Lisa Siregar

Hanifa Ambadar is giving pre-owned clothes and accessories a second lease on life at Closet Quickies in Kemang. (Photo: Lisa Siregar, JG)

Closet Quickies: Where Jakarta Girls Go for a Quick Change

Going in to Closet Quickies really does feel like stepping into a girl’s closet. A very big closet, that is. At the front door, a pile of necklaces and feather brooches are displayed on a white rack. Clutch bags and high heels sit under the rack and white tops are hung separately from colored ones. Modest vintage dresses are on another rack on the left.

Except for the jewelry, everything is one of a kind and all are in different sizes. That is because Closet Quickies is a buy, sell and trade shop.

“Buy, sell and trade means people can come to this shop to sell their used clothes to us,” owner Hanifa Ambadar said.

If your used clothing is acceptable, the shop will set a price and pay you 45 percent of that value in cash, or 60 percent in trade. For example, when an item is set at Rp 100,000 [$10.50] you will get Rp 45,000 back or a 60 percent discount for shopping in the store,” Hanifa said.

She only accepts vintage items or high street brands, such as Zara, Mango, Topshop, GAP, Banana Republic, Forever 21 and (X)SML. Items are purchased based on style, condition, season, color, label and rack levels. For high street brands, prices range from Rp 40,000 to Rp 150,000.

Closet Quickies is an alternative store for shoppers sure of their personal style and not looking for the newest collections.

“We are targeting fashionistas with personal style, and also smart shoppers, because they tend to buy a lot of things, some of which are expensive, but don’t wear those very often,” Hanifa said.

“Once, we had a guest who came into the store and she brought in four of her suitcases,” Hanifa said. “We bought about 50 percent of her collection and spent about Rp 6 million.” Hanifa selects the items herself. With her interest in fashion and retail, experience as a store manager in training at Old Navy in Saint Louis, Missouri, and her love of shopping, Hanifa thinks she is capable of selecting the best quality clothes.

“When I pick used clothes [for the shop], I usually look for clothes in a modest style, something that people can wear everyday,” Hanifa said.

“If we have a lot of small size items in stock, we hold off on buying small sizes and prefer to buy bigger sizes,” she said.

Some of the clothes have never even been worn before, with the price tag still attached.

Every item in the store is tagged as new, pre-owned or vintage. One of the benefits of shopping here is that you can sometimes get items from high street stores unavailable elsewhere in the country, like a pretty pink sleeveless top from Tocca and a pair of William Rast jeans.

Several items from high-end brands are also available in the shop on consignment from their owners. Currently in the store are a Tod’s leather bag for Rp 3 million, a Gucci bag for Rp 2.1 million and a Louis Vuitton bag for Rp 1.8 million. Prada and Ferragamo shoes are also available.

The shop also has a disclaimer form for people who are selling brand items.

“I can pick good things, but if we find out that the item is fake, we can always ask the owner to repay the cost,” Hanifa said.

Hanifa, who has two kids, says she had always wanted to run such a store. She spent 10 years in the United States and often shopped at similar stores there.

Closet Quickies started as an online shop for a year before it moved into the 90-square-meter, white-dominated room on Jalan Bangka Raya, squeezed between a barbershop and a tattoo shop.

Hanifa said young mothers from a kindergarten across the road from the shop like to hang out at the shop, as do college students.

“Some of them don’t buy anything because they don’t like to wear pre-owned clothes,” Hanifa said.

“I even heard one of my customers asking her friend to buy pre-owned clothing, so she could take the item to a tailor and have a new one made in the same style.”

Hanifa said she doesn’t mind people who are reluctant to buy pre-owned clothes, as many in Jakarta are not yet used to the concept. However, people are becoming more familiar with such shops for high-end shoes, bags and designer items, such as Upstairs, Precious and Second Chance.

And smart shoppers know that this kind of store is a gem.


Closet Quickies

Jl. Bangka Raya No 103
Kemang, South Jakarta

Tel. 021 9124 0335 (Call/SMS)
http://closetquickies.com

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