Michelle Williams/Birmingham News

Tracy True Dismukes, owner of Collage Designer Consignment shops in Homewood and Vestavia Hills, says shopping at consignment stores has become mainstream.

Thanks to the recession, frugality is now as fashionable as a Louis Vuitton handbag - and a whole lot cheaper.That's why consignment stores, once viewed as a refuge for those who couldn't afford to buy new, are becoming the hottest places to shop. And not just for the budget-conscious, but even among Prada-wearing style mavens who, a year or so ago, might have turned up their noses at the idea of wearing used clothes.

 

"In the last 18 months, we've come into the mainstream," says Tracy True Dismukes, owner of Collage Designer Consignment shops in Homewood and Vestavia Hills. "It's almost a sport now, to see how little you can pay for that designer dress."

Like shoppers, many stores themselves have grown more sophisticated, creating a boutique-like atmosphere featuring clothes you'd never know were previously owned. "The only difference is that our clothes don't come direct from the manufacturer," she says. "And the prices are shockingly low."

 

Dismukes, former president of the National Association of Resale and Thrift Shops (NARTS), was in Scottsdale, Ariz., last week to give the keynote address at NARTS National Industry Association conference. She encouraged shop owners to take advantage of their recession appeal by launching publicity campaigns to rival designer boutiques and department stores.

Dismukes raised her own visibility last fall by launching Consignment Chic, which included a weekly TV show and an interactive Web site, www.consignmentchic.com. Earlier this year, she turned the TV program into one-minute segments that air at various times on CW 21.

"Nobody wishes for a bad economy, but this is a great time to be in the consignment business," Dismukes says. Her Web site has turned into an online community for consignment store owners and shoppers. Dismukes is about to add an e-commerce component, allowing shop owners from around the country to sell their best items online.

Consignment Chic has sponsored consignment shop bus tours in central Alabama and also the Atlanta area. For $29, including lunch, buses take shoppers to an area's top stores. The next tour is Aug. 8 (a tax-free day) in Birmingham and neighboring cities. (For more information, call 568-2442.)

Unlike thrift stores, which typically sell donated and discarded items in a warehouse environment, consignment shops sell clothes brought to them by owners who make a small amount of money when the item sells - usually at 60 percent to 80 percent off retail. High-end consignment shops such as Dismukes' prefer items no older than 2 years and in pristine condition.

kkemp@bhamnews.com