What she may not realize is she's also doing a good deed.

Philanthropy is as much a part of this upscale Willow Glen women's consignment shop as is fashion at a good value.

Since opening her doors almost 10 years ago, owner Julie Painchaud has made a point of giving back to women, particularly disadvantaged women. Now it seems she's giving back more than ever.

Our Secret store contracts have always specified that if something is brought in on consignment, does not sell and the owner doesn't return to pick it up, it will be donated to charity.

Most often, if the clothing can be worn for interviews and work it goes to Career Closet, the nonprofit organization that provides suitable clothing for job interviews and work to disadvantaged women in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. If the clothing isn't suitable, Painchaud donates it to other charitable groups to use in fundraising auctions.

Five years ago Painchaud was contacted by A Miner Miracle, a nonprofit that provides services similar to Career Closet for women and men in San Francisco.

"They had this windfall of new shoes contributed to them by Macy's," she says. "They weren't appropriate for job interviews, so they asked if I would take and sell them and give them the money to buy undergarments and the things that don't get donated."

The shoes were a retail hit, and Painchaud realized she was onto something.

"I decided to go out and start soliciting from manufacturers, sales representatives and stores," she says. "Everybody seemed very open to it."

Painchaud has extensive contacts within the fashion industry from the years she owned Champagne Taste in the former El Paseo de Saratoga Shopping Center, before she decided to open Our Secret. Many of her sources, including a popular boutique with multiple locations, prefer to keep their donations anonymous.

Since Sept. 11, she has seen a jump in responses to her offer to take goods and sell them for charity. This is due in part to imports held up from increased security measures and a slumping economy.

"There's just so much of a glut of everything on the market this year. A lot of manufacturers have customers unable to take shipments, so orders are canceled. They end up with a tremendous amount of inventory," she says.

Some sales reps also send samples at the end of each season, specifying which charity they want the money to go to. Others simply ask Painchaud to make the decision.

"I thought they would want to pick their own, but most say, 'Just give it to a good charity,' " she says.

Others, particularly manufacturers, prefer to donate directly to a charity, which then turns to Painchaud.

This was the case with Flats Napa Valley, which recently donated seven containers of shoes to Career Closet. Each container held quality pairs of shoes, many of them made in Italy. As word has spread, women have been coming in and snapping them up two and three at a time. Customers leave with three pairs of shoes for what one pair would originally have cost and they're providing much-needed funds to nonprofits.

A Miner Miracle also turned to Painchaud when Banana Republic donated four shoeboxes filled with sterling silver rings. Originally priced at $39 to $59 in the chain stores, the rings are priced at $12.50 at Our Secret.

Hospice of the Valley also benefits from sales at Our Secret, with proceeds from new spa slippers that were featured on the Oprah Winfrey show.

Other local nonprofits benefiting from Our Secret include Sacred Heart Community Services, Family Services in San Benito and Monterey counties and Friends Fighting Cancer.

When Painchaud started Our Secret, she estimates that "about 85 percent of our merchandise was gently worn and about 15 percent was new. Now that we've started soliciting manufacturers to sell for charity, the mix is about 70 percent gently worn, with 30 percent being new."

Since moving into her new location close to the corners of Minnesota and Lincoln avenues in April, Painchaud is going forward with plans to turn the inner courtyard between the two buildings into a garden consignment shop.

"I'm planning to approach furniture manufacturers to see if they would like to do the same thing," she says.

The April move into the Victorian that was home to The Daisy Patch for more than 20 years has given Painchaud more than twice the space she had when she was tucked behind Casa Casa and Le Boulanger. The newer, more visible site has also increased business.

"I noticed a slowdown in my last location, but now we're doing more than twice the business we used to do," she says.

Painchaud says her customers range in age from 18 to 70, and the women are "sophisticated customers with a palate for high-end goods. A pair of Escada pants that sells for $550 to $750 new is $59 to $90 here, and that's a bargain."

Our Secret, located at 1115 Minnesota Ave. and 1393 Lincoln Ave., is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and, beginning in June, noon to
3 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, call 408.289.9290.