**ShoppingStar** goes to a consignment store

I decided to try something new yesterday - shop at a second-hand store.

Usually, the thought of wearing any article of clothing previously worn by someone else - a complete stranger! - creeps me out enough to keep me away from second-hand and thrift stores. But the store I went to yesterday is different. It specializes in designer clothing, and some of the items still have tags on them.

The store, The Designer Consignor, is located in adorable Lakewood, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. The store is surrounded by quaint antique stores and bakeries. There are plenty of restaurants and other stores in the area, so you could easily turn the shopping trip into an afternoon outing.

The store has a large inventory of clothes as well as a smaller selection of shoes, jewelery, purses and accessories. The prices are very reasonable (a brand-new, tags-still-attached DKNY shirt for $15.00, a used black Guess? purse for $6.00) and there is a clearance section with even better deals. Every item I saw was clean and in very good condition. However, unlike the name of the store implies, a lot of the clothing was not, in fact, from designer brands.

I loved that the staff was friendly but not overbearing. They let me look through everything at my own pace, but seemed more than happy to help if I needed it.

In addition to buying clothing, customers can sell their own gently used clothes at The Designer Consignor. Items are sold in the store for 60 days. If they sell, the store gets 40 percent of the selling price. If they don't sell, their owner can take them back. Sellers can check the status of their items online. The store also sells items on eBay.

Details about The Designer Consignor, including pictures and details of some of the items they currently have in stock, are available on the store's Web site: http://www.thedesignerconsignor.net.