Sep 13, 2009

A store for second chancesBy Rowena VergaraSuburbanChicagoNews.com

Just off Eola Road and New York Street in Aurora, there’s a shop where women looking for name brands and custom-made baskets of gourmet food can get a real deal.

Called Boutique Repeats and Gifts, it isn’t the easiest store to spot. Some may be surprised it’s actually there.

The unassuming storefront is tucked into a strip mall near a tanning salon and nail salon. The store’s business card even describes it as “behind McDonalds.”

In addition to selling gifts, the store also is a consignment shop. Walk in and you’ll find women from Naperville to Sugar Grove giving up barely used Coach and Dooney and Bourke purses, or Banana Republic suits that have seen the working world maybe once or twice.

At the same time, you’ll find women from all over town scouring gently used Chicos, Ann Taylor, Brooks Brothers tops and bottoms, all to save themselves a few bucks.

But there’s another mission at Boutique Repeats and Gifts that a lot of people don’t know about. When the shoppers walk away with their bargains, the register stops ringing and the parking lot empties out, that’s when this shop really comes to life.

It’s after-hours when women like 19-year-old Esmeralda Piña are welcomed in to peruse the store. To feel beautiful and young again.

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