Nancy Coy was working for a soft drink company in Waco when she met a woman looking to franchise a women's consignment clothing store.

Coy was intrigued by the idea, and although the franchise opportunity fizzled out, Coy decided to move to Austin in 2006 and open Restyle, her own women's consignment clothing store.

"This whole thing kind of fell in my lap," she said.

The clothing boutique is far from a traditional thrift store; the business only sells mid-range and higher-end women's clothing that is in near-perfect or perfect condition, Coy said. While Restyle sells vintage clothing on occasion, Coy said the majority of the store's clothing is new and in style.

Restyle separates its inventory by size and color. The clothing categories range from lounge wear and exercise to dresses and tops.

The clothes are seasonal, meaning there is almost entirely new inventory every three months. Also, Restyle has new clothes for sale on a daily basis

"This is probably one of the biggest consignment stores in Austin," Coy said. "It's very neat, clean and orderly."

Coy said she chose to open Restyle in the North Burnet shopping center because there were multiple women's businesses nearby at the time. While the number of women's businesses has since declined, Coy said the area is making a comeback. Special Addition Maternity and Nursing Boutique, for example, opened in the same shopping center in July.

Coy said she was drawn to open a consignment store instead of a traditional retail store because it does not have as many initial challenges. With a consignment store, people bring clothes to her, rather than her searching for clothes.

Coy said her favorite part of the job is putting together the store displays and figuring out how much to price the items that come in.

"It takes a lot of practice doing it to know [what to price items], and I still look things up on the Internet," she said. "But I do enjoy it."

Consignment

Instead of paying people outright for the clothes they bring into the store, Restyle pays a consignor 40 percent of what their clothes sell for inside of the store.

Restyle owner Nancy Coy said people should call before bringing in clothes for possible consignment.

When Restyle's inventory is at capacity, which Coy said happens multiple times throughout the year, the business does not take in any clothing from consignors, Coy said.

"I have to turn away people because we take in too much," she said.

Restyle only takes in clothes that are pressed, clean and on a hanger, Coy said. Shoes must be cleaned and polished, and purses must be cleaned inside and out, she said.

Coy said that people from as far as Waco bring in their clothes and shop at Restyle.

More than clothes

In addition to clothes, Restyle sells purses, shoes, jewelry and belts.

Similar to the clothes sold at the store, the accessories are in at least near-perfect condition and in style, Restyle owner Nancy Coy said.

Most of Restyle's clothing accessories come from consignors. However, Restyle gets most of its jewelry and scarves from market.

Expansion

After being in business for seven years, Restyle owner Nancy Coy opened a second location Aug. 8.

The new store is located in Lakeway at 900 S. RR 620. Coy said she chose to open the second location in Lakeway because there is no women's clothing consignment store nearby.

The last women's consignment clothing store in Lakeway closed about four years ago, Coy said. Coy said she thinks Restyle will do well in the area, and the Lakeway store has a similar layout to the original location. However, the Lakeway location has more designer clothes than the Austin store,

Coy said.

Restyle, 7301 Burnet Road, Ste. 105, 512-407-8861, www.restyleaustin.com

• Hours: Mon.–Fri. 10 a.m.–6:30 p.m.,
• Sat. 10 a.m.–6 p.m.,
• closed Sundays until Sept. 8