Paris fashions skirt the present for the past

Christine Suppes, Special to The Chronicle

Do designers look forward or backward for inspiration and direction? We have just come out of several years of fashion subservience to the cult of Marie Antoinette. Yet last week at the Paris fall 2008 shows, there was nary a milkmaid ruffled frock to be found in most collections.

Fashion history lessons, however, are always available, and no designer is fonder of runway tutorials than John Galliano for Dior. His early-'60s-style ensembles of boxy jackets and pleated dresses in color blocks of chartreuse, violet, pink and orange recalled well-dressed women in the era between JFK's Camelot and the flower children. High-crowned, broad-brimmed hats with big hair and heavy eyeliner added a hard-edged, aggressive glamour.

Andrew Gn is another who enjoys historical reference. His exuberant if slightly gothic show featured sheer, high-necked blouses worn with high-waisted trousers and lacy three-quarter coats. When asked backstage about his collection, the designer said, "Simply Oscar Wilde." But one had to wonder whether he'd had another Oscar in mind, namely Oscar de la Renta, for whom he once worked at Balmain.

"It's all about color this coming season," said Ken Downing, fashion director at Neiman Marcus. "We will see a lot of shiny looks, and the juxtaposition of matte and shine."

For the first time in several seasons, accessories took a backseat to clothes. Christian Lacroix proved that fewer accessories and embellishment added more elegance and glamour to his best show in years. It was at Chanel that the embargo on accessories was most apparent. The models wore black and white, long and short, distressed and impeccably cut skirts and jackets, but no trousers were shown. They embraced the oversized handbags and shoes on the stage, but did not carry or wear them.

Two very different debuts took place this week. The highly anticipated Valentino collection by former Gucci designer Alessandra Facchinetti was pretty and girly, a young take on an old master's metier. The era of classic Valentino is over, and although older socialites and movie stars may weep, younger women will prefer Facchinetti's natural, fresh style.

At Emanuel Ungaro, 23-year-old Esteban Cortazar, a Colombian native who grew up in Miami, made his debut. (See story, front page).

The geometric black and white beaded gowns at Elie Saab were spectacular. Although he is sometimes dismissed as too formulaic, Saab has the pulse of pretty. This is what many women want, including actresses and socialites who embrace Saab's brand of glamour and femininity. At Lanvin, the color was black, but the moment was modern and light-hearted. Again, this was an accessory-free collection, which no doubt added to the lightness. Designer Alber Elbaz is rapidly becoming fashion's darling. His clothes have the quality of exactly fitting the moment. The collection is unfailingly chic and refined, but with enough edge to be memorable.

John Galliano's own collection owed much to the show's set and choreography. He created Xanadu, with a giant Buddha, incense, naked men lounging on a sofa, and bird skeleton mobiles. His models skipped onto the runway and scampered through the Asian motifs in short fur jackets over graceful ankle-length dresses. The best gowns were in floral printed chiffon, which are so desirable at the moment as to be almost cult-like. The schizophrenia between Galliano's exuberant and youthful signature collection and the historical and hard one he designed for Dior is this season's most thrilling fashion mystery.

Yard Sales Not the Only Way to Get Rid of Your 'Junk'

By JENNIFER FICKLEY-BAKER
Ledger Correspondent

Is your closet filled to the brim with clothes? Is your garage bursting at the seams with barely used sports equipment? Well, all that clutter could actually be worth a pretty penny, because today there are more businesses than ever willing to buy back used items.

Consignment shops are one option for reselling used adult and children's clothing. Consignment stores work by taking items from an individual and putting them up for sale in their store. Once the item sells, the seller is paid and the shop takes a commission.

One such store is Twice as Nice Consignment (1839 E. Edgewood Drive), which specializes in buying and selling upscale clothing for women and children.

"I look for brands like Anne Taylor, Chico's and Talbots, that are free of rips, stains, broken zippers, missing buttons - nothing dated," says owner Pamela Gill, who explains that shops like hers are a great way for parents to save money on buying clothes for growing children.

"They can reinvest their money and buy (again)," Gill said. "I have several parents that consign clothes on a regular basis, or I buy them out and they turn around and use the money to buy playclothes. It's just cheaper (than buying at a department store), and everything in here is like new."

Plato's Closet (4525 S. Florida Ave.) works slightly differently than a consignment shop, as it buys back "gently used" brand-name clothing geared toward teens and tweens outright. Teens literally can walk into the shop with a bag of their used clothes and walk out with cash in hand. Popular brands bought back from the store include Abercrombie & Fitch, Express, American Eagle, Gap, Hollister and more. Accessories also may be bought and sold here.

To earn money from used baby clothes, furniture and toys, stop into Kid Krazy (619-7000) in Winter Haven. Owners Lisa Birket and Michele Norris say they regularly buy back a variety of kiddie items, including cribs, blankets and non-recalled toys. Here, sellers can expect a check for their goods, or store credit with an added bonus.

"We buy everything - clothing, toys, furniture, cribs, dressers, changing tables, bunk beds, twin beds," Birket said. "We have (customers) drop it off and we call them after we go through it. Then we give a check or store credit for that amount plus an extra 10 percent. We don't take things with missing parts or pieces - we try our best to have everything complete."

Online Web sites also are a great way to unload items for larger than garage sale prices, especially some toys, recent books and designer purses.

Depending on the age of a toy and its condition, individuals can earn a gold mine selling toys on eBay.com. No-longer-produced toys from the 1950s and earlier are high collector's items. Popular children's action figures also are hot sells online. In 2007, a total of 442,342 Transformers and 344,825 Harry Potter action figures were sold on the site. Metal lunch boxes that bear images of favorite childhood cartoon characters, such as Disney characters and G.I. Joe, also go for big bucks when they're in good condition.

According to the Web site's statistics, bestselling books are also good moneymakers on eBay.com.

Higher-end purses and wallets can bring big bucks on eBay.com, especially items by Coach, Louis Vuitton, Dooney and Burke, and Chanel. It usually costs less than $1 to post an item for sale on eBay (depending on your sale price) and you're allowed to post the item for any price you wish. You can always go back in and lower the price if you haven't gotten any bids. One warning: eBay prohibits the sale of imitation handbags, so all designer purses must be authentic.

Unused sports or athletic equipment is another category of clutter than often takes up space in closets or garages. If your son never quite used that lacrosse stick he begged you for or your daughter outgrew her new water skis after only one summer, Play it Again Sports (2211 S. Florida Ave.) is a great place to resell equipment or trade it in for something they'll actually use or fit into. Play it Again Sports buys, sells and trades slightly used sports equipment and exercise machines. Before lugging that giant unused treadmill into the store, call ahead and see if they're interested.

It pays to clean out the clothes closet

By Nicole Tsong
Seattle Times staff reporter

Nearly every closet has at least one splurge outfit hanging there in perfectly good shape, a reminder of a rash purchase that didn't work out. It's too precious to give away but takes up coveted space.

That's where consignment stores come in. They are the savvy solution for people with unwanted clothes that deserve a second, fabulous life, and they can garner a little moola in the process. "Somebody else will get really good use out of it," said Paula Iorio-Rosato, of Labels on Phinney Ridge. "So get a little bit of your money back and have somebody else use it."

Consignment shops sell your clothes and typically return 40 percent to 50 percent of the sales price to you at the end of a set time period, usually two to three months. If clothes don't sell, they are returned to the owner or donated to charity.

Victoria Yee, a clothing designer, consigns regularly at Le Frock on Capitol Hill. She can make more money selling handbags and shoes on eBay, she said, but clothes don't photograph as well and people like to touch fabrics.

She brings in clothes that she hasn't worn in months, ones that no longer look good on her and pieces she doesn't like. Consigning also helps her be a more disciplined shopper. She tries to buy unusual, high-quality clothes that will consign well if she doesn't love them.

"I like buying nicer things, and I can sell them back," Yee said. "I view clothes as more of an investment."

Guide to consign

Smart consigning starts with the pieces you bring in and knowing your consignment shop. They all have different aesthetics, and it helps to know what they want.

Consignment shop owners recommend bringing in current items bought in the last three or four years. Designer labels are even better.

One common mistake is to try to consign clothes that are fashion no-nos. If you don't want that Saks Fifth Avenue blazer from 1989, chances are the stores won't either.

"If something's expensive, and if they've had it 10 or 15 years, [they think] it's worth a lot and the fact is it's not," said Alexandra Oncken, owner of Alexandra's Exclusively Designer Label Consignment in downtown Seattle. "It's one of the biggest misconceptions about consignment."

It's also wise to have realistic expectations. Consigning will not get your money back from the original purchase. Shops sell pieces for up to one-third of the retail price, depending on the condition and the brand.

"People kind of forget if you get it brand new in a store, brand new means it's never left the store," said Gentry Michaels, who works at Le Frock. "You can get things on sale at a department store for up to 70 percent off. Come to a store like this, it has to be at least 70 percent [off]."

Here are some other consigning tips:

• Call ahead. Some stores' consignment appointments are booked up for two months. Others will take pieces you bring in that day.

• Accessories sell well. Bring in jewelry, handbags, scarves and hats in good condition.

• Stay seasonal. Most stores don't have storage for pieces out of season, so bring in winter clothes in fall and in early winter, and summer clothes in spring and in early summer.

• Designer labels sell. Labels sell better and are a requirement for some high-end consignment stores.

• Use care. Make sure the items are in good condition. Stores won't take pieces with buttons missing, shoes with uneven tread and so on.

• Be flexible. A consignment store has a specific audience, and might send you elsewhere if the owners feel they can't sell an item.

• Be patient. Your item may be on the floor for two to three months and possibly longer if the store puts it on sale.

• Check the kids' clothes. A few consignment stores sell children's clothes.

"You can save so much money all the way up until 8, 9, 10, when it kind of dies and they stop growing so quickly," said Wendy Douglas, owner of Me N Moms.

Selling direct

If you don't want to wait for your money, selling clothes for cash is another option. Some consignment boutiques buy for cash in addition to consignment, while other stores specialize in cash purchases. You typically will receive less money than from consignment, however. For example, Le Frock offers around 25 percent of what employees think the item will sell for whereas consignors receive 40 percent of the final sale.

Michaels encourages people with nicer or more unusual pieces to consign. The store prices it a little higher to see if it will sell, and also will put it on sale. The trade-off is that the piece might not find a new owner.

"The best consignors recognize you're going to do the job for them," Oncken said. "If something doesn't sell at the price you thought it would, it's because nobody bought it. We just keep marking things down and have a sale rack in the back as a last-ditch effort to get something for a piece."