Dannie Duluth Consignment
Reviewed July 13, 2013
It seems that everyone has something to say about this Duluth consignment landmark, and most of it isn't very good. Just go to the CitySearch or InsiderPages areas devoted to it and read. It's really rather fascinating. Review after review about how nasty, rude and - pardon - downright crazy the owner and staff are to their customers, apparently flying off the handle for various infractions such as asking a question or attempting to try on the merchandise. Sure, there are a few positive ones sprinkled in there, but in between all the bad ones, they sound like nothing more than promo shots the owner herself might have injected in to diffuse all the rankle. It makes for great review literature, to say the least. So when I decided to take a day trip to Duluth recently, Dannie Duluth was, naturally, put on the "Must Visit" list, right up there with the Maritime Museum and the Lake Superior Ship Watch.
My first impression of Dannie Duluth is that it's not in the greatest neighborhood. It's not awful, but when I'm shopping high-end designer, I'm used to places like Fashion Avenue in Edina in the upscale 50th and France neighborhood, where people can afford to have and sell high-end designer clothes for consignment. This area of town seemed - well- kinda seedy. There is a nice big parking lot available adjacent to the building, and during the middle of the day it seemed quiet enough, so maybe I'm just jaded.
Nevertheless, it does have some designer things. I say some, because, surprisingly, they had a lot of bargain brands mixed in with the designer - Target mixed in with Ellen Tracy, Quacker Factory mixed in with the Laura Ashley. It was kind of a mish-mosh of stuff, quality-wise, with few of the brands you typically see in a store which advertises itself as carrying "high-end designer clothing". No staples like Juicy Couture or Prada, no Cole-Haan or Chanel. I did purchase a lovely banana-yellow Laura Ashley jacket for $14.99 and a cute pink Laura Ashley summer top for five bucks, both in great condition and perfect for air-conditioned July workplaces. The prices of items seemed to be very reasonable for the most part, especially with a half-price summer sale in full swing. Still, if I'm going to buy a used Target somewhere, I don't expect to be doing it at a "designer consignment" store.
They did have some nice vintage jewelry for good prices as well as a small - very small - glassed-in collection of designer handbags of varying degrees of style and quality. One in particular caught my eye - a small Louis Vuitton purse that had, apparently in place of any authenticity documents, a computer print-out next to it with a picture of the same bag being sold on Ebay. I don't know what that was supposed to mean - that they bought the bag off of Ebay, or that you can find the same bag on Ebay which was somehow supposed to mean it was authentic?? Um, no. If I'm going to purchase an LV, even a small one, you'd better be able to prove it's for real, or else tell me it's a fab fake. But don't leave me guessing.
Ok. The store was a "meh" at best. But what about the owner?
There was one middle-aged woman manning the shop who seemed owner-ish in her manner. I did not purposely speak to her or ask her any questions because, after having a nice day otherwise, I didn't feel like getting yelled at. She did not greet, look at or acknowledge me at all while I was in there. But she was cordial enough when I paid for my items, so from the rudeness standpoint, I have nothing much to report.
Would I recommend Dannie Duluth if you're in the area and want to do some thrift shopping? Nah, at least not if you're from the Twin Cities. I'd save my bucks for the far-better shops here. This is not a go-out-of-your-way type of place, especially with all the other fun stuff there is to do in Duluth. Have a nice romantic dinner by the lake, watch the giant ore ships come in, go to the Museum and learn all you can about the Edmund Fitzgerald, and then go back to your lakeside hotel with your date and make sweet love all night. That's a much better use of a vacation, IMHO, than buying a used Louis Vuitton with nothing to more to recommend it than a printout of an EBay ad.
932 E 4th St.
Duluth, MN 55435
(218) 724-8507
No comments:
Post a Comment