Business snapshot
WHO
Victoria Shaw
WHAT
Meaningful Wear Consignment
WHERE
1119 Fennell Ave. E., Upper Ottawa and Fennell
EMPLOYEES
1
“IT’S THE RESALE STORE that looks and feels like retail. There’s a big difference of how we feel when we go into a resale store,” Victoria Shaw says of her shop, Meaningful Wear Consignment, which opened Nov. 5.
Shaw worked at St. Joseph’s Hospital for 26 years, started at the bottom (cleaning toilets) and finishing in telecommunications before switching careers. She’s done consignment for 26 years, raising three kids in the process.
She enjoys sharing her eye for fashion.
“I decided to show people, to teach people. Put it together for them.”
The store stock is part consignment clothing; the rest is purchased by Shaw. Prices on consignment wear are marked down, progressively lower, after 30, 60 and 90 days on the rack.
The last Sunday of the month is Fashion Sunday. Women from the community stroll the 105-foot runway that runs along the centre of the store in six different outfits. There’s live entertainment during clothing changes. A percentage of sales from these events is donated to autism awareness and education, another of her passions.
Shaw says the experience is empowering for the women. “Just feel good” is her mission statement.
She’s also “trying to erase the stigma of buying consignment.”
Part of the store will soon house Meaningful Event Rentals, where a woman can rent a smart outfit, a casual dress or mother of the bride dress, for four days. The concept is big in Toronto but new to Hamilton, Shaw says. A gold room will house high-end brand names likes Gucci, Chanel, Prada, Versace.
They are also eliminating “landfills full of clothes,” she adds.
“It’s not just your average consignment store.”