Last Updated on October 20, 2022

The back-to-school, back-to-work season is upon us, and mainstream media is once again urging us all to help save the planet by re-using, re-cycling or re-purposing our clothing.  This past weekend alone, I read a long (informative) article about creating a Capsule Wardrobe and an online item about shopping consignment stores for basic or seldom-worn pieces of clothing like tee shirts or men’s sport coats and suits. I also watched a TV infomercial about renting clothes.

This was all too late to save my shopping “soul.”   I hadn’t bought a new piece of clothing (unless my bamboo pajamas count) since the autumn before COVID threw us all a sucker punch.  So, during the two weeks in August that we spent at our rented cottage in Maine, I took a trip to the Outlet Stores in Kittery for some much-needed retail therapy.

I could by-pass Kate Spade and Coach stores … our own boutique has had a wonderful array of these and other designer label bags available for sale this year.  I managed to squeak past Talbot’s and the Loft with just a peek in the window.  But I simply couldn’t pass by Chico’s, which has a fabulous and unusually colorful selection of clothing for Autumn and Winter.

So in I went, and (over an hour later) out I came with:  two of the wonderful tee tops that are my personal Chico’s favorite for casual wear; a pair of pants; a colorful graphic tunic; a black, silver, orange and brown cover-up in a sheer-ish material that can be worn year-round, and an orange top to wear under it.  And the tab for these six items (all at marked-down prices plus my “members” 5% discount)?  $246.00, plus tax.  Considering the quality and the source of these items, at an average of $41.00 each, my bag of beautiful swag was a bargain.

But once I arrived home and started hanging these finds in my closet I began to wonder how much it would have cost me to buy a pair of pants, two tee shirts, a gorgeous tunic, a 3/4 sleeve top and a cover-up to die for right here at Charlestown in our very own boutique?

I decided to do a “comparison shop”, looking only at items in my size that actually attracted my attention.  And this is what I found:

Generally speaking, tee tops at the boutique run around $5.00; “designer” tees may have a price tag as high as $10.00, but not often.  All tees are carefully vetted by the shop managers, and there wasn’t a limp, tired-white or faded black  one among the nice assortment on the shelf marked with my own size.  I also found a nice selection of 3/4 sleeve tops in fall colors, pre-worn, but equal in quality to the ones I saw at Chico’s, for prices ranging from $6.00 to $15.00.

The gorgeous range of cover-ups in my size and color preferences were priced at $8.00 to $12.00.  The majority of them had been worn but a few times, if at all.  Several of them could have been right at home in my own closet.

A tunic top can be a joy forever … perfect for many, many occasions … and I found quite a number of lovelies in the $10.00 range.

I priced black pants in my own size and found several really good-looking pair.  It isn’t at all unusual to find pants with the store tags still on them (so they’re brand new) at the boutique, and they range from a starting price of $6.00 to perhaps as much as $15.00 per pair.

Even using the highest ticket price in every category:
Two tees cost                $20.00
One cover-up cost         $12.00
One tunic cost               $10.00
A 3/4 sleeve top cost     $15.00
A pair of pants cost        $15.00
For a grand total of        $72.00 …. or about 1/3 of the cost of my Chico’s purchase.

I will thoroughly enjoy my Chico’s items (probably for many years to come) and revel in their “newness.”   But I also will continue to keep my closet fresh and “new to me” by shopping the excellent selection of wonderful clothing on the racks and shelves of Charlestown’s own shopping venue.  Come on in and take a look for yourself … new donations arrive almost on a weekly basis, the shop displays are professional-looking and attractive … and buying here benefits Charlestown’s Benevolent Care Fund and other Charlestown interests.

Charlestown’s Boutique, on the Terrace Level of Herbert’s Run, is open every Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Dayle Dawes