Best Antique Store to Buy Jewelry | for Your Girlfriend 2011 | Rare Lion Antiques & Jewelry | Shopping & Services | Phoenix
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Best Antique Store to Buy Jewelry for Your Girlfriend

Rare Lion Antiques & Jewelry

As pop star Neil Sedaka stated in his 1962 hit, breaking up is hard to do. Especially when there are so many ways to win your way back into the affections of your paramour. There are flowers, expensive gifts, heartfelt apologies, and good old-fashioned begging. If you're hoping that jewelry will do the trick, definitely go talk to Michelle Francis over at Rare Lion in Tempe. The antique shop owner has a particular knack for helping clueless Romeos pick out the perfect pendant or necklace as a making-up gift (or perhaps a birthday or Christmas present as well). Inside a pair of glass cases, Francis keeps a vast selection of bangles, baubles, and bracelets, all of which are of the vintage or antique variety. State what your gal's tastes are, and she'll use her sixth sense to figure out what her heart desires most, like maybe a cute pair of marcasite earrings. If things go your way, bub, she also stocks a variety of gorgeous rings that might be aces when popping the question.

Best Place to Find Jadite

Antique Marketplace

We waited 'til the last minute to buy an Easter gift for a friend of ours who collects jadite, that pretty pale green glassware that was so popular in the 1930s (and has been co-opted by Martha Stewart in recent years). We figured, jadite is hot right now, and there's a ton of it out there and it'll be easy to find! We were wrong. And Easter was nigh. After driving around for hours, from one antique shop to the next, we finally landed at Antique Marketplace, located now in its new, cool, and ever-expanding digs at Seventh Avenue and Osborn. We wept to Marketplace owner Joel about our jadite woes, and he got on the horn and, before you could say "old rare dishware!" he'd found a dealer who was selling a really nice handled jadite Fire King toothpaste tumbler. While Joel was on the phone, we wandered around and noticed that Marketplace offers a lot of stuff we never see at other antique shops. Like a whole case full of fully restored vintage telephones. And a gold-rimmed Jeannette glass bowl that we haven't seen anywhere other than on eBay. And a shelf full of vintage seltzer dispensers in every shade of blue. Clearly, this is the best place to find that rare collectible you're looking everywhere for.

Best Boutique Thrift Store

Flo's on Seventh

Why can't every thrift store in town be like Flo's? We have to keep reminding ourselves, when we shop here, that we're in a second-hand shop — because the merchandise is all so upscale and everything is so neatly displayed and organized. But the prices remind us, every time. Fine china for a fraction of what you'd pay new (or at any local antique shop, for that matter); flatware and window treatments and throw rugs — and all of it either new or new-ish. Vast racks of like-new clothing, all of it laundered and pressed and looking and smelling as good as new. And while we'd never accuse Flo of swiping anything, we wonder where all those rows of brand new shoes (men's and women's!) came from — all priced at a steal!

Best Non-Boutique Thrift Store

Goodwill

People who hoard — whether it be inexpensive designer duds or cool old books and records — flock to this not-for-profit treasure trove way out on the west side. On our last trip, we found a first-edition John Irving novel, a pair of still-sealed Dean Martin record albums, and an honest-to-gosh Ralph Lauren dinner jacket, and paid less than 30 bucks for the whole bundle. The friendly, more-than-helpful staff here are always willing to help shoppers find what they're looking for and have even been overheard hinting at when all the best sales happen and the new stock goes out. No wonder people all over the land live surrounded by giant piles of their belongings, so many of them procured from Peoria's clean, well-stocked Goodwill store.

Best Thrift Store for Vintage Glassware

Sun Health Resale Shop

We shouldn't admit this, but we've lately become obsessed with vintage glassware. Pressed-glass punch bowls; gold-rimmed Jeannette Glass fruit bowls; Depression glass, and anything Anchor Hocking — we can't get enough. And we're blaming Sun Health Resale Shop for fueling our addiction, because we find more old hostess sets and 1950s foil-trimmed Chas Hall tumblers here than in most other thrift stores around — and believe us, we've been to them all! Our last haul included a Libbey Glass cocktail set from 1946 (still in the box), and a shoebox full of crystal highball glasses etched with our initial on them — what are the chances? They're greater at this great place for turning up glassware treasures.

Best Thrift Store That Was Never Meant to Be a Thrift Store

Eclectic Monkey Emporium (formally Good Thrift)

Located on Main Street in Mesa, this thrift store not only offers funky cool finds, it does good for the local community. The store was never meant for the public. It was created as a place for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault to shop, free of charge. But with so many donations and knocks on the door from residents wanting to shop, Eclectic Monkey swung open its doors to all. Be sure to head all the way to the back to visit the man cave, filled with bike and car parts and hip menswear. The ladies have their own space, too, filled with vintage dresses, round couches, and a chandelier.

Best Places to Find Yard Sales

Sun City and Sun City West

Why? Because old people have cool stuff, dude. Do your research on www.craigslist.com and www.yardsalesearch.com and make your way out to Sun City and Sun City West for the treasure hunt of a lifetime. The Sun Cities are home to retirees from across the nation, and when they're ready to part with their wares, the finds can range from World War II memorabilia to handcrafted furniture to other collectibles. Not to be crass, but keep an eye out for estate sales — that usually means there's an open house and everything is up for grabs.

Best Used Clothing for Kids

Hissyfits

This place for pint-size shopping is packed but organized —by boys and girls and, then, by size. There is also room, somehow, for toys and gear. The store décor is cute and makes the shopping experience fun. The prices are a steal and, yes, the place is jam-packed. But if you are a picker and like to dig for a deal, this is your place.

Best Alternative to Last Chance

Dillard's Clearance Center

It took a while, but we finally grew tired of the frantic, often bitter crowds and the harried help at Last Chance, and have renewed our former fondness for Dillard's Clearance Center, which is now located at Metrocenter on the east side. Neatly arranged racks of clothing, some of it very current and season-appropriate, are the order of the day here. Weekly unadvertised sales that knock up to 75 percent off of the already reduced prices make us feel like members of a special club, and we dig the impressive shoe department, arranged by size and style (rather than just tossed onto racks in piles, like at other clearance stores). Deeper discounts can be had from special racks of dresses and skirts priced as low as $4.99, and the menswear department always has a huge selection of name-brand and designer suits starting at ridiculously low prices. We're going back!

Best Teen Girls Clothing Store Where Grown-Up Gals Can Shop

Urban Angels

If you want a trendy piece but don't want to have to venture into an indoor mall, visit the teen-style store Urban Angels at Tempe Marketplace. It carries a little bit of everything, including T-shirts, dresses, jammies, and accessories of all kinds. Find a small piece to add a trend to your wardrobe or go all out with a show-stopping dress. Why leave all the good stuff for kids?

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