Madison and Main: New Consignment Boutique in Downtown Melrose

Women shopping for just the right outfit have a new, gently-used option: Madison Ave. of Melrose, a consignment boutique owned by lifelong Melrosian Joanne Cotton, opened its doors in April.

The shop, which specializes in unique and high-end women’s fashion, literally fills a void in the local shopping scene—it opened in the Main St. location left vacant after the departure of the retail store, Stitch.

“Everybody’s saying that this is what Melrose needed,” Cotton said of the opening. “I don’t think that there are a lot of clothing stores around except for other consignment shops from here to Wakefield. When the economy was better, we had Secrets and some of the more upscale clothing stores, but right now I don’t think there’s anything other than a mall.”

Shopping at Madison Ave.

Of Madison Ave.’s collection, Cotton says, “I’m trying to please the masses, which is hard to do because there are so many styles and so many sizes.”

But, she notes, “You’re kind of at the mercy of what people bring you. I’m mainly looking for something really unique and different, so when people come in they find that piece that they’re not going to have in their own closet.”

She admits that she’s someone who often tries on many outfits in order to find the exact right thing for the occasion.

“I think people feel good when they put the effort into finding the right piece to reflect their personality,” she said. “The other day, a woman came in and she was determined to find something, I think for a wedding, and I said, ‘Even if we have to try on thirty things, we’re going to find it.’ It took us forever, but at the end [the customer] said, ‘That was a fight, a score, and a win.’ It’s worth it.” 

Cotton generally accepts consignments during the week when it’s less busy, although she says she has been known to make exceptions for a particularly unique piece. Once articles are acquired, they are put on the floor for 60 days. All sales are split 50/50 with the consignor.

Shoppers can also find two retail products at Madison Ave.—a line of jewelry from Florida by Lauren G. Adams and handmade bedazzled hats.

“Those two things have been a draw in this store on top of the clothing,” Cotton said.

A growing business

In its first month, Madison Ave. attracted over 100 consignors and business is growing. Already, Cotton is being stopped in the streets. As I sat with her for an interview outside a Main St. coffee shop, an exuberant young woman ran up to our table.

“I want those pants!” she gushed, referring to a must-have pair she encountered during a previous visit to Madison Ave.

Cotton appreciates her enthusiasm. It’s the sort of excitement around fashion that Cotton hoped to spark when she opened her shop. She, herself, has had a lifelong love of fashion, which she says was inspired by her mother, a teacher, who collected cool and unusual pieces for her costume closet.

Cotton thinks that she’s passed the bug on to her daughters, Katie (20) and Maddie (14). The girls, who Cotton describes as “fashionistas,” both work at Madison Ave., along with Cotton’s sons, Max and Michael, who she says help behind the scenes with the “heavy lifting.”

Part of a larger community

Cotton says that she was drawn to “the whole reuse, recycle” mindset of the consignment business, a field in which she’s worked for the past five years. She credits her mother for that, too.

“She was good at making sure pieces found the right home,” Cotton said. “I don’t think consignment was a big deal when I was growing up by any means, but we would bring the trash bag of whatever we didn’t use to our neighbor, and our neighbors would bring theirs to us. So we definitely recycled clothes.”

Cotton says that she would like for her business to be socially-minded in other ways. To that end, Madison Ave. is one of many collection sites for Gathering Change, Inc., a non-profit that turns people’s loose change into donations for local food pantries. Cotton is on the board of the organization.

And Cotton is pleased to be part of the downtown business community, which she says “has been so welcoming.” She’s looking forward to Madison Ave.’s formal opening—a grand opening and ribbon cutting—on June 9 at 4pm. Current hours and updates can be found on Facebook.