The first thing I would like to start doing is sharing the best shopping spots in Boston. Well...the best places for me anyway. I'm going to begin with a place that I was surprised to find many people don't know about, 2nd Time Around. Lot's of people think there's nothing for people that aren't wealthy on Newbury Street, but let me tell you, I'm nowhere near rich and I'm on Newbury ALL the time ($50 shoe sales at Marc Jacobs anyone? Get on it people) because you just have to know how to look for things. I'm a professional shopper, for real. Anywho, 2nd Time Around is FANTASTIC! It is a consignment shop (hence the name) but they have really great stuff. I've picked up $20 Marc Jacobs blouses, $6 Aldo purses, and a few pairs of work pants from Banana Republic, Urban Outifitters, etc for less than $15, but I mostly go there for jewelry. Because of the area and type of consigners they're dealing with you can sometimes find items that were never even available in this country which is more excitement than I can usually handle. They carry everything from Chanel booties to Forever 21 tees and everything in between for more than decent prices. They also welcome bargaining if you really plan to buy something, so don't be shy...I'm not. lol. Everything is looked over by the staff and they only accept items in good condition. If something is wrong with an item they'll usually print it right there on the sales tag, so you know exactly what you're getting ahead of time (i.e. zipper catches, small snag on right shoulder, etc). The sales staff is really friendly and the best part is they have a constant rotating sale. There are sales boards up all over the store with varying percentages on them and colored tags beneath each percentage. If you match the tag color to one on the board you can figure out how much you get off that item! Suh-weet. The longer an item is in the store, the more $ you save and also the more bargaining power you have. There are actually two Newbury Street locations (219 and 176 Newbury to be exact) and another in Harvard Square (8 Eliot Street) and I frequent all 3. They have tons of other locations, including ones outside of the state, but I've never been to any of them. I should also mention that not everything is used. They have a great habit of buying overstock and out of season items from boutiques and selling them for great prices. Also people tend to bring in things with the tags still on them (I'm a consigner and I've definitely done that before), so even if you're iffy about wearing someone else's clothes (everything has to be dry cleaned in order to be put out on the floor) you can still find something fantastic to bring home. I personally absolutely love thrift shops because of the amazing things you can find so I have no problem with it. If the stuff is clean and not all worn or faded I'm for it. Go to 2nd Time Around! It's worth it :)
