Teen helps shape resale trends

Nicole D’Arcangelo picked out a pair of shimmery blue spandex pants, a gaudy gold plastic jacket and a billowy top that sported those colors and dozens more at a Savers store in Mesa.

“I don’t know if I’d wear them together,” the Scottsdale teen said of her startling selections as she browsed the packed resale racks.

Or if she’d even wear them as is. “I cut stuff up and change it,” she said.

To illustrate the point, D’Arcangelo spotted a long, kitschy skirt but saw instead a strapless dress, with a few snips and a few stitches and something — probably not an item as commonplace as a belt — that could cinch it at the waist.

D’Arcangelo, 17, represents a new breed of fashion trendsetters who prowl thrift stores and assemble whole wardrobes from their cheap finds.

She was chosen as one of six young “ReDesigners” by Savers, a nationwide chain of resale shops.

The ReDesigners represent Savers at special functions, in blogs, newsletters, ads and in-store events, and they interface with online design groups through a ReDesigners MySpace site, said company spokeswoman Stephanie Watts.

The idea, Watts said, is for the thrifty fashion lovers to show other people how to become style leaders on a budget.

And, of course, to boost business at Savers.

The teens make shopping at the once-shunned resale shops hip and have spawned a fast-growing trend, she said.

“In thrift stores, teenagers are our fashion ambassadors,” Watts said.

“Several years ago, fashion magazines told them vintage is cool and the way to find vintage is at thrift stores,” she said.

“From 13 to the early 20s, it’s a big craze. They’ve turned it into creativity. They buy old shoes and handbags, then paint them, embellish them, put funky stuff on them. It’s unbelievable what they put together. They are darned clever.”

D’Arcangelo and her five ReDesigners peers start rather than follow trends, Watts said.

“This generation doesn’t want to look like each other,” she said.

Reusing somebody’s discards also fits with the younger generation’s environmental concerns, Watts said.

D’Arcangelo said she thinks of herself as a fashion leader, and clearly has one of the key characteristics of the breed — she likes what she wears and doesn’t care if anybody else does.

“I like jeans and outlandish T-shirts. I like conservation, and I like a lot of the old things you can’t find in a (traditional) store,” she said as she picked up a pair of nondescript shoes and considered how they would look if she decorated them with lots of buttons.

D’Arcangelo’s special role in the group is as Savers Halloween spokeswoman, Watts said.

The annual fright night is the chain’s biggest retail holiday of the year.

And in the spring, the Scottsdale teen and her five fellow ReDesigners — along with their favorite thrift-store finds — will be featured in a national promotion.