The Place Where the Owner and Items are Gems

Nadine on the left, Kim on the right 

As I walked into The Golden Hanger at noon on Monday, a customer was trying on a vintage veil that went on for days. The bride to be looked gorgeous in her new vintage veil. The Golden Hanger is a consignment shop in Beverly, MA that has been around since June of 1998 with its fabulous owner, Kim. As I introduced myself to Kim, she greeted me with such a warm welcome; a hug. I had never met someone so approachable in my life. Before opening this consignment store, Kim worked for Neiman Marcus. Since she still keeps in touch with her Neiman Marcus friends, they will give her clothing items to consign that aren't selling in the fancy department store. What a deal for the customers! She works with a smile on her face and absolutely is passionate with what she does. It was great to hear what Kim had to say. 

Did you draw inspiration from anything when opening the shop?

Kim: Pretty much I’ve been a consignment shopper forever. When I worked in Boston I used to go to the consignment shops on Newbury street. It was really awesome when North Shore Magazine and Yankee Magazine did write ups on us and they were referring to us as Nebury Street North. Isnt that Awesome?! 

Oh my gosh that really is! The shop seems to be quiet right now, what is business usually like? 

Kim: We are open six days a week and its busy year round. We have prom gowns, wedding gowns for this particular season. We do a huge ugly Christmas sweater business. OH MY GOSH. I have pictures. I think every single Football player from Endicott College – all the guys came in here, I took pictures of them, I didn’t post those on facebook because the guys were a little bit shy but that’s a huge time of year for us too. Between swimwear, bridal, the prom season, and in the winter we do fur coats, boots, lots of things like that. But I would say our designer handbags are probably the biggest draw for us, that knows no season. That’s 365 days a year women are looking for the great handbag.

That is so true. Is there a typical age group that brings in items to consign? 

Kim: : I have teenagers bringing me their jeans from Abercombie and I have Grandmothers bringing the Grandmother of the grooms dress. And everything in between. My oldest consigner, I went to her 100^th birthday party [laughing]. The nice thing about our regular customers is that they tell their friends about us.

Is their a certain style you associate the shop with?

Kim: Oh Gosh That’s a good one. Its kind of eclectic you know? I think this is a store of a revolving door of fashion. If it's not vintage or retro -- like the Downton Abbey parties are so popular right. So people are coming in and looking for vintage and retro pieces. And then there’s another demographic that wants what’s currently in the mall stores right now. They want things super current but don’t want to pay the mall prices. Then we have the basic taylor classic stuff too that’s timeless that and goes out of style.

Are there any kinds of challenges that occur in the store?

Kim: The biggest challenge for me is that we have three thousand consigners. And I take in probably 75-100 items per day. And when women call me “Hi I cleaned out my closet this weekend. Can I come in this week and bring my things?” And were booked probably 4-6 weeks out for an appointment.

One of the other biggest challenges for me is keeping things in season and we have more people calling then I can accommodate in the course of a day. It’s a catch 22 because we have a really good reputation and we’ve been here the longest and everyone wants to bring their things here. So of course I do recommend other consignment boutiques to give them an opportunity to get their things. But a lot of people will wait because they don’t want to because they want to bring their things here and its really sweet but yeah I would say that’s one of my biggest challenges; being able to accommodate everybody.

I can understand that, it must be very difficult. Is there something different that you sell compared to other consignment shops? 

Kim:  I think I’m one of the only consignment boutiques that takes in precious jewelry. I’m a gemologist and when I worked for Neiman Marcus I sold precious jewelry for them so that’s really my comfort level. We do have the fun and funky fashion jewelry but we also have the nice sterling silver precious and semi precious stone. Someone may bring me their diamond ring, we’ve sold lots of tiffany jewlry; really high end. And theres very few consignment boutiques that will take in precious jewelry.

Is there a specific reason for that?

Kim: Because they just don’t have the knowledge about it. Whether they are taking in a real diamond or a fake diamond.

Oh, I see. That makes sense because you know your stuff when it comes to jewelry. What do you love most about owning your own consignment shop?

Kim: Oh my gosh there are so many things, I’m scrolling through my mind. I guess it’s the freedom to be creative and being able to interact with my customers are probably the two biggest things. And something too that is really important to me and part of the reason I opened the whole store was that we live in such a disposable society with people just throwing things away. So for me it was about reusing and recycling so when I opened the store, I started with everything in this store previously owned to give it a new life. All my fixtures, all my displays, all of my hangers, all my jewelry cases, everything was previously owned and loved. So I think it just gave the store that vibe of giving something a second chance. 

Proms and Second Hand Stores Collide

   Alicia Lanzeby (Left)

 

Meaghan Hurley

It's a fact. Girls search far and wide for the perfect dress for their high school prom. They will spend hours on hours trying on overpriced dresses and fighting with their mothers on how they need it. My thought is that you will be wearing this dress for approximately three hours and their will still be tears and disappointments regarding your date, your up-do hairstyle, and the girl that is wearing the same dress as you (God forbid). Looking back on it now, I wish I had just gone to a consignment or a thrift shop to find that unique dress I had been searching for. I envy Meaghan Hurley and Alicia Lazenby for doing exactly that. They did the prom thing differently and it is very admirable. 

They both have a few things in common throughout the prom dress search. It wasn't their first choice to purchase their prom dresses from a second hand shop but it was in fact their mothers ideas. Alicia says "I got it at a thrift shop because my mother was harassing me about how great all the dresses were, and when I went they had a few nice ones; plus they were cheap." I laughed as she told me this because Mom's are always trying to put their two cents in. Alicia then continues to say "I was sick of my mother bringing home cheap ugly prom dresses for me." Alicia made the right decision to go out on her own time and independently buy the dress. Moms can be too much to handle sometimes when it comes to shopping. As for Meaghan, a popular prom date tells me "It was my 6th prom I had to go to and my parents were sick of buying a new dress for each one." So her Mom gave her a $100 limit and she was off in her journey of finding that dress. As many women know most prom dresses at any department store go for an average of $300. This is a challenge for anyone but Meaghan took this challenge on and ran with it. Many daughters would fight endlessly with their parents and complain that everyone else gets a new dress. Megahn did none of that and accepted this challenge. 

Alicia purchased her amazing find at a family run consignment shop with the name Victorian Rose Consignment Shop for the low price of $50. If more girls knew that there are other ways to find the dress of your dreams for such a low price, I think more of these high school students would take the time to look through their local consignment and thrift shops. Meaghan bought her dress at ReCreations Consignment  in Kingston, MA. Meaghan described her dress as a "flowy floor length babydoll style cream colored one shoulder dress with one black flower." She was also very stoked about it because she altered it a little bit. The dress originally had two straps but she made it into a one strap dress which is what she was searching for in the first place. Buying second hand items gives the buyer more wiggle room to do what they want to it. There is more room for design and putting your own style into it. 

When asking Alicia if she felt any different in the dress she tell me "I don't think it matters that it was previously worn, it's a prom dress. The previous owner probably wore it once and wanted to get rid of it; people wear their friends clothes all the time, which are used way more. Plus it was cleaned before I bought it, so what does it matter." This statement is how people should react when wearing a previously owned dress. Some individuals I know are against shopping at consignment/thrift stores because they think its gross. Alicia made a great point, we borrow our friends clothes constantly so why can't we purchase something that has only been worn once or twice? These two ladies were very smart in their buying decision process even if they had a little push from their parents. 

I respect their purchases 100% and they look beautiful as well. No one can even tell that it isn't from the most expensive department store. Many girls are into the materialistic culture but these two girls took a different path with the prom culture and it is very admirable.