Putting my closet to work

Credit: Lisa Nakamura Nguyen

As of today, I am proud to say I’m a successful consignor…

It took me almost two years to let go of some of my attached possessions, but now that they’re out of my sight, I feel liberated—like I’ve reached some sort of a modern-age Buddhist enlightenment for the shopaholic. Yes, even I could detach myself from the material world of $200 Aritzia blazers that were too tight around the boobs and the size 5 Frye boots that crunched up my toes like a concubine’s foot bindings.

I guess letting go of anything is easier when you know it’s in good hands.

My first consignment-store sale

Consignment

LOL! I look kinda sad

in these photos… No

one was home to take

a picture of me so I

used Photobooth on

the Mac. I hit the

capture button, ran

to the back of the

room so it could get

my full body in and

then posed…

After reading Davinia’s post, “What has your closet done for you lately?”, I was inspired to try consignment myself. So I headed to Front & Company with an armful of goods to put on the proverbial auction block.

Here’s how it went in a nutshell:

• I brought 15 items for consignment (including four pairs of shoes)

• Nine items received Allie and Dana’s stamp of approval

• I was asked if wanted to give the six rejected items to charity, but I said “No,” since I’ll be saving those items for a clothing swap

• Within a week, I received a call that my items were out for sale. At this point, I was given an account number, so when I call to check up on the status of my drop-off, they know exactly who I am and what items belong to me.

• Once I heard my items were for sale, I was curious to see how much they were selling for, so I went back for a price check. I was impressed by the fair pricing—most shirts went for around $20–25, pants for about $50 and my Frye boots were out for $78. It’s a relief to know that high-quality clothing and shoes retain their value for years!

• Two weeks later, I called, gave my account number, and was told there’s a cheque for me waiting to be picked up. Cha-ching!

• I still have four items left on the rack.

My first consignment-store purchases

After I cleared my closet of the items I didn’t need, it was time for me to restock the empty hangers.

My Front & Company purchases included:

• Dress by Jascari. I found this in the ‘New Arrivals’ non-consignment section of the store.

• Consigned short navy blue, ¾-sleeve jacket. A great complement to this season’s popular high-waisted pants and skirts.

• Almost consigned high-waisted denim tone skirt with ribboned belt. I actually bought this one off of another consignor at the store, who came into consign the skirt. I told her, “Instead of waiting for it to be sold, how about I just give you $20 right now?”

• Consigned As Know As brand long jacket. This jacket is actually from one of my favourite stores in Japan. I learned from one of the sales assistants that many international exchange students in Vancouver come to sell their clothes before they return home. As a result, the store is a treasure chest of many high-quality foreign labels.

So Davinia asks, what has my closet done for me lately? It’s bought me my autumn mustard-yellow military-inspired dress, perfect for any night out with a glass of wine and slice of pumpkin pie.