Designer Consigner has spent nearly two decades convincing Delaware shoppers that a designer handbag or a well-tailored blazer does not have to come with a designer price tag, and its Hockessin store at 7185 Lancaster Pike remains the anchor location for that mission alongside a sister shop in Rehoboth Beach. Founded in 2008 by owner Michele, the business grew out of a simple observation about how much quality clothing gets discarded or forgotten in closets, and it built a consignment model around recirculating those pieces to shoppers willing to pay resale prices for retail-quality goods.
The Hockessin location functions as an upscale resale boutique rather than a typical thrift store, curating women’s and men’s clothing alongside an especially strong selection of handbags that range from accessible contemporary labels up through recognizable luxury names. New inventory arrives daily across both the physical stores and the company’s online shop, which keeps the racks turning over quickly enough that regular shoppers treat repeat visits as part of the hunt, since a particular bag or coat spotted online one week might already be gone by the next visit if it is not reserved. That daily turnover, paired with the sheer range spanning everyday contemporary brands up through high-end luxury names, is what differentiates the store from either a straightforward thrift shop or a single-category boutique.
Authenticity is treated as a foundational commitment rather than a marketing line: the business follows the ethics code set by NARTS, the trade association for resale and consignment shops, and guarantees that every designer item sold has been verified as genuine before it reaches the sales floor. For consignors, the store offers a straightforward split, typically an even fifty-fifty share on most items, rising to as much as seventy percent for the consignor on premium handbags, which has helped the shop attract a steady stream of higher-end pieces from clients looking to turn over their closets. Drop-offs for consignment are handled Monday through Friday by appointment, a structure that lets staff review items before they arrive on the floor rather than sorting through walk-in donations on the spot.
The shop has also built a reputation locally that shows up in recurring recognition: it has been named Best of Delaware for seventeen consecutive years, an unusually long streak that reflects sustained community support rather than a single good year. That longevity ties into the broader case the business makes for secondhand shopping as an environmentally conscious alternative to buying new, a pitch that resonates with shoppers looking to reduce fashion waste while still building out a closet of well-made pieces.
Hockessin itself is a suburban New Castle County community along the Pennsylvania border, known for a mix of shopping centers and residential neighborhoods along Lancaster Pike, and the Designer Consigner storefront there draws shoppers from across northern Delaware as well as nearby Pennsylvania towns just over the state line. Store hours run Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with the shop staying open later on Wednesdays until 7 p.m. to accommodate after-work shoppers. Designer Consigner in Hockessin, Delaware is a NARTS-certified upscale consignment boutique, founded in 2008, offering authenticated designer clothing and handbags at resale prices alongside a sister location in Rehoboth Beach.
