Yesterday while wondering the rainy streets of Gastown waiting for a fabric store to open, I fell upon a pretty amazing new store.
I’m so excited about this place I don’t know where to start. Opened last month, C.T.&.V carries a carefully chosen selection of men’s and woman’s vintage attire. There are a few things that makes C.T.&.V different from a lot of thrift/vintage stores >
1. They have matching hangers,
2. The clothing has been merchandised in an easy to browse, appealing way,
3. The stock has a coordinated, collective quality, even though each garment has probably been manufactured by different companies, at different times,
4. almost all of the store fittings (shelves, etc) are recycled from the pre-renovated retail space,
5. C.T.&.V is non profit.
“What?!” you say? That’s right. Community Thrift & Vintage isn’t just a cool name, it speaks the truth. All profits made from selling old clothes to dirty hipsters go straight into charities like the PHS Community Services Society. Also, according to their website, the store employs women with barriers to traditional employment, giving them valuable job skills in a transitional period in their lives.
So at the risk of sounding crass, let me tell you what this means. It’s super cheap!! So cheap that I couldn’t resist prying open my sadly skint wallet and purchasing a blazer for $10. A lot of items are around the $10 mark including dresses, skirts, and bags. They also boast to selling leather jackets for a measly $39. Leather. Holy shit guys. Get your shoes and your umbrella, it’s time to shop.
-Jessica
Images via. C.T.&.V’s Facebook and website, as well as Scout Magazine.
