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Top Designer Resale Consignment Shops in Toronto Ontario

Visiting or living in Montreal? I wrote a list for the top consignment designer resale shops for Montreal too.

To re-iterate, I don’t like shopping for outdated, “vintage” items unless they also look modern enough to be worn today (e.g. pencil skirt with little pleats and pockets, but no 70s blazers with oversized shoulder pads).

Therefore, here is my list of places I’d actually browse and shop in. Giving away all my best secrets!

My favourite online shopping mecca is Poshmark Canada… use code SHERRYISH for a free $10 CAD credit to shop with

I love Poshmark. I really do. My whole review on Poshmark Canada is here.

VSP Consignment: Great for super high-end labels

1410 Dundas Street West, Toronto, ON M6J 1Y5 (Map)

QUIRK:

Kind of in the middle of nowhere for me, in Little Portugal. Not a bad thing, just odd.

UPSIDE:

Great place for designer goods that are HIGH HIGH end stuff, like Oscar de la Renta, Chanel, etc.  I saw quite a few pieces I wanted, and the bags are in mint condition if that is your thing.

I ended up leaving with a Helmut Lang top, but only because it was 50% off and even that, I was hesitating on, but loved it.

DOWNSIDE:

I find that their prices are all overpriced. Very overpriced. I am talking $280 for a Helmut Lang top, and when marked down 50%, becomes what I think should have been the retail price to begin with.

They do have major sales, down to 70% off.

You can definitely find incredible pieces here, one of a kind, unique haute couture, but it is $$$$$$.

I Miss You: Best Value Hands Down

63 Ossington Ave, Toronto, ON M6J 2Z2 (Map)

Near Ossington / Queen intersection

QUIRK:

Plays funky music inside, which I don’t hate but is really quirky to me.

UPSIDE:

SO REASONABLY PRICED! Everything is properly priced, in great condition. The shop is pretty large but not stuffed full, and the clothes are all modern, not old dusty vintage relics like pirate puff sleeve shirts you won’t ever wear.

I love how properly curated the store is, and you can find great pieces like from Alexander Wang for only $70, or an Erdem dress for $130 instead of $3000.

DOWNSIDE:

Kind of out of the way. Not near a metro station, have to take a bus or a streetcar to get here.

Haute Classics: The Best All-Rounder

1961 Avenue Rd, North York, ON M5M 4A1 (Map)

Near St. Clair TTC Station (NOT St. Clair West!)

QUIRK:

Closed on Sundays. BOO!

UPSIDE:

This is one of my fave consignment shops in all of Toronto. They have a nice big store, it’s clean, well-lit, properly laid out and there’s a good range of stuff to buy in every price point, not just in the high end deluxe range.

You can really find something here to want. I’ve purchased THE MOST from this shop, and that includes shoes and so on.

DOWNSIDE:

You have to try and get there on a regular basis or else the good deals are gone, but isn’t that true of all consignment shops?

Sometimes their stuff is pretty expensive though, seeing as their address is in a fancier area of town (St. Clair ain’t cheap, folks!).

LAB Consignment: The Hidden Gem

Secret Location… no seriously, Toronto ON (CAN’T GIVE A MAP)

QUIRK:

So Lauren DOES have a physical location to see all the clothes……. and I have been there but won’t / can’t give you the address because you have to make an appointment to find out the address of the shop because it’s super secret.

Basically, you make an appointment, you get there, you can try on stuff at your own leisure.

It’s kind of nice because you get the whole store to yourself and you can decide WHEN to go. Obviously it sucks if you want to just pop in and browse (can’t do THAT), but at least you know they’ll be open and she’s expecting you.

UPSIDE:

Lots of great pieces. Reasonably priced, she can even pull items based on what you see on the site so you have them ready to try on when you step in the door which I like.

You can see everything she has online as well which is a huge bonus.

It’s also properly curated and you won’t find crappy J. Crew, Club Monaco or Banana Republic hiding in the racks posing as high-end designer retail.

DOWNSIDE:

You have to make an appointment to get there to try it all on in person, otherwise, shopping online is the thing especially if you know your size already.

The prices are NOT dirt cheap, but they’re reasonable considering that the original price was 3X at retail. So something selling for $100 was originally $300. She does her homework and does a good job in this regard because she never overprices items just because of a label, and does her research online beforehand.

ConsignToronto: Take your time with the racks

884 Queen Street West (Map)

Right by Queen and Ossington. You could take the southbound bus at Ossington TTC station and stop at Queen.

I haven’t actually been to this location, I was at their Eglinton location a lot before I moved, and the racks were always jam packed with stuff so they moved to a bigger more convenient location.

QUIRK:

It’s a mother and son team, from what I gathered. They’re both lovely folks, and it’s the son who does the day-to-day operations.

UPSIDE:

Lots and lots of stuff to pick through. Is it all good? No. You can see a lot of old out of season items, stuff is not in excellent, pristine, super clean condition and the prices are still the same as in other more carefully curated shops.

You will also find pieces from mainstream retailers, so don’t think it’s 100% designer.

DOWNSIDE:

You have to spend a lot of time picking through everything. If you don’t have the patience for this, go somewhere else, they have lots of stuff.

I also wouldn’t say their prices are also cheaper as a result. I’d say they’re on par with the better curated shops, which is not fabulous.

L’Elegante Boutique: 90% outdated but a few gems to be found

132 Cumberland Street, Toronto ON (Map)

Right in Yorkville, can’t miss it.

Stop off at the Bay TTC station and take the exit north of Bloor. It is right across the street of the TTC, down the steps.

QUIRK:

It’s down the steps, so you can easily miss it. Actually in this area there are two consignment shops (Second Time Around is the other) but this one is the only one visiting because the other one wants RIDICULOUS prices for their goods (near retail, if you can believe it).

UPSIDE:

Good selection, saw a great Bruno Cucinelli jacket for a few hundred (they go for thousands) but alas it was too big. The shoes are where they seem to excel, I always find good shoes here for some reason, along with jeans, pants and jackets.

DOWNSIDE:

Honestly, the prices are high.

About 25% higher than they should be so I only hit the sale rack to find pieces worth buying, but they gotta pay the rent in Yorkville I guess. I also find the demographic shopping here to be on the older over-40 side. You won’t find a lot of young people in here, so as a result, the clothes are a little old, outdated in style and musty. Still, you can find great things.

Coco’s Closet: A little out of the way, but still decent

413 Jane Street, Toronto ON (Map)

Jane TTC station, go north

QUIRK:

Kind of in Toronto Siberia. You can’t really go shopping around the area because there’s nothing else. It’s just this shop.

UPSIDE:

It’s like Haute Classics for me. Not as big and not a lot of variety but it is still a decent shop to visit. The prices are reasonable, the clothing is fairly modern and young, and it’s clean.

DOWNSIDE:

It’s in Toronto Siberia. I know it doesn’t look like it’s too far from Jane station but walking is a no, the buses aren’t every 10 minutes and once you get there, there is nothing to do but visit this shop. It’s still worth a visit but I don’t go here as frequently, as a result.

It has a lot of great pieces and they are decently priced.

Fashionably Yours: Go here if you’re in the area anyway

709 Queen Street West (Map)

Near Queen and Bathurst, take the Bathurst TTC and go south on the streetcar, or St. Andrew Station TTC and go westbound on the streetcar

QUIRK:

None really, it’s just close to a great shopping area and other consignment shops.

UPSIDE:

It’s well located and reasonably priced for designer stuff. I stop in here just out of sheer curiousity but I have never found anything worth buying. If I recall correctly there’s a rack at the back of the shop with crappy clothes from low-end retailers for dirt cheap but this could have changed by now.

DOWNSIDE:

Nothing to buy. I mean don’t get me wrong, there’s STUFF, and lots of it, but it’s not well curated, the hunting for gems might take a while, and a lot of the designer stuff is old and out of date (think padded 70s shoulders blazers).

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