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Category: Used, Vintage & Consignment [Edit]
Neighborhood: Wicker ParkDamen (Blue)
Mon-Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Somehow I haven't been to their original location yet, but I did stop by the new one and found it to be a feast for the eyes. Lovely decor and plenty of fun things to browse through. The woman working there (who I believe was the owner) was extremely sweet, too!
As this was my last stop on an extensive shopping extravaganza, I was flat broke, but lately I've been in the mood to go vintage/thrift shopping so I'm definitely going to pay them another visit!
This location of Lenny and Me concentrates on vintage home furnishings. They've recently opened a location further down Milwaukee for their vintage clothes (and it is GREAT).
I love to come here and browse the vintage goodies. But a lot of their furniture is not priced well. For example, I was drawn to this blue and white velvet sofa. I noticed that some of the velvet was noticeably worn, and some of the white areas were a bit dirty. The price was listed at $500, which is too much for upholstery with that much wear and tear.
In contrast, they had a great brown velvet sofa - upholstery quality was great but the seat cushions were sort of broken down - for $350. That's more appropriate for a piece of furniture that obviously needs work.
Additionally, their dressers and tables seem to have big variations in price. It's almost as though whoever is doing the pricing assigns each piece's value in accordance to what the store paid to acquire it - so if they paid a bit too much for it, they raise the price and charge even more, or if they got it on the cheap, the price is just right.
In sum, the buyer has a great eye... but I do, too, and Craigslist is more affordable.
This is definitely one of my favorite thrift places in the city. A fabulous collection of retro wares, including clothes (which the owner is starting to phase out) and, best of, furniture. Seriously, I could gladly furnish my entire apartment in one shopping trip (if I weren't a broke college student).
This place is consistently fanfreakingtastic!
They've certainly got an eye for some really retrotastic finds...I'll give them that. If I had a bazillion dollars, this is just the kind of store I'd open. All fantasy-like...but, I'd go to a neighborhood where the rent wasn't sky high so I could keep my prices in the range of "middle class" affordable.
Ie; remember the cherry red cowboy boots I bought for $20 last week at Brown Elephant on Halsted? Well, their twin pair was sitting in Lenny & Me for...$80. Dresses (that are NOT drycleaned prior to sale) for $40-$75. Shoes starting at $35. Furniture is off the charts. $400 for an arm chair? Um, no.
So, here's the thing...if you've got some patience, and a good eye for something fabulous and vintage, just scour the thrift stores and save yourself the 100+ percent markup you'll find here. Or, if you don't have the time...then you get what you pay for: someone else doing it for you!
Stars for interior design, I love the hanging umbrellas from the ceiling, and there really are some fabulous pieces...I just think they are cruelly overpriced, and that the sales associates are too busy fixing their hair and playing on the computer to say hello.
So, hello Lenny & Me, something's gotta give. The prices or get nicer people who want to help me find something. Pick. :)
Love the stuff though. Love, love, love.
Attention all vintage whores - if you haven't been to Lenny and Me yet, you are doing yourself a serious disservice. Everything in this shop is so damn adorable. It was once a smallish, fairly cramped consignment shop but thanks to a recent move a few doors down into the old Brown Elephant space, it's now huge and spacious.
They have quality clothes at reasonable prices and (gasp!) unlike many other thrifty vintagey ventures, I've actually been able to find clothes here that FIT me. Hoo-ray. The selection ranges from designer to garage sale, vintage to "how did that cheap H&M dress get in there?" - it's hit or miss but so far I've had more hits than misses. In addition to clothes, Lenny and Me also has a large selection of furniture, housewares, and knickknacks.
Things I have gotten here:
-vintage dresser (complete with original liner paper!)
-super cute 60s style flour and sugar canisters
-my new favorite "this looks like it came from a 70s couch" gold wool dress, making its debut at the Yelp holiday party tomorrow
If you're looking for reasonably priced unique items, Lenny and Me is a good place to start!
Honestly, I've never purchased anything in this store! But that's just how much I love it anyway...whenever I'm walking down Milwaukee and its open (which is frequent) I just stop in and look at everything. Its more than just a vintage clothing store, its high quality items. Also, they sell shoes, jewelry, nick-nacks, furniture, glasses, dishes, kitchen stuff...
Its set up like a boutique store almost, so you know you're getting quality items. Even if you're not in the market to buy anything, just stop in and look around!
There's some cool stuff in here among the overpriced junk. However, I was extremely disappointed to discover they DO NOT CLEAN their merchandise before attempting to sell it.
I found a really cute cloche, but it was dirty. Makeup all over the lining and on top. Considering the price high, I asked if they would be willing to discount based on the condition because it would need to be professionally cleaned. No go. Excuse being that it "just came in two days ago." Is that an excuse for not cleaning it? Or at least mark the item 'as is'.
Having friends in the vintage clothing business, they continually have problems keeping merchandise in sell-able condition. They also know how to negotiate.
If you can head there before it closes, you are likely to find some unusual and creative additions to your wardrobe. It was/is pricier than other resale shops, but the crap in most consignment stores is weeded out. You can actually find cool pieces especially if you stop in frequently like me. The last time I was in everything was marked down 35% off. I bought a beautiful bright yellow floral camisole and a Chloe silk blouse for under $50. Nice.
Very disappointing to see another local business closed on Milwaukee. Certainly it will become Lacoste or Juicy or some other shitty chain boutique.
Eh. I'm guessing this store is hit or miss, but Lenny and Me just didn't do it for me. I almost settled on a cuteish purple dress just to buy something, but ended up putting it back on the rack and continuing my shopping journey elsewhere on Milwaukee.
I would possibly come back to get rid of some stuff in my closet...the sales woman said it's consignment so they sell it first and then it's a 40/60 split.
I'm completely guilty of passing by this place for over 2 years, then a couple of months ago I just happened to feel the urge to stop in. I honestly think i've passed over it b/c nothing about Lenny & Me's windows says it's different than any of its neighboring thrift/consignment stores.
Nevertheless, I find it extremely hard to believe that anyone can leave here empty handed. There is a ton of stuff to look through!
The buyers bring in a tasteful selection of vintage and current labels. I agree that some of the items may be a little over-priced, but when I was there the sales associate (possibly owner) was generous enough to help me meet my budget. I've found all of the sales associates to be genuinely kind women.
Not the cheapest vintage store in town, but arguably with the best and most stylish selection. I have had varied experiences with the staff: my first time was warm and helpful the second time a bit cold, the third time generally friendly. Honestly, I don't need to have staff all up in my grill asking me if I need help, so I don't really care how friendly they are.
The selection is great, particularly the women's clothes (though women with a little bit of junk in the trunk - and I'm not even talking overweight necessarily) may find that a lot of the stuff runs small, but that's just vintage for ya.
Get on the e-mail list; they seem to have a new sale every other weekend. And check out the jewelry, they've got really unique and cute stuff, just like their clothes.
Hurray! Lenny & Me is NOT closing. And they will stay in their same location.
I just called today to check on when I'd need to pick up my consignment items and they are not going anywhere.
I love this place. I've been consigning and shopping here since they were over on Damen. This is not your typical Wicker Park consignment store, they are much more discerning and interesting. (Gaultier, Rykiel, vintage Gucci, crazy Bob Mackie!) It's not trendy? Good!
You'll actually find unique pieces here that can make even your American Apparel leggings-and-tube socks stand out.
This is my first review I hope you like! I'm a recent wicker park fanatic, I love everything about wicker park: the food, the shops, the style of the people in the area, and everyone is very friendly to me when I go, I spend a lot of money there they dawn well should be! Anyway, I read about Lenny & Me on http://yelp.com and wanted to give it a go.
I love it!! I'm going there tomorrom again! I bought a lot of cute stuff: a shirt from Turkey, a Doigt Piete shirt, a super cute Paul Frank yellow messanger bag, and a cute plaid tote bag!! What a haul! All for $73 dollars, I don't know if that was a great deal or not but I love everything I bought. I got great customer service but at first the sales girl didn't talk to me at first, but she was sick and and could hardly speak.
I love Lenny & Me, I'd recommend it to anyone.
Did you see anything cute in the store photos?
Me neither.
Lenny and Me is a hit or miss really. But that's any consignment store really =)
I can go in here and be totally bummed because I didn't find anything and then I can walk in and score big!
I say make the stop if you're in the area and like vintage clothing!
I feel like, as i get older- i probably wont want to search all day for things at gross thrift stores. I'd probably come here as a cooler, 30 something because as a vintage loving, 20 something... i cant really afford to shop here all the time. They do have a good selection, but i'm young enough to think that i can still find them at thrit stores. How does selling clothes here work?
Edit- I totally JUST had a dream last night about the asian girl with the short hair that works here ( and went to my school). She told me in my dream....come to my store, employees get 50% off! I'll let you use my discount. It was just a dream though.
I'm going to to talk about Lenny and me from the point of view of a disgruntled seller, so don't get me wrong. The people there are super nice, and I'm sure you can find some great find IF you dig hard enough, but as a seller, you would have to constantly call back to ask if you actually SOLD anything. I left 4 items there since February and received NO WORD, I guess their off to the dumpster by now.....
p/s: I had better luck selling at Crossroads, where they pay you right away instead of having to wait until your stuff sells......
they've got great product if you really dig. but it's so overpriced! i love how the owner takes the time to write cute comments on the price tags but for the love of god you need to be more reasonable with the prices: not all of this is couture!
yes, it's re-sale but they have some very unique pieces. I got a couple really cute tops and a glass bead necklace on a cool wire chain for a really good price. The owner is very personable and nice.
Lots of cute stuff, but the selection is very bizarre. Some of the stuff is really fab but the pricing is bizarre and there doesn't seem to be a cohesive theme for what they buy. I found an adorable vintage suit next to a hideous Bebe top that still had the tags on. Confusing, yes. If you're going to spend this much, you might as well go whole hog and shop at US #1 down the block.
I consistently make $ selling clothes on consignment here each season. I raid my partner's closet for his unwanted jeans and sweaters... ;-) And shopping here is great too - I once scored a pair of Manolo Blahniks for $50!!
I haven't been to Lenny and Me in a few years, but I love places like this and I totally support them in the marketplace.
With a friendly staff and killer selection this place sets itself apart from the other second hand stores in Wicker Park. They always have the perfect shirts, decent pants, and cool accessories. The women's selection trumps the men's like crazy but that just reflects how most of the stores are in the area. Their stock is changing all of the time so going back frequently doesn't hurt. Expect to pay significantly more than you would in a thrift store as the clothes are the cream of the crop.
All consignment/thrift stores are hit or miss. But the ratio of hits to misses at Lenny and Me has been really good. Just about every time I go in there I find something I really want and end up loving ever after. And when I can't find what I want I don't feel bad walking out empty-handed because I know there are like 10 other resale places nearby.
this used to be one of my favorite stores when i lived in chicago. i used to go there to score gently used designer jeans and stuff from topshop. check out the sale racks in the back, that is easily where the best deals are. they have a nice mixture of contemporary consignment and actual vintage items. the staff can be snobby but it depends i guess. they don't require an appointment to take clothes, but they are PICKY. i usually take the leftovers to buffalo exchange.
Lenny and Me is a cute store, but I couldn't find much. Seemed overpriced for consignment but it smelled better than most of the other resale shops on Milwaukee. They did have some interesting furniture pieces that I would have liked to cop but the salesperson said the owner just put them out and hadn't priced them yet. Come on-- don't put it out if you haven't figured out your mark up yet! To the salesperson's credit, she did call me that night to give me prices, but I wasn't going to head back out in that weather. I'll stop in again when in the area but don't plan on making it a destination.
Their clothes have some character. This store is fun!
I love this place. The best selection, the best prices. And the staff is so fun.
I don't vintage shop, but this one I do like. It doesn't stink and they have designer and vintage designer pieces. You can even consign your cute clothes for cash-money or trade. (btw to get cash, you have to wait 3 months.)
This is a great little store with used clothes and accessories for both men and women. I found a couple great shirts here. However, because things are more meticulously hand-picked, the prices are much higher than most used stores. If they have exactly what you want, though, it's worth it.
I've long been a shopper at some of the other vintage stores dotting Milwaukee, but inexplicably, I had never been into Lenny & Me until a friend encouraged me to check it out. And I'm so glad that I did! Whereas some of the other vintage stores in the 'hood specialize in the very glamourous vintage of yesteryear, Lenny & Me has a very well-edited mix of truly wearable pieces. In true vintage fashion, sizes are all over the place (tried on a small, as well as a 12), but fitting rooms allow you to try on as much as you please. On a recent trip, I was taken by a sheer cobalt blue designer top, a sequined tank dress, and 60s-print minidress, but ended up walking out with a truly exquisite green-gold-brown tweedy winter jacket with fur collar, for the ripe price of $40. Staff here is blessedly without some of the pretension that can rule the 'hood, offering up authentic compliments as nice as the selection in the store.
The first time I walked into this store, I could not identify the person who worked there as I was greeted with no friendly hello or welcome. The girl who apparently worked there looked like she was a customer shopping around the store. Then after a few minutes of browsing with still no greeting, the hipster girl went behind the counter, I finally got the hint that she worked there. I needed directions somewhere, proceeded to ask her, and got the snobbiest response I have ever gotten from anyone in my entire life as she pointed me out the door, as if I was not cool enough to be standing her presence. It was ridiculous. Not only is the staff that I experienced offensive and unfriendly, that store is a crappy thrift store masquerading as a designer boutique, with used shoes that were probably bought at a garage sale and marked up to $40! Maybe I just had a bad experience, but I was so outraged that I joined this thing just to tell people about it.
Neighborhood: Wicker Park
Category: Used, Vintage & Consignment
Neighborhood: Wicker Park
Category: Used, Vintage & Consignment
Neighborhood: Wicker Park
Category: Used, Vintage & Consignment
Neighborhood: Wicker Park
Category: Used, Vintage & Consignment
Neighborhood: Wicker Park
Category: Used, Vintage & Consignment
everything I love so close together...only in my…
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