THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 30, 1995 TAG: 9507270200
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JENNIFER CHRISTMAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 114 lines
If there is one thing that life on the galleria-free Outer Banks has taught this city slicker, it's that I really, really adore malls.
Really.
And it's not just the shopping - it's the whole sensory phenomenon. My olfactory system craves the sanitary sweetness of fake air. To me, a five-star bistro's gourmet spread could never match the enjoyment factor of grease- and salt-plagued fries from a food court.
Should I wed, I sincerely hope my husband finds a way to occupy himself during our Minneapolis honeymoon while I'm gallivanting with wild abandon through the Mall of America.
But without a local commercial temple in which to nurture my Banana Republic-worshiping soul, I've sought solace in another outlet - thrift stores.
These equal-parts treasure and trash boutiques wink from all stretches of the Beach Road, the Bypass and Roanoke Island. Chock-full of colorful trinkets, vintage garb and nostalgia, the stores provide the same delight of picking through your grandmother's attic or a neighbor's yard sale.
And the stuff comes cheap.
With pure Aretha Franklin soul crackling from a portable radio in A Penny Saved and territories of random baubles and knickknacks to explore, I was ready to get busy.
It was almost sensory overload. Old-time bangles beckoned from the front counter as linens slumped on their shelves in the back. A Hardee's Smurf glass - an object I once held breath for as a youth - mingled with an equally obscure glass of McDonald's has-been dignitary Mayor McCheese.
A Penny Saved sells it all, from housewares to women's wear to toys. The inventory boasts used, functioning coffemakers from $8, plastic cups and action figures starting at 10 cents and ashtrays begining at $1. Clothes range from 50 cents to $20.
Smitten by the delicious stuff, I just had to buy something. I hastily shelled out $1 for a Chia Pet and $10 for a vintage iridescent purple bottle embossed with the likeness of Dwight Eisenhower.
Barbara Jones, who owns A Penny Saved with her stepson Philip, said she opened the store eight months ago out of her own love for combing through thrift stores.
``I discovered them when I had my first child,'' Jones said. ``Things were so expensive, and the stores made things a little easier. I realized I could get some really great things for just a little money.''
Like many thrift stores, Jones operates on a consignment system where people give her what they want to sell. Jones splits the profits with the original owner.
Jones said thrift stores have lost the negative stigma they once had.
``Everyone shops in the stores now - rich, poor, young, old,'' she said.
Next, I visited Kitty Hawk Thrift, Consignment and Antique, two levels crammed with dishes, garments and trifles. The store also vends larger pieces like furniture, mirrors and exercise equipment.
Nostalgia tickled me as I stumbled upon a $5 pair of archaic skates similar to ones I once donned each Wednesday at the roller rink in second grade - blue and yellow sneakers with wheels fastened on the bottom.
Jeannie Steward, who opened the store four months ago, said she too operates on a consignment system.
And like many owners, Steward will bargain with customers, which I discovered upon coveting a groovy 1970s yellow smiley-face cookie jar with the message: Have a Happy Day. The McCoy piece that Steward's grandmother owned was marked $35, but I finagled her down to $30 - still a pricey venture by my newfound thrifty standards.
The final stop on my thrift spree was Hotline Too. The tiny store, which opened in May, is a branch of Outer Banks Hotline Inc., a crisis intervention service that offers phone counseling, a battered women's shelter and a rape response team. All profits from the three thrift stores Hotline operates go to crisis intervention.
Hotline Too was the least expensive of the three stores I picked through. Women's shoes and sweaters cost $2, kids' pajamas cost 75 cents and men's ties and belts cost 50 cents.
Amid the 10-cent toy shovels and cars, I uncovered my favorite find of all - the Game of Life with most of the blue and pink peg people and pretend money still in the box for $1.
You can't get that in a mall. MEMO: THRIFT SHOPS
A Penny Saved
Sea Gate Shopping Center, Milepost 5 1/2 on the Bypass, 441-8024.
Hotline Thrift Shop
Highway 64, Manteo, 473-3127.
Hotline Too
Milepost 8 3/4 Bypass, 441-1244.
Judy's Thrift Shop
303 Highway 64, Manteo, 473-6476.
Kitty Hawk Thrift
Consignment & Antique, Milepost 2 1/2 on the Beach Road, 255-0276.
Merry-Go-Round Thrift Shop
Milepost 9 on the Beach Road, 441-3241.
Nana's Thrift Shop
Milepost 9 on the Beach Road, 441-9185.
Peggy's Next To New
Outer Banks Mall, 441-1655.
Second Hand Rose
Milepost 5 1/2 on Bypass, 441-0352.
Thrift Shop
N.C. 12 next to Waterfall Park in Rodanthe, 987-2656.
The Twila Zone
Milepost 11 1/2 beach road, 480-0399.
Vintage Wave
Caribbean Cornersshopping center, Manteo-Nags Head Causeway,
480-9283. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by DREW C. WILSON
Chris Hassell of Ephrata, Pa., left, and her friend, Maxine Lapp of
Akron, Pa., hunt for a bargain at Kitty Hawk Thrift Consignment and
Antique.
by CNB