Nolita Designer Consignment Shop: INA's Barely Worn Coats

INA is the name New Yorkers drop when someone asks where to find a barely worn designer coat without paying boutique prices, and the Nolita store at 21 Prince Street, New York, NY, is the easiest branch to fold into a downtown afternoon. It sits on the short stretch of Prince between Mott and Elizabeth, carries both menswear and womenswear, and runs on the same hours as its sister stores: Monday through Sunday, 12 pm to 7 pm.

Ina Bernstein opened her first designer consignment shop in SoHo in 1993, according to Time Out New York, and the business grew into a small chain that has had outposts in Nolita, NoHo, the Upper East Side and Chelsea over the years. Not every branch survived: the Union Square shop on 13th Street closed in 2020, as EV Grieve reported at the time. The current store list on the official site names three addresses, Chelsea on West 18th Street, Mott Street, and this Prince Street shop.

That longevity matters for a resale store. Consignment depends on a steady supply of good clothes coming in from people who trust the shop to price them fairly, and INA has been taking in wardrobes from the same downtown and uptown closets for more than three decades. The company describes itself on its consignment page as recognized as the best designer consignment store for the last twenty years, a line that speaks to how long the reputation has held.

Compared with a thrift store, the difference is the edit. INA only accepts in-season designer and contemporary brands from roughly the last five years, and the official intake rules ask that everything arrive clean and in excellent condition. That means the racks read more like a well-stocked boutique than a jumble sale: structured blazers, knitwear, dresses, denim, shoes and handbags, sorted so you can scan a size or a category in a few minutes rather than digging through bins.

The Nolita store lists both men's and women's departments, which is useful if you are shopping as a pair. Because stock arrives through consignors rather than a buyer's order, the mix changes week to week and there is no fixed menu of items to promise. What stays constant is the age window and the condition standard, so a jacket on the rail should look current rather than vintage, and shoes and bags should show light wear at most.

The smartest way to shop is to walk the full floor once before pulling anything. Look at the rail by category first, then by size, and give the accessories and footwear a second pass, since bags and shoes are often where the strongest single finds turn up. If a piece is from a label whose sizing you already know, you can move fast. If not, use the fitting room, because resale purchases are much harder to undo than a department-store return.

Men's shoppers in particular tend to overlook consignment stores, assuming they are womenswear only. INA is one of the few downtown resale names that has kept a men's section in its current branches, so it is worth checking for tailoring, outerwear and leather shoes, especially as the weather turns and people start clearing out closets ahead of a new season.

INA works on consignment, which means you are not paid on the spot. If you live in the New York metropolitan area, the official instruction is to call or visit one of the city stores to set up an appointment, where a stylist goes through your pieces and discusses the price you will receive when each one sells. Bring things that are clean, in excellent condition and from the last five years, since anything older or worn is likely to be turned away.

Payouts are tiered by the selling price, and the scale is published on the consignment page. A piece that sells for $5,000 or more returns 70 percent to the consignor, while anything that sells for under $500 returns 40 percent. Pieces that sell for $1,250 to $4,999 return 60 percent, and pieces that sell for $500 to $1,249 return 50 percent. In practice that rewards bringing in fewer, higher-value pieces, such as a recent designer bag or a good coat, rather than a large bag of mid-priced basics.

If you are outside New York, INA runs a five-step remote program: you fill in an online form, wait for approval, and then mail the approved items to the Nolita store, which handles intake for shipped consignments. The company says it reimburses your shipping costs on your first sales check, and consignors get an email once items have been received and priced, then are paid by check as pieces sell.

Doors open at 12 pm every day of the week, which is later than many Nolita boutiques, so plan a coffee or a walk first rather than turning up at ten. A weekday visit soon after opening usually means a calmer floor and an easier fitting room. Weekend afternoons on Prince Street draw heavy foot traffic, and the store can feel tight when several groups are browsing at once, so go earlier in the day if you want room to try things on.

Because consignment stock turns over constantly, regular visits beat a single long trip. If you are hunting a specific category, such as men's outerwear, it is reasonable to call the store and ask whether that department has had new arrivals. The staff deal with consignors every day and know what has come in recently, which is the closest thing to an insider tip that a resale shop offers.

The block around the store is one of the best compact shopping walks in Manhattan. Head one block west to Mulberry Street and you reach the brick walls of the Basilica of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral, which predates the Fifth Avenue cathedral and anchors the old Little Italy end of the neighborhood. Its walled churchyard is a quiet contrast to the boutiques on Prince and Mott.

From there, Elizabeth Street to the east is lined with small independent shops and cafes and is good for a loop back toward Houston Street. If you want a second consignment stop, the Mott Street branch of INA is a few minutes away on foot, so you can compare two edits in one outing without getting on a train. Running the two branches back to back is the most efficient way to see a wider range of sizes.

Address: 21 Prince Street, New York, NY, between Mott and Elizabeth in Nolita. Hours: Monday through Sunday, 12 pm to 7 pm. Departments: men and women. The closest subway options are the Prince Street station on the R and W, the Spring Street station on the 6, and the Bowery station on the J and Z, each a short walk away.

To sell, call the store to book a stylist appointment, and bring only clean, recent designer or contemporary pieces in excellent condition. Out-of-town consignors use the online form and ship approved items to this Nolita address. For a quick, current answer on whether this shop is worth a detour today, ask Karpo in the Karpo APP for nearby resale stores and a walking route between them.