Secondhand Chic: Finding Fabulous Fashion at Consignment, Vintage, and Thrift Shops

Fun, funky, and fabulous, this is the first personal buying guide to help you get in on the resale craze that is sweeping America.

Would you like to find a mint-condition Yves Saint Laurent jacket for $25...a brand-new, pleated wool skirt still bearing the original $40 price tag, for $7...a genuine Dior suit for $75? Now you can! In Secondhand Chic you'll discover where to look, what to look for, and how to buy quality. In fact, you'll get all the secrets of spotting a valuable bargain so you can shop brilliantly whether you're in a consignment, thrift, or vintage store. Expert shopper Christa Weil shares the insider information that will help you buy the best clothes you've ever owned...at a fraction of the retail cost.

Learn about:

Spotting quality -- which you will know immediately from buttons, pockets, seams, and fabric

Labels...big names, department store brands, exquisite foreign lines -- and fakes!

Finding your size when there are no labels or tags

Flaws you can fix and the ones you can't -- from wrong lengths and wrinkles to stains and shininess

Unearthing handmade shoes, silk scarves, name jewelry, and other elegant accessories

Buying what you really need -- and caring for the clothes you've got

The styles that make your body look best

From domestic to international stores, from New York to London, from Memphis to Paris -- no matter where you buy, you can buy secondhand chic.

In recent years, increasing numbers of people have become aware of something that impecunious but savvy folks have known for a long time: You don't have to be rich to wear high-quality, high-fashion clothing. You just need to know how and where to shop for it at incredible, bargain prices--secondhand, vintage, consignment, and thrift stores.

Christa Weil goes the whole nine yards here, explaining how to spot quality, understand labels (and fakes!), and find your size when labels are missing. She knows which flaws are easily fixed, how to organize your wardrobe, how to look "done" without looking "overdone," how to care for your clothing and accessory treasures, and even how to make money on your unwanted clothes.

For anyone who likes to dress well and get an incredible bargain in the process (and who doesn't?), this is an indispensable guide. Weil's light, conversational writing style and her numerous hilarious asides (like "Why Socks Disappear in the Wash") make this an entertaining and lively book to read or browse. --Mark A. Hetts