Second-hand score

I'm not always a second-hand shoes fan, but once in a while you do come across something very special (and clean). Combing through the racks at Beacon's Closet in Booklyn on Friday I found them: black patent platform slingbacks by Tara Subkoff for Easy Spirit. For the uninitiated, here's Wikipedia: ''Tara Subkoff was co-founder of the clothing line Imitation Of Christ, which remade old clothes into new works of fashion. Chloë Sevigny was creative director and Scarlett Johansson walked the runway in Subkoff's designs. Subkoff also collaborated with shoe company Easy Spirit. In the spring 2003 IOC show, topless models in very abbreviated shorts pranced around while pushing shiny vacuum cleaners: very David LaChapelle meets Vanessa Beecroft. In 2009, Subkoff was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor that threatened to become fatal within two years. The tumor was successfully removed, and Subkoff recovered.'' She is launching a new label, called Imitation. And these slingbacks are a delight. Not least because of the price: originally $430, at Beacon's Closet they set me back $29.95.