Trade Off Your Designer Fashions

Dress by Elie Saab

What does a woman do when she is frantically trying to organize her overstuffed closet?  She opens a consignment shop. That is what Dottie Cassler did in 1973 when she started her small business Second Time Around . Today STA has grown to 24 stores located in the northeastern United States from Philadelphia, PA to Burlington, VT  and all the key cities in between. A crisis buster for Fashionistas giving them the chance to either earn cash on their designer label fashions or trade them in for credit towards other designer fashions in the store.  You can set up an appointment online and then offer your new or almost new clothing, shoes and accessories either in person or by parcel post.  Your wares must meet certain quality requirements and when accepted you will earn 40% on the price at which your items are sold. Petit Poix visited the Cambridge, MA store this week and gasped along with various returning Harvard coeds at the labels we discovered while browsing the racks on the first and second floors. "Gaultier!" squeaked one student.
"Vera Wang!" screeched her friend.
"Versace!"
"BCBG!"

Create a Personal Makeup Palette at Inglot

How does a company not only survive but thrive in the fashion industry during an economic crisis?  Take a hint from Inglot Cosmetics:  intensive customer service and personalization. At the suggestion of one of Petit Poix's teenage readers, Alexandra, we discovered the Inglot Cosmetics Freedom System.  Inglot is a Polish company which has been in business for 25 years but only recently has caught on in the rest of the world.  Wojtek Inglot is the chemist turned entrepreneur who continues to develop new products, working with make up artists and color consultants to keep up with the latests trends.  Just launched is the world's only breathable nail enamel. At Inglot the customer can freely experiment with mix and match bases, eyeshadows, blushes, mascaras, nail enamels, liners, lipsticks and more to develop her own personal makeup palette, placing her choices in unique magnetic trays.  There is even a fake eyelash wall with dozens of different style eyelashes!  With 280 retail locations worldwide - more than 160 of them in Inglot's native Poland - only five retail stores are located in the U.S.A., four in Canada and 17 in Australia. Others are sparsely scattered throughout Europe and the Middle East and one location in Capetown, South Africa. What is Inglot's secret marketing plan?  Give the customer exactly what she wants.