Donald Pliner Wedges Add Rose Color to Recession

When first I saw Beacon’s Closet’s website, I thought: Huh. So THAT’s where they’re keeping the good shit. This is not to imply that I don’t score fab brands there on a regular basis (I do, obvs). I’m not even sure I’d buy the things offered online if I saw them in person. (Do I heart this Silk, L.A.M.B Smockdress? You bet. Do I think $99.95 is a reasonable price to pay for a dress so new, it still has its original $525 (shit you not) pricetag? Abso-effin-lutely. But if I’m dropping a Benjamin on a new dress, I want a whole slew of options like this one – I opt for Consignment instead).

Anyhoo, on my latest trip to Williamsburg’s Beacon’s Closet, I noticed I didn’t have to dig quite as deep for the gently-worn gold. The in-store merch was as good (if not better) than the online selection: Some of the stuff was so of-the-moment, even I’d never seen it secondhand. I mean, Vena Cava? Vena Cava, the same kickass (albeit heinously overpriced) line that blew up barely a year ago?! There it was; a dress that retailed for around $700 once upon a time, priced at $49.95, just sitting on the racks. A garment I wouldn’t have had monetary access to in my wildest dreams were it not for La Recession.

The fact that it wasn’t my size had zero affect on my buzz: That label in this environment meant the promise of brands to come.

Point being? Fashion-conscious customers are selling their castoffs like never before. The escalation in higher-end stock makes it harder to earn a buck off your not-as-fab oldies, which is slightly irritating. But it makes finding almost-new Donald J. Pliner wedges feasible, which is all kinds of awesome.

I used to buy shoes based on appearance alone. Alas, when you live in New York and can’t afford cabs, you learn the hard way that walking sans searing foot pain trumps sitting pretty. It took a solid year of sporadic emergency stops for Band-AID Tough Strips for me to see the light.

Donald J. Pliner is one of a handful of high-end brands that’s mastered the art of the totally gorge, walkable, wearable heel: My shoe-addict bestie SP (who’s never NOT in heels) swears by them. I took these DJP Gold Wedges for a test drive while I browsed the rest of Beacon’s, and – after a solid half hour wearing them – was totally hooked. Between how fab they looked and how immediately comfortable they felt, I could almost understand paying a lot more. Almost.

New Donald J. Pliner shoes retail for $250 a pair. Almost-new Donald J. Pliner shoes resell for $18.95.

I’ll take a few tiny scuffs and save the two-hundred-and-thirty bucks, thankyouverymuch.