We meet again -

It depends on your taste. The largest by far is the St. Vincent de Paul on Williamson Street at the corner with S. Baldwin. It is enormous and the prices are good, but it is not immaculately clean, if that bothers you.

There is a new Goodwill on lower State Street, near the campus. The construction in that area is mostly done, so it's easy to get there on foot.

And if you just want clothing, there is Ragstock in the 300 block of State. They specialize in unusual items, such as bowling shirts, Hawaiian shirts, and kimonos, along with a selection of what's new and funky.

There is also a Land's End outlet store in the 400 block of State, where I buy a lot of MY wardrobe!

If you are looking for more upscale items, though, you would have to leave downtown. Let me know what you're after, and I can point you in the right direction.

Oh, this is good information and exactly what I want. We have a St. Paul in downtown Los Angeles so I'm familiar with their stores and you are right, you have to look through stuff. I prefer the Good will stores since they are more organized. Usually the upscale clothing are consignment shops and sometimes we get some good deals there as well so if you know of any of those let me know. We have nice consignment shops in Beverly Hills that are reasonable but the clothing are top quality of course so I don't mind paying a bit more like Jones of New York suits, etc. Thanks for your recommendations! letad

OK, then, if we're talking CLOTHES - the best consignment shop is on the west side. Here is their website:

http://www.thepinkpoodleonline.net/

They have beautiful, designer label things, even in my (plus) size. I went to look for a formal dress on my first visit, and I had 7 that I liked to choose from!

The owners are fun. They want to see you in everything that you try on, and they offer their opinions and go pull other things off the racks for you. It reminded me of a trip to a department store when I was a kid!

If you're going out to the west side anyway, another option is the Oakwood Village consignment shop. This is a retirement village, but there are lots of things on consignment from the kids and the grandkids of the residents.

I hope you find lots of bargains. Be sure to let us know what you did and how things went!

A acquaintance of mine who successfully ran Women's and Kidstore Resale in Madison (they retired and sold out) for about 25 years gave Betty Bling the thumbs up over Pink Poodle. (She must be friends with Betty Bling owner.) According to the reviewers, you may love the store if you are buying, but if you are selling your clothes, they are picky and don't necessarily pay you well.

I should add that I have never been.

Here is a link. You can google more.

…yahoo.com/info-39003107-betty-bling-incorpo…