On one of the few snowy, windy days we’ve had here in D.C. this winter, I decided to venture out to Dupont Circle with a good friend and check out a consignment shop that has intrigued me from the moment I first saw it — Secondi.
Secondi, located above Starbucks on Connecticut Avenue, is an upscale consignment shop that caters to women.
I walked up the stairs and was welcomed into a bustling, cramped area. Secondi is not very large at all, but it is stuffed to the brim with clothing and accessories.
The store’s smallness did not really affect my shopping experience, however.
To the right was an area with jackets, dresses and suits, all of good quality. Secondi is quite selective about the brands it sells. Finding a Calvin Klein dress, a Diane von Furstenberg jacket or Tory Burch boots isn’t that far-fetched. (In fact, these are all things I came across on my visit.)
While it is fun to find upscale brands, there are also comparatively lower-end brands sold at Secondi, such as the Gap and J. Crew.
No matter what you find, always be sure to look at the price tag. Secondi’s pricing system is one I haven’t encountered before.
The item is given an initial price point, but if the item has not been sold a month from the day it comes into the store, the price is knocked down. If the item is still in the store a month after that, its price is knocked down once more, and that will be its price from then on.
I did not buy anything on my trip to Secondi, but there were quite a few items that I was tempted to pick up, such as a Pashmina scarf and a pair of Rock & Republic jeans.
As much as I like the pricing system at the store, I think it can be a bit inconvenient, especially if you’d like to pick something up but would rather wait until it is marked down. The problem is that you can’t guarantee it will still be there when you come back for it.
The great brands sold at the store also mean the items can be pretty expensive (at least for an average college student) even when they are totally marked down.
If you are willing to spend a little bit more money than you might at a thrift store, you will not be disappointed.
