Salvation Army-Minneapolis Arc, Bloomington, MN

Reviewed July 21st, 2013

This Salvation Army thrift store, at the corner of 98th and Lyndale in Bloomington, has only been around for a couple of years. I know this because I was there the first weekend it opened in 2011.

Yep, that was me, right alongside the stampede of other ladies who had heard on the local news that there was going to be a bunch of authentic Prada bags on hand, donated by an anonymous source, for less than twenty dollars apiece. You better believe I galloped down there, only to find out that yes, there had been real Prada bags there and yes, they had sold out in a matter of minutes, probably to be resold for much higher on eBay.

But you might see where I'm going. This store gets some a-mazing stuff in amongst the usual donations of the charity store variety, and you just have to look diligently to find these prizes.

For example : A Kenneth Cole genuine leather tote for 6.99, suede Prada pumps for 12.99 (yes, the real deal), a robin's egg blue Wilson's Leather jacket for 35.00 with not a spot on it, several pairs of like-new Steve Madden boots and almost all of my Ann Klein work blazers and Banana Republic little black dresses. For chump change. This place is a bonanza.

Now, mind you, this is not high-end designer consignment. You're at the mercy of whatever people happen to drop off that month. And of course, you'll find stuff from clothes to furniture to electronics to bric-a-brac to books to used lamps and toasters, in brands ranging from crap to Target to Ralph Lauren, in stages of life ranging from brand-new to rather worn. But what's fun is the sheer mystery of what you might uncover. Shopping there is like going on a designer treasure hunt. You never know when there's going to be a real Prada mixed in with the Mossimo's, or in my case, a breathtaking robin's egg blue leather blazer from Wilson's mixed in with the Old Navy. They have large, clean dressing rooms where you can really twist and turn as you try on stuff, and there is even a Starbucks right next door in case you need a pick-me-up from the all that energy you're exerting in thrift heaven.

They have an excellent supply of clean used bedding (I've bought many a cheap comforter here, as I tend to discard them regularly due to cat-barf stains), nice rugs and decent electronics. I've even found a pair of awesome earrings or three. Can you tell I come here often? Probably two to three times a month.

All that being said, let me address the gently used elephant in the room. I know the SA has been accused of homophobia in the past, and friends have asked me how I can shop there. My answer to that is that I love this store too much to give it up,  I'm not informed enough on the politics of SA to make an opinion, I don't believe boycotting a store is going to cure homophobia anyway, and well, this is a shopping blog. (And that's about as political as I'll ever get on this shopping blog.) Besides, if the SA is homophobic, then what better way to appreciate our fabulous gay friends than to buy and gift them some cool stuff courtesy of the Salvation Army? I did mention they have a fab shoe department, right?



Salvation Army-Minneapolis Arc
728 Lyndale Ave S,
Minneapolis, MN  (952) 881-6197                                                                                              

The Vintage Studio, Minneapolis

Reviewed July 5, 2013

Imagine a place where the warm, soothing sounds of Frank Sinatra serenade you as open the door, gently following you as you peruse a light-filled space where you delight in fashions from a bygone era, perhaps one that you, like me, remember from your childhood. That's what stop at The Vintage Studio is like. This cocktail-chic consignment shop, a staple on the 50th and Xerxes thrift-store prowl, specializes in designer and upscale fashions and accessories from the 1930's through the 1980's. I've been here a couple of times now, and even though I'm more of a later-decade designer girl myself - being short and middle-aged, most fashions from the Ann-Margaret era make me look like a thinner version of H. R. Pufnstuf in drag - I still find lots of things to enjoy when I browse.

I'll be honest - even though I like the lovingly-organized classic bags, the brown leather-ish ottoman that looks exactly like one we had in our Family Room growing up, the black "Clockwork Orange"- type bowler that I came this close to buying one day and the lovely Paulene Trigere dress decorating the back wall, my favorite part of The Vintage Shop is the small collection of well-maintained wedding dresses. Not that I'm in the market for a wedding dress, but if I were, I would definitely look at these gowns. They all seem to be in the $250.00-$350.00 range, and vary in style from a simple,  long sleeved Trisha Nixon-style gown to older, flirtier and more ornate styles. The one that I loved - an off-white, short sleeved confection with lots of see-through lace at the sleeves, fitted bodice and ballerina-style tulle - I would have paired with the black bowler hat and white, lacy fingerless gloves, a la Madonna's first marriage, and looked totally celeb on my big day for a fraction of what Madge must have spent. Plus I would have had enough scratch left over to buy the black, ruched 80's cocktail dress on display nearby and dance the night away in it at my reception. You know, now that I'm back on EHarmony again, I just might have to tuck that idea away.

The Vintage Store has all kinds of lovely dresses, however, from little sixties cocktail numbers to bejeweled seventies "rich hippie" maxi skirts to Liz Taylor cigarette-holder-and-a-martini style designer caftans. Plus lovely old silver toiletry sets, fashion jewelry, scarves, ties, knick-knacks, fedoras and shoes. All looking, to this eye, well cared-for and, for the most part, reasonably priced for the quality (although, forgive me, but that pleather ottoman, of the same style that I used to stand on to beat up my little brother during weekly eposides of "Lost in Space", ain't worth no 48 bucks in my opinion, kids.)

If you live for "Mad Men", if you actually made it all the way through "Liz and Dick" because of the fashions, if every time you watch a rerun of "Valley of the Dolls" you feel like you were born into the wrong decade, then The Vintage Studio should become your next home. And, since an hour or two spent there is far more entertaining than watching Lindsay Lohan in a bad wig, I'd say you made a good choice.



The Vintage Studio
3016 W. 5oth Street
Minneapolis, MN 55410
(612) 929-2559

Fashion Avenue, Edina MN

Reviewed June 29th, 2013

Let's face it. If you live in the Twin Cities, love high-end designer thrift shopping, crave the best stuff  -  Louis Vuitton, Prada, Coach, Chanel, Burberry, Manolo Blahnik, David Yurman - at the most amazing prices and you're breathing, you already know about Fashion Avenue. Everyone who's in this game to win it knows about Fashion Avenue. So why ThriftDog,you ask, are you even reviewing this amazing mecca of consignment if everyone already knows about it? Are you bored? Lazy? Drunk? Groggy from a marathon watching of back-to-back episodes of all of Season Three of Game of Thrones?

No, friends, I am not. (Ok, I am guilty of the last one.) I'm writing about Fashion Avenue because really, if I didn't, you'd think me an amateur at this. Fashion Avenue is the place that out-of-town fashionistas go to first when they're in the Cities on the advice of their plugged-in Minneapolis friends. The place the local fashion and style celebs rave about on their radio shows. The place you go to if you have finally decided to splurge on a gently-used LV bag and you want to know for sure it is one hundred percent authentic. I myself have been known to stare blankly, eyes glazed and lips moist, into that locked glass case full of LV, Chanel and Gucci bags in the middle of the store for what seems like hours on end, at least to the point where the employees probably wonder if they should be calling the authorities.

Located in the trendy-upscale 50th and France shopping area of Edina (with another store, which I haven't visited, in Wayzata), Fashion Avenue has been on the scene since before I got my first tattoo back when Ross Perot was running for president. If you have any qualms at all about the authenticity of the merchandise, you need not worry - owners Gretchen and Lee Weisman and their team have been working with high-end designer merchandise for decades. What's more, they have extensive connections with the people who can actually afford this stuff new - designers, stylists, socialites and Couture store owners locally and nationwide. Heck, they have it stated right on their consignment contract that they throw "fake" purses away. How can you not love these guys? Regardless of your views on carrying a faux, you have to feel at least a little relieved that Fashion Avenue is doing their part to rid the universe of scary fashion items you really shouldn't waste your hard-earned money on in the first place.

That being said, this is not the kind of store where you will usually find stuff for less than 20 bucks - although I did once buy a beautiful pair of sterling and garnet earrings there for twelve dollars -nor will you only find luxury handbags. Fashion Avenue is laden with all kinds of yummy luxury and high-end items - suits, scarves, sunglasses, jewelry (yes, I regularly spot David Yurman pieces there), sportswear, athletic wear and menswear. The shoe rack is glorious, carries every important brand from Chanel to Coach and is always heavily bodied with hungry females. The prices are higher than a regular thrift store, but hugely competitive for the quality. (I mean, really- if you're buying a Louis Vuitton tote bag, which generally starts retailing at $800.00 and up, for anything less than about $500.00 gently used, chances are it's a fake). My most recent purchase there was a Longchamps tote - yes, one of those ridiculous utilitarian totes that last longer than cockroaches and Cher but are way overpriced new, IMHO- for around 50 bucks. It's a nice khaki color, sturdy and waterproof with the lovely leather signature handles and logo, plus at that price I still had enough jack left over to stop and buy groceries on the drive home to load it up with .

Fashion Avenue will be the first place I go for my next big quest - to find a perfect, gently used women's black North Face jacket, with logos on the front and the back, for fall. So far, I haven't been able to find one anywhere -- do people never get rid of their North Face jackets? I know if one is out there, but if there is, it will probably rest with these guys. So Fashion Avenue, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Fashion Avenue
4936 France Avenue South
Edina, MN
(952) 929-7919
http://www.fashionavenueresale.com/home

75% Salvaged, Minneapolis

Reviewed June 23, 2103

I happened upon this store by accident, on my way to review another shop in the area and got lost - pleasantly lost, it turns out. If you've never been shopping in the 50th and Xerxes area of Minneapolis, and you like funky vintage stores, you're in for a treat. I couldn't help but walk into 75% Salvaged on my way down 50th Street - who could, with all those welcoming little antique chairs and kchotchkes out there on the sidewalk?

I think the best way to describe the ambiance - and the stuff -  in 75% Salvaged comes from on their own web site, http://www.75percentsalvaged.com:

"...regarding the nature of the furnishings available at  75% SaLVagEd. . . they are intentionally rustic, shabby and distressed and have been revitalized & reinvented with 25% nEw-NeSs - new knobs, new paint, new (& vintage) fabrics, new "sha-zizzle" - while retaining their aLLuRiNg oLd sOuLS; and along with those old souls come some splinters, scratches &  scars from a previous life lived passionately, which I prefer to regard as"pERfeCTlY iMPeRFeCT""

You get the picture. And if you visit the web site, you can get a better look at some of the delightful treasures they offer.

It's a very quirky - and a very tiny - place, filled with all kinds of  wonderful, whimsical things to splurge on - vintage furniture, knick-knacks, pillows, candles in old jars, handmade and antique jewelry, tote bags and purses, each lovingly refurbished and whimsically jazzed up in colorful ways. My eyes went straight to the candles in the old canning jars, the groovy Papya Art Accessories (now tell me you can actually keep your mitts off one of those splendid luxe tote bags!), and this really cool, huge silver wire-knotted ring for fifteen bucks - perfect for the index finger  with a simple black oversized top and leggings - that I just may have to go back and formally adopt. I'm also very interested in those awesome Funks' Corn Feed slipcover chairs I see on the web site because, as I sit here on my threadbare upholstered Ikea writing this, my one-year old kitten is busily putting the last three possible welts into the side of it with his claws before the stuffing explodes onto the floor.

Even if you're feeling a little down and not in a shopping mood, this is the kind of  place that will lift your spirits just by going inside. Allison, the owner, is quite friendly and will tell you little facts and tidbits about the pieces you are interested and cheerfully shoot the breeze with you, as she did with me and several other customers who stopped in with their dogs.

This is a great shop on a street full of great little shops.  Why not bring your mom, your best chick friend or your Signif some Saturday afternoon and make a grand time of checking them all out? If you do, I highly recommend 75% Salvaged as a must-stop. But dammit, don't buy my ring.

75% Salvaged
50th and Xerxes, Minneapolis MN
612-554-5567
http://www.75percentsalvaged.com
 

The Prop Shop, Eden Prairie MN

Reviewed June 21, 2013

The Prop Shop is a combination resale shop and nonprofit organization serving the southwest suburbs of Minneapolis. Staffed mostly by volunteers, the shop uses it's proceeds to pay needed expenses in the service of helping families in need. So when you shop there, you are doing a good thing..

There are as many kinds of thrift shops as there are Minnesota drivers, and Prop Shop is not really, shopping wise, to my particular taste. While it has lots to choose from in terms of gently used fashions, furniture and home décor, the place is sunny, large and clean and the volunteers manning the counters couldn't be nicer, it's very - how do I say this - tame. Now, if you're into tame, meaning you like floral sofas, wooden wall hangings with inspirational sayings on them, Christian wind chimes and nice but somewhat nondescript fashions with designer names running more towards Izod than Prada, you would probably like it here. I would shop here to find gifts for older friends and relatives, or to find work clothes for casual Fridays if I worked at, like, an insurance company or something. I had a hard time, though, finding much for me or anyone else who lives in a more funky/designer-type world.

Again, with any thrift, resale of consignment shop, the inventory varies depending on what they get in, but the theme here seems to run more towards the cheerful and inspirational rather than the daring, with very little in the way of  "designer". I did, however, spot a Tory Burch gold mini-clutch in perfect condition for five dollars tossed into a basket (and almost bought it, but then really, what's a working chit like me gonna do with a gold mini-clutch?), a pair of blue python Cole Haan mules, fairly worn-in but still nice, and a lovely Trina Turk Pucci-inspired print sundress for $25.00 (now, if that had been in my size I would have snapped that up). There was also a nice, white and beige Maxx New York handbag that looked new for about 15.00, but other than that the handbag area was mostly stocked with nondescript, black faux-leather things.

This would be a great store to shop if you want to help others in need, if your taste tends toward the conservative and if you aren't looking for designer or high end brands in particular. The merchandise is displayed well and, except for a few broken kick-knacks near the children's section, everything seemed to be in good condition. For me, I guess I just need a little more excitement. Although I might go back and have another look at that Maxx bag...


The Prop Shop
15195 Martin Drive
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
952-934-2323

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.

 

 

 

 

Turn Styles Consignment Stores - Eden Prairie Location

Accepts: Clothing
Prairie View Shopping Center
960 Prairie Center Drive
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
Phone: 952-974-9392

 

Howdy, Shoppers!

Like a trained puppy, I sniff out the multitude of second hand, vintage, consignment and charity thrift stores in the Minneapolis and St. Paul areas and give you my personal reviews. Find out who carries the best designer stuff, the coolest retro stuff, the stuff you really want as well as the cheap crap you need to have to get by until you can afford some good stuff. I'll give you some tips along the way on how to find the best value in your second-hand treasures and how to spot the fakes and bad deals. Why do I do this, you ask? Simple. Because thrifting is my rush, baby.



Welcome! I'm just setting up this place, so give me a day or two...the first few reviews are cooking in the oven as we speak. This week we'll start off by visiting a few of my all-time Eden Prairie favorites. (You know Eden Prairie. Designer Handbag Central. Just stand in line at the Kowalski's on this end of town sometime and see how many you spy on the arms of the Ladies Who Lunch and Buy Groceries.  Now let me show you where you can find some (relatively) cheap...)