How Eddie Reyes’ ConSHINEment Brought Life Back to Jersey City

Eddie Reyes

On a busy block near Jersey City’s Journal Square, ConSHINEment looks like any other thrift shop from the sidewalk. Inside, it feels more like a portal into a hundred different closets and eras, all quietly curated by Eddie Reyes.

Eddie’s path to this storefront started hundreds of miles south. He grew up thrifting in Virginia, hunting for pieces that felt like him long before he could afford anything designer. By high school, classmates were voting him “best dressed,” not knowing most of his fits came from secondhand racks.

While studying business in college, Eddie picked up a job at MAC Cosmetics. It was 2006, when MAC was the go-to brand for editorial shoots, runway shows, and anyone pushing forward the culture. That job opened the door to Fashion Week once he transferred to New York City. Eddie went from campus to backstage, working more than 13 seasons and over 100 shows, including H&M, Balmain, and Thom Browne. He was close enough to touch the clothes, but still thinking like a thrifter, quietly asking himself, “How would I find this energy in a Goodwill bin?”

He kept thrifting the whole time. One day in Virginia, he found a two-piece Christian Dior suit for twenty dollars. It was tiny and no one in his life could wear it, but he could not leave it behind. Years later, in a Jersey Goodwill, he found a pair of red bottoms for nineteen dollars, bought them on instinct, and listed them on eBay. They sold for $200, and that sale flipped something within him. His business degree and his love of secondhand finally sat at the same table.

For a couple of years, he sold online, paying bills with a side hustle that no longer felt like one. Then COVID hit. The big Goodwill near his Jersey City apartment closed, leaving Journal Square without a single secondhand store. On his days off, Eddie never wanted to commute into Manhattan. If he missed thrifting in the neighborhood, he knew other people did too. So he took a leap and opened ConSHINEment.

Three and a half years later, ConSHINEment has crossed the seven-figure revenue mark and now feels more like a community hub than a resale shop. To that point, prices stay intentionally accessible. A kid bought his first pair of Jordans there and walked out wearing them, grinning as if he had just won the lottery. He saw himself within that kid. That moment still anchors Eddie’s approach to prices that are catered to every audience member.

The racks change every day. His staff, all from Jersey City, buy off sellers with intention. No random overstock, no skinny jeans just because they are new with tags. Vintage tees sit next to streetwear, which sits next to a designer button-up. Sellers line up daily, though not every piece makes the cut. Regulars earn points through a loyalty program, and thousands of customers now sit in the store’s database.

ConSHINEment’s impact spills beyond its walls. The shop donates clothes to Dickinson High School’s Care Closet, where students can “shop” for free. It sends bags of inventory to Community Treasures for underserved neighbors and partners with Hudson Enterprises to host adults with special needs, teaching them basic retail skills on the floor. ConSHINEment is truly for the community.

Next, Eddie wants to circle back to design. He is planning limited-run tote collaborations with local fashion creatives. Quarterly drops, one-of-one style pieces, all rooted in Jersey City.

Ask him what really makes ConSHINEment special, though, and he will not name a brand. He will point to the people who walk through the door. “Sure, New York City is right across the water, but our inventory comes from the community, and the community really shuts it down when it comes to fashion. So I will definitely shoutout Jersey City.”