The Vested Interest is on Mt. Bethel road, right off of Route 78, before you hit the main part of Warren at Mountain Avenue. It's really easy to get to, just take note - Google Maps had me reaching the destination 1/4 mile after I was actually supposed to turn! Luckily my shopping sixth-sense was in full force, so I recognized the shop and made the turn in time.
Walking into the store there was clearly a ton of merchandise. Items are pretty well organized by clothing type; dresses, blouses, sleeveless, sweaters, jackets. Shoes and bags have different sections throughout the store, including one full wardrobe/display case of each:
I was impressed by the pretty decent selection of formal evening wear and plus size clothing as well; those are two categories you don't see that much of.There was a lot of higher-end designer clothing, such as Missoni, Prada, Kay Unger, and Trina Turk to name a few. There was a special Lily Pulitzer and Vineyard Vines section for those on the preppy side. The shop is definitely catered more towards a working woman, so no fast fashion brands like Forever 21 were in sight. There were lots of really, really nice items; you can tell that the owners do not accept anything that isn't in like-new condition. SO MUCH of the merchandise was still new with tags!
Looking around initially I was impressed and intrigued by a lot of the merchandise, but not so much with their prices. Everything seemed a bit more than I'd be willing to pay, even for used designer. One Eddie Bauer t-shirt was marked $18 - there was no way I was paying that much for that! I had been in the store about 15 minutes and had circled once already before the owner finally greeted me, and asked if I knew about the sale. Um, what sale? She pointed to a board behind the register I had totally missed - all items with a purple dot were 50% off, items with a blue dot were 30% off, and green dots were regular price. I quickly double checked a Missoni dress I had liked; it was $36.00, with a purple dot! Okay, I thought, that changes everything! Time for a second go-around of the store!
The sale really changed the game for me price-wise; things were much more reasonable and were more steals than not. I went into the dressing room with about 10 items; some notable ones were the Missoni dress I mentioned above, a Calvin Klein khaki shirt dress, and an adorable Lily Pulitzer cardigan. I loved a lot of the items, but decided to restrain myself. I ended up coming home with these cute woven oxfords by Hinge:
They normally are around $100, and I got them for $25.
Overall, I think the sale prices really make The Vested Interest a place to stop by. The owners keep a really great selection of clothing, especially if you're into higher-end designers. I think I'll definitely be stopping by in the fall for basic sweaters and shirts.
As a side note, before stopping into a shop I always check the internet for reviews to give me an idea of what people are saying beforehand. I could only find one review of The Vested Interest, which stated that the owner was unpleasant. After my experience I wouldn't use that term - the owner I spoke with, who co-owns with her mother, was fairly pleasant once I started talking to her. I wasn't greeted right away, which would have definitely helped with my understanding of the sale, but I didn't feel that the owner was nasty or hard to deal with at all. Let's just say I've dealt with much worse! If you plan on stopping by, just keep an eye out for the sale sign behind the register as soon as you start shopping.
Today actually happens to be my birthday, (whee!), and as part of my celebration I asked my honey to accompany me on some bargain adventures this weekend. I can't wait to report back with what we find!
Until next time,
xoxo, Bettie
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