Thrift Stores in Brookfield (Consignment Since 1989)

Three of the thrift stores Brookfield has sit on one stretch of West Bluemound Road within a mile of Brookfield Square, with an upscale consignment shop up at Ruby Isle and a charity Goodwill farther west. They split three ways: resale chains that buy your clothes, a consignment boutique that sells them for you, and donation shops.

Below, each shop with what it takes, what it sells and where it is, plus a monthly vintage market and two Elm Grove shops about 2 miles northeast.

Clothes Mentor: women's brand names

For women's clothing, start at Clothes Mentor, about 0.8 miles northwest of Brookfield Square.

It sits in the same Bluemound plaza strip as Brookfield Fashion Center, so a Ross or Ulta stop fits on the same trip.

Plato's Closet and Once Upon a Child: teens and kids

For teenagers and small children, two buy-and-sell chains sit about half a mile apart on the same road.

Plato's Closet at 16065 West Bluemound Road, about a quarter mile from Brookfield Square, buys and sells trendy secondhand clothing for teens and young adults. Once Upon a Child at 16750 West Bluemound Road does the same for children, with clothes, shoes and toys.

Children outgrow things fast, so the kids' shop is the one to visit with a bag of outgrown clothes to sell and a list to buy.

Elite Repeat: consignment since 1989

Elite Repeat is the consignment option, an upscale boutique that has operated since 1989, about 2.1 miles northwest of Brookfield Square.

Consignment pays you when your piece sells rather than up front, which suits better labels you would rather not sell for a trade-in price. Ace Pickleball Club lists the same Calhoun Road address, if anyone in the car would rather play than browse.

Goodwill: the donation stop

For classic thrift, the Goodwill Store & Donation Center at 18605 West Bluemound Road is about 1.7 miles west of Brookfield Square. It is part of a long-standing nonprofit chain with pre-owned clothing, housewares and more, and it takes donations on site.

Goodwill sells donated goods rather than buying them, so it is the place to drop off what the resale shops turn down. The Journal Sentinel's roundup noted that Goodwill's sales fund job-training and employment programs for people who have trouble finding work.

The Secret Market: vintage once a month

For vintage rather than everyday thrift, the Secret Market sets up inside Brookfield Square, typically on the first weekend of each month.

Look for Less: discount, not secondhand

Look for Less on West Capitol Drive is a discount store rather than a secondhand one, selling new finds at prices that change frequently. It is about 4 miles north of Brookfield Square and about 2.5 miles from Elite Repeat, so pair it with Ruby Isle rather than the Bluemound shops.

Elm Grove: St Mary's and furniture consignment

Two more secondhand stops are just over the line in the village of Elm Grove, about 2 miles northeast of Brookfield Square. St Mary's Thrift Shop on Juneau Boulevard sorts toys, books, household goods, shoes and clothing for men, women and children, with stock that changes often, and it is closed on Wednesdays and Sundays. The Ottoman Society on Watertown Plank Road is a consignment shop for fine furniture and home furnishings, and it takes your pieces on consignment too.

Pop-up consignment sales

Brookfield has hosted big seasonal pop-up sales. In 2023, WISN described Divine Consign as Wisconsin's largest consignment sale for women and teens, with more than 50,000 gently used items laid out in the 18,000-square-foot ballroom at the Brookfield Conference Center on South Moorland Road. The last two days of that sale were half price.

Dates and venues change from season to season, so check the organizer's current schedule before you plan around one.

Brookfield's thrift stores by distance

Straight-line distances from Brookfield Square, measured from each shop's map pin, put the Bluemound three within a mile and everything else in the table within about 2 miles.

Selling, consigning or donating

If you want cash on the spot, take clothes to Plato's Closet, Once Upon a Child or Clothes Mentor, the three Bluemound shops that buy. If you have better pieces and can wait, Elite Repeat sells them for you on consignment, and The Ottoman Society does the same for furniture. If you just want it gone, the Goodwill on Bluemound Road is both a store and a donation center.

Make a day of it

The resale shops sit in the middle of the malls and plazas on Bluemound Road, so a thrift run pairs easily with an afternoon at Brookfield Square or a walk around The Corners, depending on the weather and how much you plan to carry.

For a bigger haul, Milwaukee's thrift stores include the city's vintage shops, and Brookfield fills the rest of the day with a county beach, comedy and courts.