Pennywise Mystic — knot so loud

As I looked back at my past Christmas memories, I had a realization. For the last 5 years, my Christmas outfits came from Pennywise in Mystic, CT. Pennywise is a high quality consignment store that had been around since 1988. Owned by mother and daughter, they sell women’s clothing, accessories and shoes as well men’s clothing.

When I moved to Connecticut a decade ago, I discovered their shop that was on Cottrell Street (now Mystic Knotwork). I shopped there several times then they closed that shop and moved everything over to the Greenmanville shop across from Mystic Seaport. I shopped there even more when I hit the Lilly Pulitzer phase for a few years.

*Shopping for Kentucky Derby dress in 2016.*

Pennywise sells many great quality and popular brands. They are selective about the brands, as not all will be accepted to be sold in the store. A few of brands I frequent are JCrew, Vineyard Vines, LOFT and Levi’s. Other brands I’ve seen: Madewell, Anthropologie, Banana Republic, Ralph Lauren, Gap and many more. Sometimes the clothing are still brand new with the original tags attached.

The shop is very well organized. It can be overwhelming but it’s easy enough to navigate through. It’s a two story building with mostly women’s clothing and accessories on the first floor. More women’s clothing and men’s clothing are upstairs. Every time I pop in to shop, I check their color sticker sale of the day. For example: red tags are 25% off - if you find a clothing item with a red sticker tag then it is 25% off. They always have two colors each day that are discounted.

*Loved this red Vineyard Vines sweater!*

The prices are reasonable for the designer brands and very affordable for other brands! They really do a great job selecting which clothes they consign - you won’t find any with stains, holes, or weird smell! I’ve always been apprehensive about shopping in thrift stores - secondhand never appealed to me. Pennywise has changed my stance on that but it is the only consignment store I will shop at!

The customer service is always top notch. As I mentioned, it is owned by mother and daughter team. At least one of them is always there each time I popped in. They have always been helpful in locating items I am looking for or for finding things I would want. One time I passed by the shop and spotted a cute coat on the mannequin outside of the shop. I did a U-turn and popped in to ask what size/price it was. I felt bad about making her do all the work taking it off, I was really hoping it was my size… luckily it was! Even better that it was a great price! Hooray!

*The coat I literally bought off the mannequin! (the brown sweater is also from Pennywise).*

A few years after shopping there, I decided to consign my clothes. The system is very effective and easy. I brought in my clothes and they will take 5-10 minutes to sort through and take what will sell in the shop. The clothes will stay on the floor for 6-8 weeks and the unsold will be donated to a charity. A win-win to make a little money and have it donated to appropriate places! The shop keeps 50% of the profits, the consigners will get the other 50%. It’s the best percentage I’ve seen compared to other consignment stores. Also, if you made money - you can request a check on the spot. Otherwise it will stay in the system as store credit which you can use if you buy things.

Time definitely had flew by, it’s hard to believe that I have been shopping at this shop for 10 years now. Does anyone remember Steve the cat? I miss my buddy! He was the shop cat who lived there and would rub up against my leg while I was shopping or he would be napping on the counter. He lived a long life and passed away a few years ago. It’s not the same to pop in there without Steve’s greeting.

Be sure to visit this shop, they have a wide variety of brands and prices for everyone! You will guarantee find something to buy! I love that I unexpectedly made it a Christmas tradition to buy my outfit from there each year. It’s something I’ll have to continue!

Pennywise is located at 22 Greenmanville Ave, across from Mystic Seaport and half mile away from downtown Mystic. If you aren’t local… don’t fret. They started selling online and offer free shipping over $100+. Website can be found here. Happy shopping!