69 Vintage is excited to be hosting LAB Consignment for a one-night only POP-UP PARTY on Saturday January 16th, from 6pm until 9pm, at 69 Vintage Collective (1207 Bloor St. W).

LAB Consignment is a new consignment service specializing in the resale of chic, gently used canadian and designer vintage ladies clothing, shoes and handbags.

69 Vintage Collective is Toronto’s new vintage shopping paradise: On the main Floor, find vintage from Tomorrow Never Knows, Cozette, Muskoka Vintage, Anne Marie-Bergeron, and more! In the basement, The Make Den Craft Room will be offering on-the-spot alterations all night long, sew come early for a make-den make-over!

Ransack the Universe Collective will be selling silk-screened t-shirts, books, cards, crafts and knick-knacks of every colour and size… On the top floor, Rozaneh Vintage is back with a selection of vintage that spans the last hundred years, from lacy victorian frocks to eighties couture, from silk slips to Afghani Rugs and more!!! Promise to Repeat, Lost and Found Vintage and Stacked will be open all night as well for your shopping shenanigans!!!

Jeans, jackets, purses, shoes, scarves, shirts, dresses and skirts @ Value Village

The Challenge:
To find a complete fabulous outfit for $50.

The Find:
An amazing ‘eurotrash’ stylish outfit (complete with boots) that I love:


1. Marciano jeans (perfect condition AND already hemmed) $9.99
2. Upside down tank top shirt with ribbon detail, screen print and jewelled embellishment $12.99
3. Fake Prada purse (that I gave to a thankful friend because of my adversity to fake bags) $7.99
4. Knee-high Italian leather boots $12.99
5. Grey velvet cropped jacket $12.99

When I began this challenge of finding a complete, head-to-toe fall outfit, I could have opted for a cutesy dress and cardigan combo or 80s tapered pants and boyfriend blazer – but decided on more practical pieces that I could mix and match and get the most wear out of: jeans and a shirt.

Value Village has a huge selection of jeans, nicely organized by size, ranging from $7.99 to $9.99. The two pair of jeans I ended up buying – Marciano and Club Monaco – were in great condition and fit perfectly!

I passed up many colorful vintage pumps for these boots. Although they’re a few seasons old, I could not pass up the $12.99 price tag for perfect condition leather Italian designer super high boots that’ll look great worn over jeans or even with a dress.

I attempted to seek out the perfect ‘vintage’ boyfriend blazer but came upon this fabulous grey velvet cropped jacket for $12.99! I splurged on this trip and bought a second jacket – a snug, bleached zip-up jean jacket!

Value Village stores are all over the city – all with different inventory that changes constantly! For the best finds and deals you should try to peruse often.

We are giving away 2 – $50 Value Village gift certificates through our Torontostreetfashion Facebook Group >> courtesy of Value Village!

These images, taken from our 2006 Prom shoot, feature the gals in 69 Vintage dresses – still completely fashionable for 2009!

If you want an original-looking, usually well-made and special dress for prom that doesn’t cost hundreds of dollars, consider going vintage.

Vintage shops take the pain out of ‘thrifting’ and pickers are well-seasoned at choosing top items to sell in their shops. It can be the difference of hitting up every store in the mall, or simply picking a dress off a rack!

I tried asking my pro-vintage friends about their ‘favorite’ shops in the city, but I should’ve know – that’s like asking people to divulge their most private secrets. And I have to agree – SO, instead of taking the fun out of discovering your own favorite vintage shops by listing them, I’ll instead just lead the way:

Kensington Market
Kensington Market, a few blocks slightly north of the Spadina/Dundas area is probably the area with the most concentrated number of vintage shops in the city. That’s not to say they’re all top quality, however, you can hit them all in a few hours without stepping foot indoors at a mall! And the prices are great.

Fav’s for dresses include Flashback, 33 Kensington Avenue and Dancing Days, 17 Kensington Avenue.
Then stop in Courage My Love, 14 Kensington Avenue or a number of other shops on the street to find some great accessories.

Ossington Avenue
Over the past few years a short strip in the Ossington/Dundas area has been struggling to snazz up its artsy turf with quaint shops opening and closing. However, a few great finds do remain among cafes and galleries including Silver Falls, 15 Ossington and I Miss You, 63 Ossington (at Queen).

Queen Street West
Undisputably Toronto’s best/easiest ‘shopping’ street that runs from west of University Avenue all the way to WEST Queen West beyond Ossington. Furthest west, we like 69 Vintage, 1100 Queen St., then east of Bathurst there are many higher-end shops like Cabaret, 672 Queen St., Brava, 553 Queen St., and House of Vintage, 571 Queen St. Really there are too many for me to mention – but if you start your search at Spadina Avenue and walk west, I would think you’d be sure to find a great dress!

Toronto Midtown – High End
Head north of Bloor to find high-end designer focused vintage shops like Act 2, 596 Mount Pleasant Road, The Cat’s Meow, 180 Avenue Road and The Paper Bag Princess, 287 Davenport Road.

Other
There are vintage dress shops throughout the entire city – on Roncesvalles Avenue, Queen Street East, Dundas Street and Bloor Street (visit Irene at 69 Buy the Pound, 1234 Bloor Street) – even in Yorkville.

If you do consider buying a fabulous vintage dress for prom (or any occassion), take out the frustration of thrifting and go to a specialized vintage shop, where staff can truly help make it a great experience!

The Market Crash Bash at 69 Vintage Buy The Pound (1234 Bloor St. W) was an old fashioned cowgirl-clothing-swap for the times! No money?! No Problem! Vintage girls and boys know how to score a deal even when times are tight, and this was no exception! There were finds a plenty to be had, from knit sweater vests to leather coats, previously loved puma’s and even an Ungaro original!!!

Join the facebook group for future swap dates! 69 BTP is also offering a free hour of sewing lessons for the month of December, when you buy a pound of clothing!!!

Photos courtesy Meaghan Orlinski. From top left: 1.Deadly Nightshades Big Red and Meg O were in attendance 2. Swapping Heaven 3. Entrepreneur Extraordinaire, 69 Owner Kealan Sullivan 4. More Swapping Heaven

Three belts for $12 at Value Village (would’ve been $6 two years ago!)

The news is so bleak these days when it comes to the economy and its impending doom. The message should be clear to all now: stop over-spending, stop hoarding, beware, save… For the majority of us who aren’t ripping out our hair over stock losses, this means good news when it comes to SALES and price drops.

But, I do think that second-hand stores like Value Village and Goodwill will become even more popular. People are purging – and even more want deals; all which can be found at our local thrift shops.

Over the past few years, both Value Village and Goodwill have seriously increased prices (ughhhhh!!). However, there are still amazing deals to be found and mountains of stuff to go around!