New home for second-hand luxury brands

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This article was published 07/01/2025 (436 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Louis Vuitton, a textile recycling bin and mindful shoppers share a common thread — a new home base at an expanding Winnipeg luxury consignment store.

So Over It is nearly done construction inside Uptown Lofts, the former Academy Uptown Lanes at 394 Academy Rd. On Feb. 1, the doors should open, displaying rows of second-hand Chanel, Prada and Hermes.

“We’re in a growth stage right now,” said co-owner Jordan Blair.

So Over It has outgrown the Corydon Avenue digs it called home for four years. Its move to Academy Road comes with a near doubling of the shop, to roughly 2,600 square feet.

“We would’ve never had thought that this little pocket of Winnipeg would be so supportive,” Blair said, recalling the company’s 2017 beginnings.

Since then, So Over It has marked itself as the city’s only luxury consignment shop, selling designer brands at lower prices. It’s attracted consignors from across Canada and customers around the globe.

Still, most clients reside in Winnipeg and prefer shopping in-store, Blair noted.

More retail space means more brands, Blair added. She’s itching to incorporate contemporary Scandinavian labels. Some items might hit a $50 price point; others, like a dark red Saint Laurent crossbody shoulder bag, land around $1,995.

Blair attributes So Over It’s success, in part, to the booming second-hand industry. Online consignment shop ThredUp projects the global resale market to reach US$350 billion by 2028.

Patagonia, Lululemon and Zara have return and reuse programs. Danali, a local fashion brand, began an online consignment shop called After Danali last year to resell its clothes.

“We’re seeing that this younger generation (is) extremely conscious about their spending and the quality of their pieces,” Blair said.

The store draws certain kinds of people, she added: customers who want unique items and those who care about the environment.

So Over It has dedicated a nook in its new space to sustainability education. Facts on organic materials and circular fashion will dot the area. The company will also showcase how many clothes it’s repurposed over the years (the number currently hovers around 20,000).

Another project: So Over It has ordered a custom textile recycling bin. People can leave their clothes in the bin and the items will be sent to charity or to a textile recycling company.

Women’s shelters such as the North End Women’s Centre will be the main recipients of appropriate clothes, Blair said. Other garments will be given to CheckSammy, an international textile recycler.

“It really blends in with the whole idea that we want this store to be more than just a brick-and-mortar,” Blair relayed. “We want it to be an experience.”

An experience for So Over It’s seven staff, too. Blair and business partner Rachel Solomon took inspiration from Copenhagen for their new office.

The duo attended the Global Fashion Summit in Denmark’s capital last year. Processes they learned about authenticating, pricing and storing items will be implemented at the Winnipeg site, Blair said. They’ve devoted a section of the office to their photo studio.

“This will allow for items to be brought in, photographed (and put) on the floor and on the website immediately.”

Australians and New Yorkers are among the customers checking So Over It’s Instagram account for new releases. The shop was hindered in 2023 when its social media page was unexpectedly disabled by Meta, Instagram’s parent company. Last fall, So Over It hired a trademark lawyer, who got the page reinstated.

Its debut on Academy Road is “great” for the area, said Jessie Halliburton, co-founder of Sobr Market. The non-alcoholic beverage company moved into Uptown Lofts in July.

“We are thrilled to have the building full,” added Leslie Tinkler, owner of neighbouring business Beyond the Alley Boutique.

The consignment shop is “distinctly different” from the boutique and could bring traffic to the area, Tinkler added.

Climate action is entering an uncertain period, given Canada’s upcoming election and Donald Trump’s incoming presidency in the United States, noted Derek Earl, founder of BizforClimate, a Manitoba-based organization uniting businesses advocating for climate change.

Even so, the concept of a circular economy — where goods are reused and kept within the economy for longer periods of time — seems to be growing, Earl said.

Consignment shops like So Over It fall under the circular economy umbrella. Meanwhile, the fashion industry has been “very much globally under the microscope” for its carbon footprint and waste, Earl stated.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com