Belinda Vargas’ trinkets wall / Chantal De Soto
Jersey City, N.J. – Where can you find Oscar De La Renta, Calvin Klein, and Rebecca Taylor hanging side-by-side in Downtown?
Off the corner of Newark Avenue on Bay Street you can find some of their designs inside Downtown’s only thrift store.
“I love it,” said Carly Cohen-Bradshaw. “The prices are excellent. She’s got a great selection. Everything is adorable.” Mrs. Cohen-Bradshaw is a stay-at-home mom who frequents the store since it opened in June.
Money conscious residents in Downtown Jersey City looking for thrift store sales will no longer have to travel outside of the neighborhood to find resale bargains. E. Tittlemouse & Co, a thrift shop, offers residents the convenience of a clothing boutique with thrift store prices. It’s the only store of its kind serving the Downtown community.
Belinda Vargas, the store’s owner and her husband fell in love with Downtown Jersey City during one of their visits to the area.
Vargas and her husband wanted to offer quality clothing at affordable prices. And they saw and opportunity during the downturn to add value to the consumer shopping experience and more beyond low-prices.
“As the economy continues to slump consumers will adjust their patterns by looking for additional ways to stretch their take home pay between checks,” said Ryan Mack, president of The Optimum Institute of Economic Empowerment, Inc.
Mack said that people are using more coupons, eating out less and shopping for clothes at second hand stores are just some the various things consumers are implementing to stay afloat in this economy.
On a typical day she said there might be 50 people going to the store, where as during longer days, it can be anywhere between 60 and 70.
Vargas remains optimistic. Her store has the appeal of a Soho shop, she offers secondhand, high-quality pieces at a cheap price, there is barely anyone competing in the same space and she’s at a prime location near the heart of Downtown.
Resale businesses tend to thrive during down turns said Adele R. Meyer, executive director for The Association of Resale Professionals.
The economy’s slow growth and unemployment remains at 8.2 percent, which could represent an opportunity for resale stores and thrift shops that offer single digits prices like Tittlemouse.
“You can find resale stores in any kind of neighborhood,” said Adele R. Meyer, Executive Director for The Association of Resale Professionals during a phone interview.
Boomerangs is the only other business that comes close to offering the same service as Tittlemouse. But their merchandise includes the resale of furniture, house-ware and some vintage clothing.
Tittlemouse sells largely apparel from new fashions, making it a heaven for the working woman or the stay-at-home moms.
“We want to have a variety of different people coming in because there’s a lot of people that like thrift shopping so from the hipster to the working girl we have something for everyone,” said Vargas.
Store’s prices range from $8 to $68 for popular brands like J. Crew and Calvin Klein.
The store itself has the feel of a small high-end boutique with one long rack of neatly hung clothes that extends from the front to the back of the store.
“It’s a nice atmosphere in there,” said Helen Rodgers.
Rodgers said it was her third time going back, “I go in the ones on Grove Street to see what’s there and I come out with mixed results. As I commute on and back, I’ll drop by (here) if there is something that catches my eye,” she said.
“Its local, incredibly convenient,” said Cohen-Bradshaw. “It’s easy, right on my local wondering around route.
