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| - I am an avid collector of unique vintage and contemporary pieces from both high-end and lower-end stores. Second Time Around in Toronto was the most disappointing high-end consignment store I've visited during my time shopping in Toronto, New York City, Philadelphia, and across Western Europe and East Asia. The selection is terrible and it's clear that the owners don't know how to properly evaluate what they are selling: some items were fairly priced (in the sense of "oh that is more expensive than it should be, but its a consignment shop with a high rent to pay so that makes sense") whereas others were mind-boggling in their delusional pricing. Scuffed up Prada loafers circa '00-'01 RTW in the most common (and boring) design and color scheme are not worth $250-300, and I have seen these in many sizes on eBay and elsewhere go for less than $60, and once priced at $85 in my local consignment shop in Princeton, NJ. You might be able to fool a relevantly uneducated person willing to spend that much on those Prada loafers, but the practice is insulting to the notion that many Torontonians know better and are invested in knowing about fashion history and style.
The selection is very small: there's only one extended rack of clothing, and nothing young and interesting. The best piece there was a Dries van Noten black/greenish textured skirt, going for $300, but even that piece is one of the least charitable representations of what fantastic designs Dries has to offer. Shoes on offer were terrible and the most boring designs from typical designers like Gucci (does anyone fashionable still get excited about Gucci?)... Also: I'm not a handbag girl, but I did see a lot of bags on offer, so if you're willing to splurge on something maybe check it out, I have nothing to say about that.
Lastly: the staff were really bad. We didn't get an acknowledgement from the two asian staff members (one female, one male) behind the counter when we entered, though the woman spent the entire time staring at my vintage coat and Tortolani necklace, without a word. It was sort of creepy. No one else was in the tiny store, and the staff did not acknowledge our existence, which is odd because we were taken care of extremely well in almost every high-end and low-end consignment shop we visited in Toronto that day as well as in Holt Renfrew.
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