Secondhand shops now often are first choice

But she's going for a different brand of shock and awe: Her two pairs of True Religion jeans, which can run more than $300 apiece, cost $35 and $40 at the Lucky You Resale Boutique in North Hollywood. She put down $23 for her Coach loafers. The Gucci sandals she wears to work? $25.

The 45-year-old Burbank resident is a longtime bargain shopper. Recently married, she bought her wedding dress for $20 on EBay. She rarely ventures into department stores, preferring to "buy designer clothes for next to nothing."

"It's pretty funny to see people's jaws drop -- they can't decide if they're going to smile or be sick," she said. "I love getting deals. It's more fun and allows me to do more with my money."

Boutiques are folding and fewer buyers and sellers are going to the shrinking number of retail trade shows.

But Cohn is getting a lot of company at consignment, resale and thrift stores, from parents shopping for back-to-school clothes to sales reps trying to squeeze cash out of samples no one else will buy.

"There's a panic right now, and everyone's scared out there," said Lucky You co-owner Dina Kimmel. "But resale is booming. Business for everybody else is bad, but for us, it's great."

Consignment stores sell goods for individual consignors, who technically own the item until the sale goes through and receive a portion of the transaction. High-end consignment typically is referred to as resale. Thrift or charity businesses usually stock their stores through donations and keep all the revenue.

In a survey conducted by the National Assn. of Resale & Thrift Shops comparing sales figures for April 2007 and 2008 at 185 stores, 75% said their sales had increased, 80% reported a jump in new customers and 65% noted a boost in suppliers. Just 10% said their sales had decreased.

But department store sales fell 5.7% from July 2007 to the same month this year, and the specialty apparel sector skidded 5.5%, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers.

At Lucky You, sellers have ramped up their spring cleaning, some coming in weekly when they once swung by twice a year. Even wealthier customers who once donated now consign, spreading the extra cash to baby sitters or housekeepers, Kimmel said.