This shopper’s world
I came here from the West Coast, where being a little weird is normal and a lot weird is even better. At first glance, Boston seemed to be populated by straitlaced business types with places to go and corporate ladders to climb.
I was starting to wonder where the alternative types hung out - and shopped. Downtown Crossing and Newbury Street have their perks, but I was on the hunt for some quirks.
I found a little piece of indie heaven at the Garment District in Cambridge. It bills itself as an “alternative department store,’’ and it lives up to its claim. It’s a superstore of new and pre-loved clothing from the shift dresses of the 1920s to the now-trendy ’80s fashion disasters to reasonably-priced new clothes from independent designers.
It also has costume attire, jewelry, and a rainbow assortment of tights and leggings.
But I couldn’t be bothered by such frivolity; I dedicated my time to scaling the textile mountain better known as the dollar-a-pound section.
Covering most of the first floor of the store, the area (which is misnamed, since items are actually $1.25 a pound) is a testament to frugality, absurdity, and inefficiency. Dedicated shoppers crouch or sit on the floor and sort through mounds of clothes of various sizes, styles, and origins. No racks, no hangers, no bins. It’s an excavation.
After half an hour of digging, I had three great finds that weighed in at exactly one pound, including a black summer dress from the Gap. If my math is right, it cost me around 45 cents. Not too shabby.
