Best store for used clothing

Think Sex and the City and you'll likely picture Saks, not a Jamaica Plain thrift store. But a recent visitor to Boomerangs walked away with a pair of Manolo Blahniks -- Carrie Bradshaw's footwear of choice. While a visit here won't guarantee stilettos described as "better than sex," you do have a good chance of finding deeply discounted designer duds (think DKNY, Jones New York) and housewares. That's because local stores such as Filene's Basement and Marshalls donate goods. Better yet, you can feel great about loosening your purse strings: all proceeds benefit the AIDS Action Committee of Boston.

Now in its 14th year, the Garment District is an area mainstay. Its Dollar-A-Pound room is legendary among impoverished college freshmen. Meanwhile, the store's "costume" selection and extended Halloween hours draw suburbanites in to snatch up wedding dresses, bell-bottoms, and faux facial hair. On the top floor, everyday shoppers peruse racks upon racks of vintage jeans, corduroys, bowling and Western shirts, coats, shoes, polyester '70s garb, and '60s Jackie O. suits. What few know, however, is that the store prides itself on being "an ethical recycling company." Much of the several million pounds of clothing processed each year is purchased from charitable organizations. And clothing deemed "not stylistically interesting" is shipped to the developing world for reuse.

Boomerangs, 716 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain, (617) 524-5120; Garment District, 200 Broadway, Cambridge, (617) 876-5230.