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Christina
Nestor goes through a box of clothes brought in by Azalia Hawkey for
consignment. CNO Photo by George Starks
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Christina’s... A
unique place to shop
By George Starks
GREENVILLE - Christina Nestor has always catered to others in her
consignment business. Having spent many years outside of Greenville, on
St. Rt. 121 by the fairgrounds, Nestor moved Christina’s Consignment to
Broadway. Nestor’s business deals with women but not just any women.
“All my clothes are for plus size women only,” said Nestor “I was
always told when you get to Broadway, you’ve made it. On 121, I had no
walk-ins. Here, people who live six blocks away can walk in. They
couldn’t do that in my old location. There‘s much more traffic here
than there was out there. I could sit out there for an hour or hour and
a half with no customers. Here, there is someone in here almost all the
time.”
So why just plus size clothes for women?
“I weighed 420 pounds at one time and clothes were hard for me to find
and when you‘re that big, you have to butt two pieces of the same item
and sew them together. That‘s just how it is,” Nestor said. “If you go
into some stores, you might find two or three racks of clothes for plus
sized women and it‘s very expensive if you do find clothes you like.
Here, I have over 30 racks of clothes to choose from and things come in
all the time. Plus sizes are growing and it‘s getting better and easier
to find them. When you do find something you like (somewhere else), the
prices are outrageous. Here, the prices are very reasonable and my
motto is, ‘ladies helping ladies‘ and that‘s just how it is. So we take
clothes sized 16 and over.”
While the clothes are all plus sizes, Christina’s has more than clothes.
“We have accessories for all women,” Nestor pointed out. “I have
handbags, jewelry, perfume and wallets. These things fit everybody no
matter what size you are.”
When one walks through the door, it’s obvious something is different
just by the smell of the season.
“My store is like no other store. When you walk through the door, the
first word out of your mouth is, ‘wow’,” Nestor exclaimed. “It looks
like a department store but this is not my store, it belongs to all the
ladies that shop here. I want them to be comfortable and I want them to
look good and the better it smells and the better it looks, the more
they will shop the more they will find. Right now, it smells like fall
in here and it’s a pleasant smell. Smell is a very strong sense and it
can be an attention getter.”
Nestor has a suggestion for all women.
“If you’re looking for something in particular, come here first. You’re
not out of anything if you do,” Nestor stated. “If you’re on a fixed
income or you need extra Christmas or medicine money, come here.
Everyone has things in their home they don’t need anymore. If you bring
in items and they don’t sell, you can have them back. If you don’t want
it back, it goes to homeless shelters, fire victims, pregnancy centers,
anyone I can help. That’s where it goes first.”
Every 15 days, shoppers will see a 98 cent sign in front of the store.
“We have a 98 cent sale every 15 days,” Nestor said. “What happens
there is clothes that have been here two months and you don’t want the
items you gave me back, then I will try to sell them for 98 cents. What
doesn’t sell, goes to one of the charities I mentioned.”
Nestor said she gets people in by the bus loads from many other states,
ranging from New York to Georgia and Florida including Washington D.C.
If you want to visit Christina‘s Consignment’s and you can‘t get there,
she has a answer for that.
“Call me and make an appointment, maybe for a Sunday afternoon and I
will open up,” Nestor said. I’m here to cater to others.”
Christina’s Consignments is located at 421 S. Broadway, next to the
Kitchen Aid Experience and her phone number is 937-548-7147. You can
also email her at christina.consignment@yahoo.com.
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Christina
Nestor shows one of her many clothing items for women in plus sizes.
CNO Photo by George Starks
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