Second Time Around Opens on Charles Street

THERE IS NO MORE NEED TO AGONIZE over cramped closets. No more need to hang on to expen¬sive clothes that no longer fit. And that sweater that looked great in Aspen, but just doesn’t do it in New England,. no longer needs a place on the shelf.

Jeffrey Casler has just opened his seventh designer consignment shop at 99 Charles Street, and he is now ready to put those designer duds on his shelves. Many Beacon Hill residents are already familiar with his two chic Newbury Street stores. There, as well as in his new store, he car¬ries mostly designer labels that are gently worn, and shoppers with a sharp eye can purchase, at a very modest cost, treasures that are barely a season old. Prices are determined by the manager and split 50/50 with the consignor. The longer the garment or accessory has been in the store, the deeper it will be discounted.

“We think this is a good fit for the neighborhood,” said Casler, 27. “We would like this to be a drop-in kind of place, a mecca for guilt-free shopping.”

Manager Marisa MacNaughton grew up on Myrtle Street and honed her skills in retail at the Polo Ralph Lauren store on Newbury Street. “We would like to cater to customers my age, 25, as well as 50 plus.” she said. “We’re going to let the neighborhood define the inventory but we will carry both casual and more formal clothes.”

Casler’s mother opened the first Second Time Around store in Newton Highlands 35 years ago. She still works there every day and has passed the retail gene to her son. Trained as a CPA, Casler had too much entrepreneurial spirit to be confined to a desk and now travels between the stores daily, always looking for new ways to grow his shops.

“I like that we are just down the Street from Starbucks,” he said. “Grab a cup of coffee and come hang out.”