Canadian entrepreneur Courtney Watkins started shopping for second-hand designer labels when she attended fashion school in Los Angeles, Calif. The selection was great, she says, and the stores were cool.
But when she moved back home to Vancouver, she couldn’t find anything similar. Sure, there were consignment and second-hand shops, but none elevated the experience into something special, something fancy like she had experienced in California.
Seeing a gap in the marketplace, she decided to fill it by creating Mine & Yours, a luxury resale shopping experience focused on high-end fashion, with designer brands such as Goyard, Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Chloe and more.
That was 13 years ago. These days, Mine & Yours operates a popular online shopping site (mineandyours.com) as well as two stores in Yaletown and Kitsilano in Vancouver, one in Toronto’s Yorkville neighbourhood, plus a pop-up in Toronto’s The Well this summer.
Also this year, Mine & Yours has launched a pop-up location inside Holt Renfrew in Calgary, bringing preloved designer fashion – shoes, clothing, bags and accessories – to style-hungry Calgarians for up to 70 per cent off the original retail prices. Customers pay at the regular Holt Renfrew cash counters.
“Our goal has always been to create a luxury shopping experience with second-hand clothing, and I feel with our Holt Renfrew partnership, we have really accomplished that,” says Watkins.
“Holts (sic) has been on my radar ever since I started my business. Six years ago, I put on my vision board that I wanted to work with Holt, and now, here we are.”
Originally, the Calgary pop-up was scheduled to end in mid-June, Watkins says. But in less than a month, it had doubled its sales projections, so it was extended to the end of August.
Watkins chose Calgary for the pop-up because she had noticed many online shoppers to her website from the city.
“Tons of clients who had already shopped with us online were excited to shop in person,” she says.
“And we’re getting a lot of new clients, people who have heard the buzz and know we are here.”
Calgary – with its many well-heeled, fashion-forward shoppers – is also a great place for Watkins to source many of her preloved pieces. (Find out what she’s looking for and how to contact her at mineandyours.com.)
“I’ve seen some pretty spectacular closets,” she says with a laugh. “They are always so fun to see.”
The Mine & Yours pop-up in Calgary is part of a growing international demand for sustainability and circular fashion. In 2018, high-end Paris department store chain Galeries Lafayette added Re(Store) to its shops, providing a dedicated space in-store to buy and sell second-hand and vintage clothing.
Another Parisian department store, BHV, followed in 2024, adding pop-up second-hand clothing sections to a couple of its locations. And Milan, Italy and Madrid, Spain also have myriad preloved lux fashion boutiques.
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As for Mine & Yours, the first retail location in Vancouver was modest – just 300 square feet on the main floor of a townhouse, says Watkins. She and her team threw a few cocktail parties for local influencers and bloggers, and word quickly spread. The venture proved so successful, Mine & Yours took over the second level and eventually, the third.
Watkins operated the business out of that location for three and a half years before opening a true standalone shop. Then another.
While Mine & Yours does occasionally offer vintage designer pieces, the focus is on “luxury resale, current preloved pieces,” says Watkins, whose Instagram bio reads “helping save the planet one designer dress at a time.”
Unlike many consignment stores, which don’t pay until an item is sold, Mine & Yours pays upon acceptance. “When we started, our slogan was to make it as easy as possible to turn your closet into cash,” Watkins says. “When someone comes in to sell, we offer cash or a store credit right away.”
When Mine & Yours began, no one wanted to admit they bought or wore preloved clothing, Watkins says. “We were Vancouver’s hidden secret.”
But times have changed, and these days, people proudly share their second-hand scores with others on social media and beyond.
Not only are they getting a deal compared to the full retail cost of the designer items, they’re finding rare and often one-of-a-kind items, and they’re helping to keep clothing out of the landfill.
“It’s about showing you care about the environment,” says Watkins. “And it’s about finding a piece that you can’t find anywhere else.”
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