There are more than enough stores catering to fickle fashionistas who want to
purge last year’s dos-turned-don’ts for cash or trade, but some establishments
are too picky or stingy, not to mention the fact that most younger buyers actually
think of ’80s stuff as vintage. Scary. We’ve been having a bit more luck recycling
our ill-advised purchases and grooved-out retro frocks outside of the Hollywood
bubble lately, namely at the Buffalo Exchange in Sherman Oaks (14621
Ventura Blvd., 818-783-3420). Not only does Buffalo take our cast-offs, but
because the Hollywood hipster quotient is lower than at its La Brea store, we
actually find new (well, new to us) stuff we want, like vampy Valley-girl staples
such as velour loungewear from Juicy Couture and cutesy Paul Frank T’s featuring
cartoon mascot Julius, the most sought-after monkey since Curious George, at less
than half the retail tag.

For sounds, similarly great deals can always be found at Amoeba Music (6400
Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, 323-245-6400). We always feel bad when bands/artists
we know personally have the shame of being banished to the supercheap, can’t-give-it-away
“buy-three-get-one-free” bins. We rarely feel remorse about our own trade-ins,
however, since they’re usually promos from the likes of Hilary Duff (who actually
had the number-one-selling release in the country when we brought it in — astounding).
You’d expect the stereotypical record-store-clerk snobbery from a staff with this
many tats and hair hues, but we’ve never dealt with it, not even when we bought
George Michael’s Faith.

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