Once again I was fortunate enough to be invited out to Vancouver for their Fashion Week.
As a style editor this is a very exciting an rejuvenating time for me and of course I want to take advantage of EVERYTHING the city has to offer me.
If you’ve never been, Vancouver is like the Luxe-y big sister city to my hometown of Seattle.
It’s a jewel of a city with all the natural beauty the PNW has to offer.
But the city definitely caters to those with an eye for high end fashion and I just have a blast anytime I’m in the city.
As much as I love the experience of shopping inside of luxury Masions, sipping on champagne and buying a brand new item, I know in my heart that I’m a pre-loved girlie.
Long time readers of this blog will know that I often will check to see if I can buy something second hand first before buying new.
Part of this is for economic reasons: because why would I pay 2X+ as much for something new when I could get it in great condition pre loved?
But the biggest push for me buying pre loved is environmental.
Sustainability is a subject near and dear to my heart and I always try to balance out my love for fashion and beauty with sustainable practices.
Fortunately for me, Vancouver is and AMAZING place for sustainable fashion and they offer an array of luxury thrift and consignment stores to shop around in.
For today’s blog, I’m going to showcase some of my favorite second hand luxury stores to visit while I’m up in Vancouver BC.
Best of all, many of these stores offer an online section with shopping to the US! I will provide links wherever I can so be sure to support our neighbors to the north if you can.
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Table of Content
Travel More With Expedia
Planing trips, especially internationally can be challenging. Expedia is just the tool that you need to put your mind at ease.
With Expedia I was able to plan my trip up to Vancouver with ease and all in one place.
And with features such as hotel price guarantee and price drop protection, I know I’m getting the best deal for my dollar.
Along with solidifying your travel plans, Expedia also offers Things to do, which allows you to book experience right on their site or app.
I definitively took advantage of this while I wasn’t checking out the local fashions.
The deals were amazing too with free tickets to use Granville Island ferry and discounted prices for Science World.
With Expedia, we Science World had an offer for 1 free adult pass and 50% off your remaining tickets which felt like a steal.
And did you know that Expedia is also a Rakuten Partner? I’m always mentioning Rakuten as they are the BEST way to get cash back on purchases you were already going to make. And right now, Rakuten is offing you up to 6% cash back on experiences booked through Expedia. How fantastic is that!
If you aren’t a Rakuten member yet, now is the time to join as you’ll earn an additional $40.00 USD cash back on your first qualifying purchase. Just use this link to sign up.
Ready to start planing and packing? Have your next trip be just as stress free by booking with Expedia today.
Import taxes and tariffs
All of the consignment shops mentioned below have some sort of online shopping experience that US luxury lovers can enjoy.
I highly encourage you to check them out, and see what they have.
It’s worth mention however that in our current political climate, there is a chance you may face import taxes on some items shipped in from Canada.
While news on tariffs seem to be chancing day by day, here’s what you need to know (as of now):
For now, the de minimis exemption, which allows import orders valued at under $800.00 USD to enter the United States duty free has been extended beyond the May 2 deadline for Canada.
This means that for the time being, pre loved luxury shopping from brands overseas will be the same as before: duty free under $800.00 USD, and taxed above that threshold.
With the Canadian Dollar trading for about 30-40% under the US dollar, many American shoppers might still find it worth it to peak around and see what these consignment shops have.
And for my readers in the PNW, if shipping and tariffs are too much combined, I always say it’s worth taking a trip up to BC, especially if you’re saving a bag.
Style Reissue
If you’re looking for a top tier selection of luxury garments and accessories in the Vancouver BC. area, Style Reissue should be one of your first stops.
Lisa and her team were so welcoming, kind and accommodating to me, which created such a fun shopping experience.
Beyond that, the collection Style Reissue has curated is a fashion lovers dream.
The store is well organized making it easy to browse and shop, with Lisa and her team being very knowledgable about their stock and fashion history.
If you’re into hand bags, Style Reissue had a great selection to choose from, including some fun Chanel classic flap styles. I particularly loved this blue piece that I have pictured down below! But they also had this beautiful Dior saddle bag, and this fun Moschino Mcdonald piece that would be so fun to have in a personal collection.
They have a nice amount of accessories to look through as well. They had belts, brooches and lot of jewelry. I ended up purchasing this multicolored Dior gemstone bracelet for $250.00CAD or $180.50USD.
With a similar bracelets reselling for around $600.00 USD, this was an amazing find!
I was very tempted to buy some shoes as well. I love Louboutin and there were a few options for bejeweled ones. They also had these beautiful pair of Dior boots
Their selection of clothing was also very nice with lots of styles and sizes to choose from. Seeing this Balmin jacket pictured below in person was so nice, but I’m thinking about purchasing this D&G dress for my birthday.
Speaking of purchasing, Style Reissue does offer an online experience that US shoppers can use. The site is clean, detailed and very easy to navigate.
The site does seem to be updated with new stock pretty regularly and they also hold live shopping events on their Instagram, which I think is a fun way to interact with the community.
Strongly believing in community, The team at Style Reissues is active in the Vancover fashion scene, supporting Vancouver Fashion Week as well has collaborating and organizing with local charities and non profits to give back in impactful ways.
I had a wonderful time shopping here, And I know ya’ll will too. Be sure to check their site out here to see if you can find something for yourself.
Adore Vintage
If you’re looking for a quality selection of vintage Chanel or rare Louis Vuitton, this is a stop you’ll want to make.
With 2 locations in Vancouver and Richmond, Adore Vintage was a very well organized shop with a large but not overwhelming section.
I visited the location just of Howe in Vancouver and the staff was very friendly and accommodating, and they encourage you to try on anything you’d like.
This store was set up more like a luxury boutique, with a nice setting area and a wall of bags and accessories on display.
The thing that stood out to me the most about Adore Vintage was the amount of vintage Chanel ready to wear and jewelry they had.
I fell in love with a vintage Chanel belt that I wanted to purchase, but atlas, the belt was not working with my 31 inch waist lol.
Which brings me to this point; because a lot of their items are being sourced from Asian clients with typically smaller frames, those of us mid sized and up may not have as much success with ready to wear.
I don’t think this is a bad thing or a ding against the store, just something to know going in.
That said, the store also had a large selection of shoes, jewelry and of course bags.
I’m not in the market for any more Chanel flaps, but they had a green color that was calling to me. And I saw a vintage Murigami Cherry Blossom pochette that I was very tempted to get, but ended up saving my money for another find I’ll share with y’all in a little bit.
Things were fairly priced as well. While I love Fashionphile, they tend to over price some hot ticket items before marking them down later on.
I found that with Adore Vintage (and every other shop on this list really) things are marked fairly from the start which I really appreciate.
Over all though, this a wonderful store filled with lots of hidden treasures.
Adore Vintage does have a website that’s well laid out and they ship internationally as well so check them out
Once More Luxury Boutique
With a prominent location on the corner of Howe St, Once More Luxury Boutique offers an extensive section of luxury handbags and accessories.
The shop is very clean with an easy to browse layout which makes shopping enjoyable.
When I walked in, I went straight to the glass cases to look at their jewelry, which they had a lot of. All of it was in good to excellent condition.
I even found a hair clip from Miu Mui new with tags and its full box set. I purchased it for $200.00 CAD or $144.39 USD. A comparable hair bow from Miu Mui is currently retailing for $550.00 USD so I consider this an EXCELLENT find.
The bow aside, Once More Luxury had a lot of wonderful finds. This particular Hermes belt was the reason why I came in to start with. And while it wasn’t for me, it was in good condition with an even better price.
I do vaguely remember them having a selection of clothing, but it wasn’t that big if my memory severs me correct.
They did have a decent amount of shoes to look through and a wonderful selection of handbags.
I saw a decent amount of Hermes bags in good and up condition and lots of Louis Vuittion. I had my eye on a speed 25, as that’s a size I don’t actually have in my collection lion but ended up passing on it.
Over all, this store was nice with pleasent staff and I will defenitily be stopping by again when I’m in the city next.
Turnabout
Turnabout was the first consignment store that I visited in Vancouver after a lovely tea at Neverland Salon about a block away.
This store has a true consignment feel to it–but upscale and fun.
Turnabout is the biggest of the consignment shops that I visited with several shops around the BC area.
When you first enter the location that I visited on West Broadway, you see a table laid out with designer bags and accessories that get you excited to shop and hunt around.
The staff was very friendly and helpful here. They had great knowledge of their stock and were able to help me find really cool and interesting pieces that I might have overlooked if I were just browsing on my own.
Towards the front of the store were kept fashion pieces from more contemporary brands like Aritzia and Lululemon. They had a lot of racks like this–all of which were in good condition and well priced.
I do wish that I had taken more time to look through their clothing, but I didn’t want to be tempted because I was traveling very light.
Towards the back of the store is where they showcased their luxury clothing, handbags and accessories.
They had a wide selection of jewelry– both fine and costume.
I ended up picking up these beautiful Dior Tribale earrings for $250.00CAD or $180.50 USD. While these did not come with a box, the condition was great.
Similar earrings from Dior start at $540.00 USD, so this was a great deal here.
Perhaps the best thing about this store thought is all the philanthropic work they do.
They often partner with organizations like Dress For Success, Big sister Vancouver and Cause We Care, to support the community with fundraisers and use donated clothing and accessories that can’t be sold at their community store to support women in need. You can learn more about their philanthropic efforts here.
Modaselle
Modaselle was a smaller store, but they had so much to offer.
Tucked away on Seymour street, Modaselle had a lot to offer in the way of accessories and handbags.
They again had friendly staff ready and willing to help you find what you’re looking for, or to help you discover something new.
They had the biggest selection of fine jewelry, watches, twillies and bandeau out of all the stores that I looked at. So if you’re a bling queen, this store is for you.
They also had a large selection of more unique handbags.
I saw a floral print Lowe puzzle bag that I really wanted to take home with me. But then I saw this empriante Pochette Metis that I decided to buy instead.
The joke was on me though. because by the time I arranged my luggage situation so that I could actually bring it back, it had sold.
Their inventory is very well priced and moves quickly, so if you see something you like there, just know that it might not be there for long.
Like all the other consignment stores on this list, they do offer an online experiences open to U.S shoppers. the site is very well laid out and clean with free shipping offered on orders over $350 (I’m assuming CAD). They also have new offerings listed on their site daily so there’s always something new
While I don’t know if their site offers shipping to the US, I do know what you can contact them directly to arrange for shipping.
Final Thoughts
Vancouver BC has a booming high end fashion scence and pre loved luxury lovers can benefit from this.
With so many consignment and thrift shops to choose from, I’m going to have to do a round 2 when I’m back up in Vancouver later on this year.
In the meantime, I encourage ya’ll to check out the shops listed above.
If you can make the trip up to Canada, it’s worth visiting these shops in person. But if you can’t, all these shops do offer an online experience as well.
To get the best bang for your buck, taking some time to compare prices between these shops as well as against some American luxury consignment brands such as The Real Real and Fashionphile might be worth your while.
Especially for items above the de minims exemtion threshold of $800.00USD, the savings you would get buying in Canada may or may not be worth it. You will just have to calculate that for yourself.
Do you plan on taking a trip up to Canada soon or checking out these sites? I would love to hear about your experience! Be sure to jin our conversation over on Instagram and join in on our lux community over on YouTube.
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