Screaming Mimi’s

It’s a neat store, but the owner is INCREDIBLY rude to her patrons, and has no conception of privacy: she is a peeping tom
I came to take a look through their costume stock, and found some fairy wings to try on. I went to take a picture in the mirror, and was told that photos weren’t allowed.
In and of itself, that’s fine I guess. What happened next wasn’t.
At all.
I went to go try on the wings with an outfit I had to change into in changing room. I could hear her whispering to her employees, and soon one of them was right outside the curtain trying to converse with me…
And then the owner started yelling, «She’s taking a picture! I see her, taking a picture!!!»
*blinks*
So, first off, I was not taking a picture. I reached into my bag to check the time.
But moreover:
You’re *SPYING* on your customers — nude in the *DRESSING ROOM*???
It’s one thing to setup inane rules that are bad for business.
It’s quite another to be so hellbent on enforcing then that you violate your customers privacy and consent.

What a great shop! Nice to find truly, quality vintage clothing! Easy to find what you’re looking for and the staff is very helpful. I needed a 70’s outfit for a party, and got a great 2 piece bell bottom outfit! I’m petite, and it fit me like it was custom made! My husband found polyester baby blue bell bottoms, how amazing is that! Got the shirt to match and a pair of white leather slip on shoes. AMAZING!!! Prices are what you would expect (Pants, shirt, 2 pair shoes and my 2 piece outfit cost 300.00) and it’s all quality clothing, not made in China, and a size Medium is really a MEDIUM, not extra small LOL! It was nice to go back in time and see my old fashions of my teen years!

I was very excited to get to shop here, and I found a gorgeous choker necklace from the 50’s that was within my price range. But the first girl I approached treated me like I wasn’t good enough to shop in her store, and ESPECIALLY not good enough to see the 2^nd floor. Hey, I get it, I’m from the South, and I probably looked a little homeless in my t-​shirt and tights, but she also shouldn’t judge a book my its cover. I stood at the jewelry counter for several minutes and the girl looked RIGHT AT ME, obviously seeing that I wanted assistance, and she promptly walked the other way. The 2^nd girl in the store, however, was really friendly and helpful. I’m happy with my purchase, just that one worker really rubbed me the wrong way.

Overpriced.
I do a lot of vintage shopping, especially online. I’m drawn to vintage fur collars, 50’s tweed suits, leather vintage shoes (love me a two-​toned Ferragamo), and white lacy blouses. I have multiples in my closet of all of these things and I love them. I know what prices to expect on sites like Ebay, Etsy and my local vintage and consignment stores.
Screaming Mimi’s had nearly all of the these kinds of items in their store. Unfortunately, even though I enjoyed their very interesting selection, the prices were extremely off-​putting. They were about two to three times as expensive as similar items I’ve bought at other places.
In short, this store is extremely well-​edited and really great for customers who do not want to, or don’t know how to, do their own hunting around. Do your hunting online, however, and you can get the same vintage fur coat or black leather bow shoes for half the price.

Amazing, amazing vintage selection. Whoever is buying and curating these clothes is to be commended. The layout and organization of the store is also on point. Definitely pricey, but it’s understandable.

I’m sorry but this place is a total rip off. I can’t speak to the customer service or selection because I only looked at a couple of items and the prices were triple or quadruple the amount other places charge so I left. Maybe the customer service and selection makes up for charging triple and quadruple more, but I sincerely doubt it. In my opinion this is the place people with too much money go so they can tell their friends they’re wearing «vintage».

A hit or miss kind of store. There are amazing things to look at, but as for actually purchasing an item to wear, you’ve gotta look at EVERYTHING and often come back once or twice a week. I own a few true 50s and 60s era pieces from here and they are some of my most treasured items. The upstairs has some more antique pieces to view. Keep in mind this is a pricier store, but still definitely worth a walk through.

Screaming Mimi’s is a nice shop with friendly staff. It’s pretty expensive, though. I would recommend it to find that special dress (worth it!) rather than for some hardcore thrifting (not worth it!). I thought is was kind of funny that they had some Walmart version of Birkenstock sandals priced the same as the name-​brand and very expensive, $ 60ish. Check labels carefully!

Went here for the first time today and was not disappointed. As a lover of vintage clothing, I’m not sure how I’ve missed this store being a native New Yorker! Sales staff were extremely helpful without being pushy. The reason for the review is that I thought one dress was cheaper then it was. When I wasn’t going to purchase both items and had to choose one, the manager/​owner (not sure of her position) checked if she could lower the cost. She did. She has now acquired a new and loyal customer. Fun place to shop!

Stopped in here after hearing about it for years as one of the best resale shops in the city. The staff was really friendly from the moment we walked in the door and the store is well organized, mostly by decade.
Nothing in the clothes really caught my eye, but it is certainly a less stressful browsing situation than many other resale shops. Accessories upfront had some real gems, no pun intended.
Definitely worth a stop if you’re looking for a unique piece or something from a specific period, or just to enjoy fun eye candy.

Definitely not the place to find cheap vintage items. This thrift shop will rob you blind! They practically sell everything that has been used and abused for retail and above. However, they do have a lot of cool vintage dresses. Just be ready to drop $ 50+ and fork out more money for the tailor shop to fix the flaws.

After visiting this store, I am now able to juggle fire and do handstands. The miracles that have happened on these grounds are uncountable. Wow. Joy reincarnated in clothes.

Amazing vintage store– great selection of clothing and accessories and excellent staff and customer service. The windows are always really cute as well! A great place to go for your Halloween costume!

Very pricey but I love coming in here to look. This store has been in New York for a looonng time…
One of the few 70’s/80’s boutique vintage shops left. The clothes are organized by era too. Friendly staff. Not annoying.

let’s cut the boloney with this vintage nonsense. nine out of ten vintage shops in manhattan are simply thrift stores under the guise of resale and consignment, which is about as vintage as an iPhone 3. in brooklyn, ten out of ten.
SM is in the one out of the ten bunch. it’s legit. clothes are divided by decade with costume pieces set apart in the front by the register. I had a fancy schmancy nye party to attend and this was where the perfect flapper dress was, designed by the same people that brought us the costume design in The Artist. did I buy it? no. it was a surprisingly low $ 350 but i couldn’t justify the purchase for one-​time use.
unlike the dress, there are many smaller items that are perhaps a tad marked up although not really, and only in the accessories category. I bought long white gloves and a teeny tiny blue slip, the total was just over $ 80, and neither of these items are vintage or special in any way.

Incredible selection, one of the cleanest and most organized vintage stops I have been to in the city.
This is real vintatge (not thrift!!! when someone does all the work and hunting for you it costs more!), but little to pricey for my standards. However for the quality and selection I was not too surprised. For any one who lives, breathes, and dreams vintage– this is your kind of spot.
Love how everything is displayed by decade– really makes hunting on a mission easy!
Alice is super sweet! Make sure you say hello to her if you stop in!

Since the owner personally expressed her concern to my last review, I thought I’d give Screaming Mimi’s another shot… and I’m still not impressed.
I am a fan of vintage clothing, more on the hip trends, and although most of the clothes are not my style, they still are vintage to a merit, just overpriced. There are some vintage stores around that sell designer vintage clothes for less so I can’t bring myself to find that most of the items are bargains. I know some of the clothes are retrieved from different periods of time, but I still find the pieces exaggerated on the price. I do like the wide array of clothing, they actually have a lot of stuff here. The ladies were very helpful, I give you that, but doesn’t mean I should spend more than $ 100 on a jacket. So, sorry Laura, but maybe someday, when I’m ready to splurge.

One word — OVERPRICED.
Screaming Mimi’s is nothing special — just your run of the mill vintage place, but for 2x the price. Selection is alright, not a lot of designer stuff. I got a black skirt for sixty bucks. Ridiculous! (but I really wanted it…) As for the customer service — meh. I’m still bitter about my overpriced skirt, so I doubt I will come back.

Screaming Mimi’s is a real unique consignment/​thrift shop in not only is it a vintage shop but they have everything categorized by decade. They do have some stuff for men but naturally the majority is for women. In addition to clothes they have hats, shoes, jewelry, and other accessories. I found the selection to be much better than most places I’ve been to of this kind but the prices are outrageous. For example if you were looking for a girl/​boy scout shirt for a costume, that shirt could be found in a number of other shops in the city for $ 18 – 29 but at Mimi’s that shirt (with the same condition/​quality) is $ 50 – 60. But Mimi’s might be the only place you’ll find the accessory scarf/​tie to go along with that shirt or other items you couldn’t get elsewhere. My suggestion is if you’re a thrifty shopper go elsewhere and if that fails, head on over to Mimi’s.

Fun store to go back to the future or more like, blast to the past.
Has wide range of vintage from classy to funky and flashy in all forms (clothing, accessories, sunglasses) to suit many different ages. Definitely agree with the others that this place is great for finding costume pieces and drag queen garb.
Haven’t been back in a while but still love the purchases I made a while ago. One of them was a ‘40s long sleeve turquoise dress purchased for $ 60.