Clothes Are Treasured The Second Time Around

Everything old is new again ___ the Treasured Twice Boutique in Barrington. The resale shop features highquality

women`s and children`s clothing. The 6-year-old shop is owned by Barrington resident Dawn Phillips,

who decided to go with resale rather than retail because a secondhand clothing store is less expensive to

launch.

Phillips knew what she wanted because she often had patronized resale shops. And with the recession

making shoppers more dollar-conscious, secondhand shops are doing a brisk business.

``The bad economy has actually helped resale shops,`` Phillips said.

Clothing in the store is sold ___ consignment and usually is priced ___ ___ half of what it cost new. Once an

item is sold, the revenue ___ the sale is split evenly between the shop and the clothing owner.

The consignments come mostly ___ women in Barrington, Long Grove and Kildeer, while shoppers come

from a much wider area. The shop`s reputation is based ___ carrying high-quality merchandise, so Phillips is

choosey about what she will sell. ``There are still people running ___ in polyester leisure suits, and I don`t

want those,`` she said.

Those who consign clothing do so for a variety of reasons: They have gone ___ or ___ a few sizes, they`ve

left work to raise children or they have bought an outfit ___ a special occasion and won`t wear it again.

Those who buy ___ the resale shop are not poor, but they are careful spenders. ``They`re looking ___ nice

labels, and they don`t want to pay a lot of money,`` Phillips explained. Business women, for example, are

frequent patrons of the shop because their jobs require them to have extensive, impressive wardrobes.

Exercise 5. Complete the texts with active vocabulary

Text 1

A) consignment stores

B) used clothing stores

C) lower incomes

D) on a budget

E) the lack of inventory

F) to get rid of clothes

G) recycled clothes

H) treasures

I) environmentally minded

J) a good deal

K) on a rack

L) thriving used/consignment clothing industry

M) brand-name

N) there was a niche

O) landfills

Swanson moved to Bellingham in 2003 from Boise and could not find a job. Some friends in Boise had

owned 1.______________ and she decided to take a stab at opening one in Bellingham.

“I went off a gut assumption that any town with a university is going to be swarming with college students

2.________________ who want 3._______________ and buy more,” she said.

She researched 4.______________ in the area and felt there was a need for affordable, young and stylish

attire.

Bellingham seems to be a hot spot for used and consignment clothing. Directory Assistance online lists 11

such stores in Bellingham.

Itʼs not as though this type of business is a sure thing; most owners will say itʼs extremely hard work.

But many will also say that business keeps getting better and better, mainly because their customers are

eternally loyal.

These customers often have 5. ______________ — but not always. Many of them are

6.__________________ and believe in the mantra of reuse and recycle.

Their unifying feature, however, is an eye for 7. _________________ on a hot brand.

Together, these attributes make Bellingham ripe for a 8._________________.

Michelle Toctocan, owner of Little Bugs on Yew Street, can relate to that startup story. She got the idea to

open the childrenʼs consignment store after searching for used clothing for her three kids several years ago.

“I was frustrated with the other consignment stores. I noticed they were very small and crowded and I was

frustrated with 9.______________,” she said of the experience. “So I just decided to open my own.”

In the beginning, Toctocan spent months hunting for clothes at garage sales to build up her inventory of

10. ______________ childrenʼs clothes, such as Gymboree, Gap, Old Navy and Hanna Andersson. She

spread the word by sending out 1,200 fliers to middle-income women, and eventually the parents started to

come. It took her about three years to start seeing consistent profits, she said.

Swanson said her business philosophy is somewhat shaped by an EPA study she read that found 4.5

percent of 11. ________________ are made up of textiles.

“To be able to wear and sell 12._____________, youʼre not only looking good but you can feel good

because you know youʼre doing something good for the earth,” she said.

Swanson said most of her customers are high school and college students who like the fact they can get

stylish, inexpensive clothes that are also unique because theyʼre not hanging 13. _______________ with 10

other pieces just like them. They also like the entrepreneurial aspect of selling their own clothes to exchange

for “new” ones.

The owners of The Clothes Rack — a recently opened consignment store near Passion Fly — Joanne

Robinson and Cindy Brown, felt 14. ______________ for high-end used womenʼs wear. Robinson said she

knows women who “make the rounds” weekly to all the local used/consignment stores, and that type of

customer loyalty, or obsession with a good deal, is not going away any time soon.

“There are 15. _____________ to be found,” she said.

Text 2

A) accessories

B) fashion magazines

C) brand-new designer samples

D) upmarket second-hand

E) affordable fashions

F) designer creations

G) glossy magazines

H) of the original price