Your Best Friend’s Closet

I just purchased a Longchamp handbag patent leather for 160 dollars. what a gem of a find! It definitely was a great deal considering it was around 500 dollars brand new. I’ve had so many compliments on it when I have been out and about! I also purchased a pair of Louboutin black suede wedges for a great price and the Louboutin’s were originally almost a grand brand new. I did my research AND also double checked with Elizabeth to make sure they were authentic. She even called the consigners to verify they were authentic! Elizabeth is fantastic and went out of her way to give me peace of mind. I will definitely be returning to her store!

Mostly vintage stuff, so not too much my style. But where I have the biggest problem is the attitude towards children. I came in with my two small children, who were being quite well behaved, and the storekeeper had difficulty covering her annoyance that I had the nerve to come into a store with a two year old and a 16 month old. I will never go there again.

LOVE this chain! I can bring in clothes and they give me cash on the spot!
I can spend it in the store or put it in my pocket!
Sometimes you have to wait a little but really worth the wait!

I used to shop here all the time until recently, I have been in several times this summer and it was so full you couldn’t even move the hangers around, most of the things I had seen there since winter and was not even in season. They used to have such wonderful things I was kind of in shock when I saw the items they had in, they were dated, stained, and just down right ugly. Really $ 12 for a USED forever 21 shirt? It prob. didn’t cost that new! I asked for some help from I think the manager of the store? She had no idea what she was doing kept bringing me things that did not go with what I was looking for and not even close to my size. (There is an older lady that works there sometimes that has wonderful taste and I will never go back unless she is there). For the few and far between good deals you get there are a dozen rip offs that are pretty much the same price sometimes more than new. Beware shoppers!

Earlier this summer, I was shopping next door at my favorite cheese shop when I decided to pop in to YBFC. I love consignment shops because you never know when you stumble upon some great finds, but with this one just a few blocks from Cherry Creek North, it was a veritable treasure trove of gently used, high end items at affordable prices!
The store is crammed with racks full of brand names I usually wouldn’t find in Colorado Springs: Prada, Gucci, Trina Turk, Roberto Cavalli, Balenciaga, Christian Louboutin, Burberry, Versace, etc. You’ll discover designer denim, shoes, bags… Not much in the way of crappy «fast» fashion, the «low end» names I saw were probably Juicy Couture and Banana Republic. Decent selection of on-​trend items, but most appeared classic, though not out-​dated. From the looks of the quality, it is apparent the manager (s) have a critical eye on what they will or will not accept to sell.
So on that visit, I fell in love with an Armani blazer that was my size (38 – 40 Italian). However, I hadn’t planned on the extra funds for such an impulse buy. I couldn’t get it out of my mind for the next several weeks, so when it came time to replenish our exquisite cheese repository, I sent an e-​mail to YBFC to see if they still had it. I believe this was on a Monday. On Tuesday, I received a phone call from the owner who knew exactly the item I wanted, and she promised she’d hold onto it until the weekend was over once I told her I was in Colorado Springs.
Brand new, this Italian-​made wool blazer with internal attached vest was probably once in the $ 600s, but the owner told me it was $ 89 (it had been $ 120 when I first saw it). Once I was back in her store, she asked if I wanted to try it on again. I walked out of there with the Armani piece along with another top. Score! I know both will be awesome with a pair of jeans and a perky hat. The blazer even looks good with shorts!
Since then I’ve been in twice more just to browse, and items appear to cycle pretty well every few months. I haven’t had to be on the other end consigning, but it has always been fun browsing the gems at YBFC that more than occasionally pop up.
If I lived closer, my environmental fashionista senses would probably only have me shop here!

2012 Review #209:
So, I am thrift-​impaired. I know lots of people that say «oh I got this J. Crew sweater for $.50 yesterday» (I’m looking at you, Kate G.), or «I got all this stuff at a consignment place and all it cost me was $ 18!» Yeah– that’s not me. I go into consignment stores and everything just looks blah. Not so at YBFC. This place is amazing. I have never seen so many designer products in a consignment store, except for one in Aspen, where Jimmy Choo’s grow on trees.
I read some of the older reviews that mention there aren’t designer products, and I think it must have changed a lot in the last few years, because that was basically all I tried on today. The ladies were really helpful and it didn’t feel like a thrift store, since they put my items in a dressing room for me, etc. They now have more than one dressing room, and none have a sheer curtain. The one I went in had an exterior sheer curtain but several other layers of curtains all sewn together, and, for once, it was big enough to cover the whole space, so no one could peak in. I saw brands like Prada, Marc Jacobs, Diane von Furstenberg, etc. They also had brands like J. Crew, Banana Republic, things from Nordstrom and Sak’s, but also some cheaper items (I saw one shirt from Walmart). Basically they choose nice, stylish clothing, of various price ranges. At first it did look a bit old to me, but I found a ton. I also love that once an item has been there for over a certain number of weeks, the price drops, and is notated on the tag.
I ended up getting:
–2 «waterfall» style vests, priced probably around what they’d go for on Amazon or ebay, and were cheaper to begin with. I paid between $ 10 – 18
–1 Miu Miu blazer for $ 18, retailing for between $ 200 – 500 (seriously)
— 1 Bailey 44 dress, new with tags on, for $ 58 (retail $ 160)
— 1 Tarina Tarantino Hello Kitty cameo necklace, for $ 32 (retail $ 100 – 130)
The only issue I had was the blazer was sized incorrectly: it was a 40 IT, which is an 8 UK, but a 4 US, and they had it sized as an 8 US, but oh well, it worked out fine. They take Visa, Mastercard, and AmEx here, but unfortunately not Discover, so I had to go to an ATM. They were very nice and held my items for me. This place is such a great little gem, and it has great neighbors, too. I won’t come too often, for the sake of my wallet, but I’ll definitely be back.

Terrific consignment. Elizabeth, the wardrobe consultant is excellent. She knows how to put things together very well. Great selection of clothes and prices are very good. Highly recommend.

I’ve been to a LOT of consignment shops in my time. TBFC is alright. I’ve had good and bad experiences there. They consign by appointment, which may limit their intake (weekday appts. only). I will say that they’ve got a good «jeans» selection. I bought some Hudsons that made me feel like a rockstar, but the price was a little steep — about $ 15 – 20 more than other consignment shops in the area. The ladies were nice to me — this time… maybe because I looked more dressed up than last time I went in. You can tell that about 60% of the clientele is an older crowd with older but nice stuff.

I have visited a few second hand stores in my day, and I like this one the best so far. A nice atmosphere, decent selection, fair pricing, and a nice clerk.

This cute, little store is fun to browse, but difficult to find a great buy. The clothes seem to tailor to the slightly older crowd (30 – 40 year olds) with a few items for the 20-​something year olds. The items are not very trendy, but are good for work. The prices range from $ 15-​$ 150, but are mostly around $ 20 – 30’s for tops, pants, and skirts. Knowing that they are used items, I am less willing to pay that much. You can easily find brand new and more contemporary pieces at Ross or TJMaxx, sometimes even at the sale racks at Express or Ann Taylor Loft, at the same prices. There is only one dressing room, and the covering curtain is see-​through; I can’t imagine that many 40 year old ladies being exhibitionists, but I won’t judge… Most thrift stores allow exchanges if you change your mind later, but this store does not allow returns nor exchanges. The owner is really friendly though, and I had fun just browsing through all the racks.
½ star off: price
½ star off: no return policy, or rather, having a No-​Returns policy
1 star off: dressing room curtain designed for exhibitionists

I wish this was my best friend’s closet. It has lots of nice brands for cheap!
I wanted to buy almost every item in this place! High end and low end items, all for reasonable prices. The clothing is also for people of all ages. Last time I went, a woman was helping her daughter look for a prom dress. Other clothes are strictly for the older ladies, so there’s a broad range of choices.
There was a great shoe selection. Heels and sneakers and boots, oh my.
The manager was a sweetheart. She asked me if I minded if she lit some incense (what kind of manager cares that much about her customers? Hardworking and nice ones!) to ward away the evil spirits in the store.
Nice selection of purses and belts. None of the items look used, and every item is unique. Most items will get cheaper the longer they’re in the store (if you can wait, and if you manage to keep the item there). Great values and range of prices.

Not a big fan of consignment for the obvious reasons — smelly, used fabric that has been on someone else’s body, and usually NOT your best friend. Cattled, stacked and thrown into an overpopulated derelict version of Filenes’ Basement by today’s most conscientious youth (not so much).
Here we find the well-​intentioned concept actually embraced and flourishing. They have re-​defined the entirely abused concept of «gently worn». That’s exactly what it means here. I noticed a lot of brand new articles of clothing as well as slightly worn items that I would have scooped up in a second.
My only negative about this store is that it’s difficult to find what you want in your size. Yes, there are great finds, great sales, great designer clothes for a fraction of the cost, and purses and shoes you won’t believe, BUT will they be your size — unlikely.
I found a Banana Republic coatdress that I would have killed for — smashingly stylish with a tailored look and matching belt — size 0. I’m 5’8″ and I was deceived by the length — my only question still is: who the hell wears a size zero that is over 5′ tall?
I did find 4 pieces (Ann Taylor, Banana) including a wonderful silk sleeveless dress, all for the total price of $ 68. I pop in sporadically just to see what they have, b/​c they always have something. It’s small but cozy, and the sales ladies are genuinely nice.

This is a higher-​end fashion consignment store for women. Every week, the owner hangs the ‘winner of the week,’ a find she displays for all to see. This week is was a funky, wool coat for winter… an orange funky coat. I wanted it so badly and then I saw a spectacular, lime-​green knee-​length coat. For just $ 129, the coat looked brand new and — lo and behold, this store does not have the funk that most vintage clothing stores seem to bestow (with pride.)
Everything is hung with care on a hanger and it really does seem like your raiding your best friend’s closet. The owner finds lots of great labels and with the intimate details of the store, you wouldn’t mind hanging out there for hours, just trying things on and chatting with the other women finding new treasures to take home.