Marlene’s Boutique

I go into Marlene’s once in a while not nearly as often as I would like. I do agree that the store needs a serious facelift. The lighting is awful and not placed properly. You can’t see the clothing well. She does carry a lot of nice things but doesn’t present as a particularly high end nor does she want to. She seems to take a myriad of items some run of the mill stuff that I don’t need to go to a consignment shop to buy.
Interestingly enough in her dressing room she has a sign that indicated customers are prohibited from changing prices on items. The price is what she has in her computer. I am guessing that she has had issues with this. Given the tags have no UPS to scan, a customer could easily change the price.
She also doesn’t seem to be up on what sells. Surprisingly i have seen beaded dresses and styles of items that are no longer in vogue – maybe 20 years ago but not know. No one is going to buy a sequined dress or beaded dress nowadays yet she has them to consign.
Overall nice items but some are not worth buying in a consignment shop. The kind of stuff you can find in dress barn etc… The idea of the consignment shop is to perhaps get better quality goods at a reduced price… I find often times while she has a lot of nice things there is a disproportionate amount of items that are not anything special.
After reading the other reviews. I will never consign with this shop. It does appear that she may be less then forthcoming on this end.

Lots of nice clothes here, but the people were a little cold. Didn’t get a hello or any acknowledgement when I walked in, tons of signs saying you can’t walk around the store with merchandise. Bought a LBD for about $ 22. Not a bad deal, but also nothing spectacular.

I have been a customer of Marlene’s for years and always found great items at decent prices. In general, the quality of items is good. Unfortunately, I’m not writing this review as a buyer, rather a consignor. I took a number of items ranging from high-​end designer to mall brands. I had read a negative review prior to consigning, but I like to make my own decisions. Sadly, the other reviewer was spot on.
When I originally dropped off my items, I was given a slip of paper to fill out and sign. This is all the paperwork you receive and you do not get to keep a copy of it, so read it carefully or better yet, take a picture.
Since I felt uncomfortable not having a copy of something I signed, I stopped in a few days later to request a copy of the signed form. I was told that customers do not receive a copy of this form. She inputs the information into her computer and assigns you an account number, but she will not give you a copy, nor provide you wih your account number. I suggested that it was reassuring for the consignor to receive something, and at this point she became argumentative and defensive, telling me she’s never done it and it’s not something she’ll ever do. After going back and forth about this, we came to the mutual agreement that it was best for me not to consign with her and I said I would collect my items. She said I should come back in a few days because she was getting ready to leave (early) because her cousin had come to pick her up. With the trust between us gone, I said no, I wanted to collect my things right then and there. After our exchange, I simply didn’t trust that she wouldn’t do anything with my items before I got back. She proceeded to tell me that I had 9 items to collect, but I had taken a picture of my receipt and it showed 10. I found a pair of shoes that had one account number and then another pair of shoes that had a different account number. She was unapologetic that she had messed up. Out of 10 items, she was only able to locate 9. After looking for the 10^th (a pair of shoes), she said she would «just mark them as sold» because she couldn’t find them. They were a brand new pair of shoes and she gave me $ 7; because she didn’t account for them properly, I find hard to believe she would have priced them at $ 14.
There is no accountability for consignor’s items and her inventory management system is deficient on both the intake and selling side. The store is an absolute wreck, with items haphazardly stored in the back, in a small closet up front, under the clothing racks and behind the counter. If you choose to consign here, stay on top of her to make sure your items are tracked accordingly and that you get the return you deserve.
To add insult to injury, she and her cousin spoke Spanish to each other assuming that I did not understand what they were saying (I did). That is poor business etiquette at best.
Next time I want to consign, I will do it with a shop where I am not taken advantage of and where I feel welcome.

For older women. Place is gross but apparently she has a solid customer base.

I love Marlene’s I have relied on the store often to pick up something fun or useful or both many times and have gotten items that I wear for years after! Marlene is very helpful and good to her loyal customers.
I encourage you to shop there!

I had a high hopes that I could find a good home for some clothing I could no longer use. I am a Nordstrom shopper, but not the kind that buys from the über designer collections which warrant consigning at the super high end resale shops in Short Hills or Livingston.
I left 16 pieces — she rejected about 15 items, including about 6 pairs of NYDJ Jeans which retail for nearly $ 100 a piece. I asked a bunch of questions about why some items sell and why some don’t. I think she knows her business, but some how I didn’t feel very at ease that I was she was being very honest with me.
As instructed I waited several weeks to check in on my items — to see how the sales were going. She told me I was owed $ 16 (related to 2 items sold) after 1 month consigning my items. I was really shocked considering how picky she had been.
I get that she needs to serve a customer base and perhaps my items do not fit that bill, but I can’t think of any items that would have been sold for $ 16 each — as she took mostly dresses and jackets from me.
I also had trouble getting in touch with the Marlene herself and she explained that she doesn’t answer the phone much as she is avoiding bill collectors. Which of course make me wonder if she fudges the sales and hopes that consignors just never come collect unsold items. As a consignor, you get very little paperwork when you sign up with her shop.
I intend on collecting my unsold items before the end of the hold period, as they are worth more to me as a donation against my taxes than the apportion I get from her resale of my items.
My experience as a consignor aside, she does have some nice things. The store is desperate for a face lift and good cleaning. Smells like an old attic.
Sorry to say my experience was definitely sub par.

I LOVE Marlene’s I go at least once a week and have always found items that I instantly fell in love with. (I bought most of my bags from here)
The selection does vary depending on the time of year. For example during the winter (at the time this review was drafted) there are 2 racks full of furs coats, capes, etc they range from mink, fox, rabbit, and beaver… the price range was 60 to upwards of 1000 depending on the coat (remember some full length minks sell for 10,000s)
There is also a pretty good handbag selection… this tends to range from no name bags to Gucci, LV, and Chanel
This also applies to the shoe section as well.
The cloths are lightly used and very well organized, the sizes range from small to plus size…
This consignment shop really does have everything!!!

Marlene’s Boutique is a consignment shop selling women’s clothing both informal and formal including coats, pashmina scarves, shoes, suits, sweaters, slacks, jeans, shirts/​blouses, evening gowns, jewelry, handbags all at affordable prices.
The quality is mostly very high too.
She also has fur coats and fine jewelry too.
I bought a lovely down ¾ length coat there during one of her sales for $ 15, a leather handbag for $ 10, a silk pashmina scarf for $ 10 too.
Her selection varies with the seasons.
Marlene and her staff are very friendly, courteous and helpful.
Plus, they really know their stuff and will guide you and advise you when you ask. No hovering here.
This is a small shop with two fitting rooms in a little strip mall.
Nearby is a great bagel shop-«Bagel Box», an organic dry cleaners, TCBY, nail salon too. Next to this little shopping area is a US Post Office and CVS across the street. Additionally, there are restaurants across the street such as Sweet Basil’s Café and Yoshi Sono Japanese Restaurant. CBL gift store is at the diagonal corner of Eagle Rock and Pleasant Valley Way.
If you walk to the left at the corner of Eagle Rock by CBL, you will pass another little strip mall with a very good deli, kosher meat market and bakery stores, Mark and Julie’s homemade ice cream store, some other stores, then West Orange High School. Next to the school athletic fields is a playground for kids and behind that is a lovely pond which is very nice to walk around and see the various wildlife living there. There are also benches there. Behind the pond is a senior center where you may use the bathrooms if you ask the center management politely.
A bit of a walk but very nice in good weather is to walk up the hill of Eagle Rock (good workout) and you will find Whole Foods Market, Kmart, Wendy’s, Pal’s Cabin Steakhouse, and across the street Eagle Rock Reservation (wooded preserve with fabulous view of NYC skyline and trails and a fine restaurant-​Highlawn Pavilion) and Eagle Rock Lanes Bowling Alley.
A short drive away is ShopRite and Essex Green Mall with Movies, Macy’s, Panera, Artist outlet shop, and other stores too.
So, you can go and have a nice afternoon too.