Fashionistas, rejoice: quirky used clothing store Buffalo Exchange is opening its second Seattle shop in the Ballard Square mall June 20. That means you can buy, sell, and trade garbs somewhere other than the clusterfuck that is the U District. It’s an awesome addition to the Ballard neighborhood, which for many years has been in desperate need of a high-quality and affordable clothing store. But the store is by no means without flaws. As my colleague Sara put, it often comes off like a “high class thrift store for hipsters.” I’ve always been curious about the store’s selection process. How are employees trained to select clothing that is suitable for selling? What sort of background do you have to have? Is it a rule that you have to be snooty? (Okay, to be fair, some of the employees are absolutely lovely. But I’ve come across my fair share of assholes, too.) My last visit to Buffalo Exchange was a few weeks ago. I was recently gifted two brand new American Apparel dresses–they run about $50 apiece–that unfortunately, looked sad on me, thanks to my severe lack of boobage. I tried to sell them and the store clerk gave me a pitying look and said, “These are a little too worn-in for us.”Huh? They were brand fucking new. Nice job, twit. Here’s hoping Ballard’s store will have more brains working behind the counter.
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