Gina’s Closet, A High-End Consignment Shop, Opens In Seymour

Lisa Marie Cipriano of Seymour has been consignment shopping all her life, specifically for designer brands. She would waste hours in local consignment shops sorting through the ​“junk” and digging for the ​“designer treasures.” 

“I’ve always loved shopping and fashion,” Cipriano said. ​“My mother was the one to get me into consigning when I was younger as another way to shop around.”

Now Cipriano and her mother, Anne Marie Del Toro of Oxford, co-own Gina’s Closet, a new, high-end consignment boutique in Seymour on 223 West St. The ribbon cutting ceremony was held at the boutique’s grand opening on Jan. 18.

“I wanted to bring Fairfield County into the Valley,” Cipriano said. ​“It’s more of a consignment boutique, where you don’t have to do that digging process, everything is on clean racks and organized.”

It’s a 50 – 50 consign agreement with their customers. That means the business will split the profits equally with their consignors.

Gina’s Closet is different from other consignment shops because it focuses on high-end brands, Del Toro said.

“We want to be different,” Del Toro said. ​“We only accept women’s and girls’ clothing of high-end designers.”

Designers they accept, but aren’t limited to: Michael Kors, Coach, Gucci, True Religion, Calvin Klein, Ann Taylor, Chico’s and Abercrombie and Fitch. Cipriano wants her customers to feel a high-end rush when they’re shopping.

The name of Gina’s Closet originated from Cipriano’s sister, Gina, who passed away five years ago and was into fashion herself.

“Growing up, Gina and Lisa would always sneak into each other’s closets and wear each other’s clothes,” Del Toro said. There was always a sibling rivalry around who had the best wardrobe.

Cipriano wanted to remember her sister and said that naming the consignment boutique after her would be a good way to honor her memory. Around Gina’s Closet are pictures, as a way to keep Gina in the store, along with a picture of Gina’s 13-year-old son, Kevin Miller, who lives in Naugatuck with his father.

Cipriano has been working alongside her mother and employee Alexa Rykowski since November to get the boutique ready for opening. 

Through the years, consignment stores have been appearing more frequently around towns in Connecticut.

Nowadays people are trying to stretch their dollars as far as they can, so consignment shopping is on a steady rise, Del Toro said.

According to USA Today, Britt Beemer the founder and chairman of America’s Research Group has studied consignment shopping and said, ​“Twenty percent of people shop in thrift stores regularly, compared with about 14 percent in 2008.”

Del Toro has been in retail all her life, with previous management experience at Casual Corner and Ann Taylor.

Cipriano decided to open Gina’s Closet in Seymour because after living in Fairfield County, she missed her family and friends and the community feel of living in the Oxford-Seymour area.

“This location has a little bit of everything,” Cipriano said. ​“It’s a very family-orientated community and I wanted the store back home.”

For more information, call (203) 463‑8048.