A gentle head’s-up, however, on a common misconception: that of buying “never-worn” vs. “gently-worn” clothing. Just because an item’s in a new-merchandise store does NOT mean it’s any “cleaner” than in a resale shop. In fact, it can be much more soiled. Visualize this (very common) voyage of a “new” garment:

Fabric created. Shipped to a factory. Garment created. Garment hung and tagged for wholesale. Garment shipped. Unpacked and re-hung and re-tagged for your favorite boutique or store.

Garment touched maybe 45 times. Garment tried on a few, or a few dozen times. Then someone buys it, “because I want NEW stuff.” Notice the number of (not necessarily clean) points of contact on that item, whether made in Bangladesh or Brooklyn. Garment has NEVER been washed.

Now, watch the “gently-used” item. Previous owner washes/ has dry-cleaned. Resale shopkeeper checks it in, rehangs, tags, puts on rack.

Because the shop is a busy one, with great prices, that garment may be touched by 10 people, tried on by 3 or 4, and bought. Garment was washed 3 days or 3 weeks earlier.

Which garment, do you think, is cleaner?

Of course, this only applies if the consignment shop is scrupulous about cleanliness of incoming items, and has merchandise you (and others!) want to buy… but I’m guessing that’s the only type of shop we like!