rooms for you to try on stuff. The only place better than this on a rainy day, in my opinion, is Mall of America, and then you have to deal with parking and - gasp-full prices.