Waterloo Region's Thrift & Consignment Shops I'll Go Back to Again (& Again)

photo via Lauren Fleischmann/Unsplash

Originally published for KW Joy & Co. 

It’s Saturday night and I am lit-er-ally sorting my sock drawer. It’s October, it’s freezing, and everyone’s fire tables are en route from Wayfair (mine too), so I have zero socially-distant social excuses here. At this point, I’ve done just about everything else around my house, so it’s time to hit up my drawers for a “fun night in”. Before you start feeling sorry for me, I’m feeling quite content; glass of wine in hand, my fave podcast on, kids making TikToks, my husband happily playing video games - it’s just me and my rather giant pile of socks. TBH, organizing my closet is like my own form of meditation, but make it fashion.

I’ve reached expert level at origami-ing my way through any closet. Jeans, underwear, tees; they all look like perfect little hot pockets by the time I’ve tamed them. Don’t ask what a hot pocket is. I don’t actually know. Hmmm...but I’m pretty sure I don’t want my underwear to be one. Even those cropped hoodies - the fitted sheets of clothing - now easily bend to my will. And yet Kondo downplayed the importance of one crucial element in her quest for wardrobe joy: the subject matter. Naturally, the clothes need to fit and make you feel good right now, but all the folding and pretty baskets in the world will never bring true fashion happiness if the clothing in question has no future.

I curate my closet just like I do for my clients: by keeping or repurposing the gems, storing the seasonal and sentimental, and donating/consigning the rest. After years of doing this (and by “this”, I mean compulsive shopping) I now feel any purchases immediately destined for the trash need a reeaally strong case to come home with me - namely that they’re either a) holographic (because holographic things are bomb) or b) made of natural fibres like cotton, so when I’m finally done with them, I know they will eventually biodegrade. I also try to make sure that whatever I buy, I can see myself (or someone else) wearing that piece 30 times over its lifetime. As I’ve evolved into a more thoughtful, purposeful shopper, I’ve fallen deeper in love with thrifted and vintage pieces. For a sick wardrobe, turns out that all you really need is a curated closet of really good basics peppered with beautiful, thrifted finds. Oh, and maybe a Hot Wheels tee like the one I picked up at H&M last week. I’m only human.

With Waterloo Region’s absolute plethora of thrift, vintage, and consignment options, you can shop more sustainably, stick to your budget and score truly special pieces locally. Win. Win. Mother F’in (fashion) win, y’all.

SEE MY TOP CONSIGNMENT AND THRIFT STORE PICKS AT KW JOY & CO.