By Rachel Rose
These days, buying thrift and vintage is considered cooler than buying retail, and the 2022 statistics prove it. Secondhand shopping, the general term for the consumption of used goods, is a $43 billion industry in the U.S., according to ThredUp’s 2022 Resale Report. And while $20 billion is online, $23 billion is from in-person sources, like three WSR recently visited: Grand Bazaar NYC, Central Park Resale, and Housing Works.
Started 40+ years ago as a yard sale run by a group of parents, Grand Bazaar NYC is now an every-Sunday, indoor and outdoor market on W. 77th Street and Columbus Avenue. It includes artists, designers, craft-makers, and vintage, antique, and food markets. One-hundred percent of the profits go to the Parents Association for Public Schools, said Marc Seago, executive director. Since he took over in 2016, he has focused the market on artisans and craftspeople with “limited editions” or “rare finds,” rather than on mass-market resellers.
Chloe, of Zandra and Chloe grew up spending her Sundays at the Grand Bazaar, where her mom sold handmade and vintage bags. Once her mother stopped selling vintage, Chloe and her sister, Zandra, started. They features lucite bags from the 50s and milk glass from the 30s. “Very bridgerton, eclectic kitchen, and hippie 70’s,” Chloe said.
Carolyn Atlas Ochs said her mother always told her to buy good jewelry. Hence, she has a lot of it. Her collection grew from her love of Bakelite bracelets, which are no longer manufactured. Laughing, she said that while her friends would get calls from Saks Fifth Avenue about new merchandise, “if I ever got a call, it’d be from Goodwill!” She has no website, but can be reached at catlas613@yahoo.com.
We also spoke to Filippo and Pervis Ross-Gurrieri, of Sunset Boulevard Vintage, who decided to share their collection after it grew to over 8,000 pieces. Marilyn Orvis told us her collection of hand-crafted vintage helps fund her music career. “I’ve been thrifting my whole life,” she said. “It’s a family thing.” She loves vintage and “doesn’t support buying new.” And while she acknowledges that part of vintage’s popularity is due to a “cool factor,” she thinks young people are also just “more conscious about what they’re consuming”.
Tanya Young Williams, owner and founder of Central Park Resale, on W. 66th between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue, emphasized the importance of “circular fashion,” not only for its sustainability, but because it helps preserve fashion. Tanya, who has been featured in the Rag, says she notices younger shoppers consistently showing up: “They’re looking for thrift. They know what they want…Gen Z in particular can come into your store and canvas in like three minutes, and then they’re out…You’ve got to have the crop tops, cargo pants, streetwear.” Williams describes the store as “three different business models under one roof,” offering consignment, resale and thrift. People will bring things in after “purging” their closets, she said. “Some neighbors will donate very high-end items, because they know what our mission is.” She describes Central Park Resale as a “for-profit business with a philanthropic heart.” A percentage of the proceeds go to various nonprofit organizations. “The vast majority of items we receive are re-donated to organizations that provide clothing to families in need.” Nonprofits they support are listed on their website. 
Housing Works, a longtime nonprofit that advocates for and serves low-income and homeless individuals living with or at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS, has multiple thrift stores throughout the city. On the Upper West Side, there is one on W. 74th Street and Columbus Avenue, and one on W. 96th and Broadway. “Housing Works has a mission that is very clear: support through the means of thrift,” said Lauren Palmer-Guttenplan, director of stores. “We hope to attract people not just interested in secondhand and sustainability, but [in] what Housing Works is doing in terms of advocacy and social work.” In 2022, Housing Works stores as a whole profited 6% over their projections for the year, and 10% over previous years. “People have gotten used to online shopping, but they also want to come in and have an experience,” Palmer-Guttenplan said. The stores save their best donations for the three-to-six months leading up to their “Best of Spring” and “Best of Fall” events. They also have an annual “Fashion for Action” fundraiser at their Chelsea store with donations from top brands as well as members of the fashion industry — celebrity stylists and fashion editors — who give from their own closets. Housing Works also carries an eclectic collection of accessories, art, furniture, and homewares.
Unique Boutique Thrift (Columbus between 83rd and 84th) has been in the neighborhood for years.
Sadly the store has lost visibility as it is now blocked by a restaurant shack. The restaurant shack makes it hard for donations that need to be transported by vehicle.
Does anyone know who benefits from this shop? I seem to remember it was a church or?? It sounded a little weird to me, so I stopped going…please correct me if I’m mistaken!
I don’t think its affiliated with any charity. It’s just a source of secondhand goods not a nonprofit.
I think it’s fine to sell things this way as its sustainable but if I’m going to donate items I would prefer to give to a charity shop.
ICON Style on West 70th street is probably more upscale than the stores mentioned here, but they do have some very nice pieces.
I’ve been buying everything vintage and antique since childhood in Philly (including clothing and furniture) and I am now 67 and have been in NYC for 40-plus years. When I was college aged, antique stores often had 19th century clothing. I wore a pair of spats so many times in high school my friends called me “Spatz Katz.” By now those items are museum pieces, if not disintegrated. That said, I have been enjoying Central Park Re-Sale and, of course, the Sunday flea market for years, which has many dealers. I’ve bought two minks there — which needless to say I wouldn’t buy new, nor would I be able to afford them new. But the minks have been dead since the 1960s-70s, and they can’t be resurrected, so my arthritis enjoys their incomparable warmth. Funny that the photos here features pink depression glass, because that’s my dish color, too. I love vintage handbags, but have run out of room. But last year I scored a mint condition pair of Roberto Cavalli Italian eye glass frames from the 1970s (I surmise) in bright blue and gold, had the prescription lenses removed, and had sunglasses made. My eye glass dealer went insane when she saw them! And she even went crazier when I dropped the price — I scored them for $10. New French Traction frames are about $450. So many antiques — so little time! And even less space. And never enough money!
I’ve been selling clothes that no longer fit me since my weight loss on eBay and Poshmark. But my costume jewelry is the best seller, especially if it’s signed.
It’s always fun to get that email saying “Congratulations, you’ve made a sale.”
I lived in Manhattan from 1972 until 1996. I swear I knew nothing about these thrift/resale stores until a year after leaving, I drove in to see my friend and old neighbor in our building. I was early, her vet office was on E. 17th or 18th street. So I ambled down the street and came upon my first thrift store! I was gobsmacked, to say the least: mostly 3 Armani jackets for $10 apiece. Then, I took a bus to my old Upper East Side neighborhood, and came across MSKCC’s thrift store, from which I still wear stuff to this day. (As a 10-year volunteer at MSK, I never heard about it.) now living close to Philly’s Main Line, I scout the thrift shops every couple of weeks—even though at this point, I don’t need one darn (except for another cashmere sweater if it’s less than $20.
MSKK’s thrift shop closed few years ago. In fact nearly all the thrift stores on Third from 79th to 86th are gone.
https://www.yelp.com/biz/memorial-sloan-kettering-thrift-shop-new-york
Council Thrift on East 84th between Third and Second is long gone as well.
https://www.yelp.com/biz/council-thrift-shop-new-york
Central Park Resale’s prices are ridiculously high for what they offer. Wish they were a little more competitive with other UWS vintage.
That said, Unique, Bazaar and Housing are fab! In the end, Crossroads, Buffalo Exchange and Beacon’s Closet never disappoint so sometimes it’s worth a trip downtown!😁
Agree, not impressed with CPR. For excellent designer merch., I have been shopping on the east side for decades.
Michaels is probably a favorite of those who know the landscape.
The least expensive resale stores are always Salvation Army and Goodwill. There’s a SA on 536 West 46th that’s worth a stop. Also always look for church resale shops. There used to be one on 96th, north side of street, btwn. Broadway and Amst. but (I think) it just moved? A lot have closed (72nd St.) and rents are forcing even more out. They’re real fun and a good way to save money and the environment. (Not for anything, the Flea on Columbus on Sundays is expensive.)
The church thrift shop moved to the 97th street side of the building.
I was so happy to see the comment about minks. I would never buy new, but I picked up some really beautiful vintage fur coats from housing works. I am still too intimidated to wear them much, but I really believe wearing vintage fur will one day be recognized as a better alternative than sending these beautiful pieces to landfill.
I agree! I have a beautiful, mint condition vintage leopard coat that was custom made when it was legal to do so. It came in handy while dining outside in the freezing Covid winter! I don’t think people who see me wearing it, believe it to be real.
While I understand that those vintage fur coats are from animals already long dead, I still could never be comfortable buying or wearing one. It gives a certain validation to the practice of wearing fur (which should be discouraged always) especially as those old furs were likely harvested from the animals in horrendously cruel ways. The only good use of such items is to cut them up into smaller pieces which can be donated to certain independent/small rescue groups who use them to line enclosures or boxes or cages where the rescued animals can lie down and stay warm, especially if there are puppies or kittens involved.
Those are 3 very expensive stores! Go to salvation army and goodwill. You’ll save money help raise money for charity and save the planet affordably.
Also the St. Francis thrift shop at the church on 96th and Amsterdam