*This article appeared in The Montreal Gazette. A Montreal friperie guide appears at the bottom of this story.
As a young teen, I used to travel up St. Laurent Blvd., across Mount Royal Ave., then down St. Denis St. looking for the most nondescript, perfectly dishevelled frocks: tattered jean shorts, maybe a plaid buttondown to synch around my waist. I was inspired by earlier 90s vibes, when flashy logos were like darkness visible. To me, these thrift-stores represented the few leftover threads of anti-consumer angst – not a dwindling economy.
Yet since the economic downturn, secondhand shops are getting a double take from both buyers and sellers. This time it’s not Kurt Cobain-revival grunge nabbing the attention. Rather, it’s the high-to mid-end consignment stores, a.k.a. friperies, coming into the spotlight.