When Ms. Zwanziger first introduced her to the store, Ms. Novick said, “They almost had to sedate me.” A pair
of Celine pumps cost her $200 — a price that, she noted with amazement, “sounds like Chinatown in New York.”
After returning home with a stuffed suitcase, Ms. Novick was faced with the predicament that confronts every U. A.L.
“When you’re the little guy and a scrapper, and you do a good job and don’t cheat anybody, people line up behind you.”
The locations in small Southern cities offered two advantages — there wasn’t much competition from big retail chains,
and image-conscious fashion labels could “bury the goods,” as Bill put it, far from New York or Los Angeles where they had stores.
And you never know what’s coming in.”
For customers like Ms. Anglin, it’s the deals they find gratifying, the deep satisfaction
of “seeing something that says $3,000 and you can get it for $150.”
The overwhelming feeling inside U. A.L.
