On 221 Jackson St. stands a rather inconspicuous, aging building emblazoned with the words “Nearly Nu Shop.” Though many have passed by it many times with less than a moment’s notice, those who enter the shop are met with something directly from an antique enthusiast or thrift store junkie’s dream (or an OCD victim’s nightmare, depending on your point of view).
Mountains upon mountains of, for lack of a better word, “stuff” are scattered throughout the shop, waiting to be plundered through.
“We have a large variety of items, and it is about the best-kept secret in town,” owner Rosemarie Cook said. “I don’t think a lot of people know about it.”
The selection of items in the shop is rather remarkable.
Nearly Nu is filled to the brim with rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia, posters and paintings, as well as small appliances, books, Mississippi State collectibles, antique beer signs, vintage clothing and T-shirts, and their specialty, one of Starkville’s largest costume collections, which is featured on costumeparty.net.
“The costumes are one of the more interesting things,” Cook said. “We didn’t really start out with them; we started out with used furniture and such and found out that costumes are an interesting business.”
The costume selection at Nearly Nu is extensive, from superheroes Superman and Batman to musicians The Village People and Elvis Presley. Common customers include people going to parties or Mardi Gras, drama troupes, Civil War recreation groups and even golfers looking for vintage outfits.
Vintage clothing is another one of Nearly Nu’s points of pride, Cook said. Their selection includes bellbottoms and hippie apparel, a huge T-shirt collection including concert shirts, and shoes galore.
Nearly Nu has been around for 30 years, and its origins started with Cook’s obsession with garage sales.
“I really went to too many garage sales, and [my husband] said, ‘Why don’t you just open up a shop?'” Cook said. “We were a consignment shop originally. People would bring their clothes down here, and we would try to sell them.”
After a group of girls came into the shop looking for shoes Cook had thrown away the day before, she said she hasn’t thrown anything away since.
“[The girls] wanted some funny looking shoes with skinny toes and heels, and I had just thrown out a box of them the day before they came,” Cook said. “I decided I’d never throw anything out again, and we got started in costumes.”
Nearly Nu has had at least one surprising visit in its history.
“The Spice Girls were in town once,” Cook said. “And they came in and one of them said it was the best store she’d ever been in her life. She even announced it at the concert that night.”