The New Year tends to bring more beauty — and stuff — into our homes and closets, but to truly appreciate the new, or even find where we put it, we need to let go of the old. Let someone else appreciate that amazing black sequin dress you’ll probably never wear again.
Walker/Viden, an 8-month-old luxury consignment shop on East Green Street, can help you do that and they really want those special, hard-to-let-go-of gems that hide in your closet. In fact, they’ll pay you 25 to 30 percent of what they plan to get for each item, and they can afford to take their time until the right buyer is found.
They do this not only through their Pasadena location but also three eBay stores they manage online that connect them with global customers, particularly in Australia and Canada.
If you shop in Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Barney’s New York or Harrods and have an interesting, iconic piece in great condition, they can probably sell it for you.
Styles in demand include motorcycle jackets, patent leather, knee-high boots, animal prints, pencil skirts, maxi dresses, unworn high-end lingerie (bustiers, corsets), fringe, metal mesh, lace, and anything that laces up. Bright colors, vintage denim, velvet shoes and accessories (bags, belts, scarves, hats, gloves) are always in, too.
It also helps if the item still has the original tags, packaging, receipt, hanging bag or branded box, and shoes must be like new, meaning no toe prints.
High-profile items (such as jewelry, luggage or Luis Vuitton and Channel handbags) typically sell in less than a week, so Walker/Viden snatches them up when they can. Same goes for brands such as Hermes, Dolce & Gabana, Versace, Alexander McQueen, Prada, Fendi and H&M Collection. Go to www.walkerviden.com for the complete list of preferred brands.
Of course, once you enter Walker/Viden, it’s going to be hard to leave without buying something. The impeccable showroom, arranged by color and length, reflects the refined tastes and merchandizing experience of Jennie Walker and Addy Viden, who started the store together last August, a plan they hatched after a mere month of knowing each other as neighbors.
For co-founder Walker, it’s like her whole life has been priming her for this. A former New Yorker who developed her style and love for classic black through 16 years in Manhattan, Walker grew up around consignment shops — her mother’s career — and always carried a torch for the art of buying and selling one-of-a-kind fashion, which she did for a while from her home.
Walker also worked as a charity fundraising consultant for high-profile clients such as the Rockefellers and President Jimmy Carter and eventually started her own lifestyle brand called JennieGirl, through which she helps professionally style people for photo shoots, stage performances and special events. Walker has dressed women and men for the Grammy’s, Sundance, New York Fashion Week, etc., pulling from her own inventory.
An artist through and through, Walker has even recorded music with top producer Tommy Faragher and continues to perform live on Friday nights at a local open mic (the location of which we won’t reveal, just so you have to stop by in person, introduce yourself and ask).
Be prepared for partner Viden, clearly European, to indulge you in witty reparte over a midday glass of red wine and some popcorn, or invite you to coffee or tea while he strums his guitar from the sidewalk table. The good energy, beautiful clothes and incredible local paintings hanging on the walls — which are also for sale (original oils or $30 prints) — make it hard to leave, but you should go in anyway just for the smile.
While you’re there, sign up for their special-events newsletter. The Walker/Viden duo have big plans, including starting their own brand of clothing line. Expect to hear a lot more about them soon.
Walker/Viden is located at 1033 East Green Street in Pasadena. For more information, call (626) 844-9244.
