shopping
Retail, Meet Resale
Everything old is new again in these recommerce hot spots
WRITTEN BY MELANIE ANZIDEI
W
28
HOLIDAY 2019 MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE
SWANKYCO
Melissa Warren with Bella and Joey
CEDAR GROVE/SWANKYCO.COM
This online boutique was founded by Cedar Grove mom Melissa Warren, a
former New York City real estate broker. She launched the consignment store
earlier this year, after realizing the need for a resale shop for children’s wear.
She says her children were barely wearing their clothes before outgrowing
them, and she realized other local parents experienced a similar problem.
“Circular fashion is truly the future, and anyone in the know is already
contributing to the movement, especially the already-ahead-of-the-curve
Montclair moms and dads,” Warren says.
Swankyco is focused exclusively on new and like-new kids clothing,
footwear and accessories. The company offers a range of brands, from high
end fashion like Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana to staples like Ralph Lauren and
Splendid. For some items, prices are reduced by as much as 90 percent off
the original retail value. The shop isn’t only for used clothing, either. It also
features small shops and custom outfits, like the kind featured on Etsy. The
shop operates as a consignment, and only accepts high quality designer items.
hether fueled by Marie
Kondo’s message to get rid
of items that don’t “spark
joy,” or by home-buyers
downsizing in today’s
expensive housing market,
the resale world is experiencing a boom.
Recommerce — the reselling of previously worn
clothing and used goods — is one of the fastest
growing categories in clothing retail, and experts
anticipate the trend will only continue upwards.
Every year, the fashion online thrift store thred-
UP releases a Resale Report that looks at the state
of the resale market. This year, the company’s co-
founder and chief executive James Reinhart point-
edly stated that: “Resale is on the move, people!
“From big retailers to small retailers, seed stage
investors to large buyout firms, and from The
New York Times to Netflix, everyone seems to
be talking about the future of resale,” he said.
And who’s driving this growth? Millennials
and Gen Z shoppers.
Other experts who keep a close eye on the retail
world are also taking notice of resale’s climbing
trajectory.
Coresight Research, which collects data-driven
insights on retail and technology, predicted at the
beginning of 2019 that consumers would shop
more consciously, and trends like recommerce
would seep into more retail sectors. They were
right. Big-name retailers, like Macy’s and JC Penny,
have begun partnering with companies like thred-
UP to bring used clothes to the forefront, opting to
sell used items at department stores and malls.
At the local level, small businesses are posi-
tioned to benefit from this trend. Earlier this year,
shops nationwide were inundated with donations
citing the “Kondo effect” — named after the
decluttering guru whose Netflix show, Tidying Up
With Marie Kondo,” inspired countless people to
rid themselves of used clothes and goods.
If you’re itching to jump on the resale band-
wagon, here is a round-up of Montclair-area shops,
both brick-and-mortar and online, where you may
find a hidden gem or two.