The Dirty, Pretty Secrets of Upscale Consignment Shops

Photograph of the author in Chanel earrings by Erika Kawalek.

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Milici was dispatched on a house call—an Upper East Side woman with a promising stash had just phoned in—and she flew out the door and up 81st Street. In high-end resale, discretion is paramount. Everything is confidential, anonymous. Actresses, editors, and even swanky mistresses get house calls or send in assistants with bags and bags of clothes. Milici also processes FedEx packages mailed in from all over the world.

I looked at some Vuitton purses with consignment vet Charlotte Bryan, a dashing older woman and thrift maven. “When I was young, Chanel was so, so ech!” she said. “You know, the used bags that are banged up a little bit are chic on younger girls, but on older women it just looks like an older woman with an old bag, and it makes you look even older.”

Based on the demand for secondhand accessories, I decide to hit A Second Chance, which specializes in Chanel bags and jewelry. I marched up a hot-pink stairwell pasted with magazine cutouts—a teenager’s bedroom, circa 1987.

Indeed, Chanel purses—tiny python clutches, massive ‘80s quilted power bags, and last season’s models—crowd the walls. A web of chain belts dangles by the cash register. On the left is a display case stuffed with gold and interlocking C’s. Since the recession, the number of consignors has dramatically risen. “I can be more choosy now,” Riddolfi said. “A lot of women are consigning, they want the cash. And I have new clients, women who wouldn’t have considered secondhand before.”

“I have a lot of property from Madoff victims,” she said.

I pointed to a pair of iconic No. 5 earrings ($750). Very Christy-Cindy-Linda-Naomi. “Can I try those on?”

Riddolfi explained that the pair was consigned by a Wall Street wife, not a Madoff victim, who also consigned four Hermes wallets and a few Birkins. “She’s not cash-strapped—she’s practical, I suppose.”

“My wife is a Chanel whore,” Charlie Riess, a customer, piped in with a chuckle. He was dispatched by his wife to pick up a mustard-beige caviar leather purse and a pair of earrings.

“This location is good with the hospital.” Riddolfi said. “But you won’t believe how many wives come in here and say ‘My husband is in surgery. I need a bag.’ Or ‘My husband is dying, I need a bag.’ ”

The retail market might follow the Dow, but during a bust, consignment booms.