Friperies flourish on St-Denis
24heures says that St‑Denis in the Plateau is becoming a hot spot for friperies, so that the street is “en train de renaitre de ses cendres.”
I know the area was hit hard by the Covid downturn and urban churn, but I would not quite have said ashes. Also, while second‑hand clothing is a respectable trade, and it’s good that clothes are being repurposed rather than trashed, it’s rather more a St‑Hubert Plaza kind of business. That section of St‑Denis used to almost have a Laurier West vibe, but not so much any more.
DeWolf 11:48 on 2025-07-12 Permalink
These are trendy vintage friperies with a curated selection of clothes, not Renaissance or Salvation Army type shops. If you go to Saint-Denis on the weekend these days it’s a real scene. It’s basically the biggest fashion destination for teenagers and 20-somethings now.
Kate 12:36 on 2025-07-12 Permalink
Some people can make the most of Renaissance, Salvation Army and Village des Valeurs. I’ve known a couple of women who could walk out of those places with fabulous finds in perfect condition. Somehow when I go in, I only see worn‑out rubbish. It’s a talent.
jeather 13:02 on 2025-07-12 Permalink
Many of those people who are good at it then go on and sell the Renaissance etc items in their trendy vintage friperies, to bring this all full circle.
DeWolf 14:48 on 2025-07-12 Permalink
Yes, exactly! A lot of the stuff at the Saint-Denis places was probably found at Renaissance for a few dollars and is now being resold for ten times that (to help pay for the weekend DJ sets).
Ian 16:52 on 2025-07-12 Permalink
Rents and locations aside, the difference between used and vintage or even better, antque, is a picker with a good eye.
It’s like anything used, yeah, you can go to the flea markets and yard sales and junk shops and bin sales and auctions and scour online shops for deals … or just walk over to the record store.
I remember when Mont Royal was just strings of junk shops where the frips re now, and the slightly higehr priced “vintage” shops were on St Denis. The rents are way to high for that kind of arrangement anymore.
Robert H 17:26 on 2025-07-12 Permalink
I remember those times decades ago when Saint-Denis did indeed have that Laurier Ouest vibe. It could still return, as the street has been on the come-up post-covid. As things are going, it could be on the way to Queen Street West, version Montréal. It’s fascinating but baffling how urban locales cycle in and out of fashion shifting from the-place-to-be to the-place-nobody-goes-anymore, and back again! If I understood the process, I could make some bank in real estate investment. Could Sherbrooke Street downtown be next up?
What’s even better than knowing where it’s at is knowing how to get it cheap. When I lived in Boston, one of my roommates had a friend who knew how to track down pricey designer-label clothing in mint condition. This fellow just had a knack like some kind of sartorial bloodhound on the prowl. He would give me tips about the best spots to find the best stuff, and he was nice enough to pass a few items on to me gratis, that I still wear today. Unfortunately, when I left Boston, I left all that insider knowledge behind and I’ve yet to replace it with le savoir-faire Montréalais.
Kate 19:43 on 2025-07-12 Permalink
I miss Arthur Quentin, Giraffe and Kaliyana on that stretch of St‑Denis. It was interesting in those days because the classy places were not necessarily overly expensive. I still have some kitchen utensils from Arthur Quentin as well as wooden spoons from Giraffe, which had all kinds of things from different parts of Africa. I wish I could source spoons like that now, but I don’t even know which country they came from.
There was a time when the fries place on the corner of Duluth (the Bien Bon) was flourishing at the same time as the earliest version of Toqué a half block away. It was a great mix.
Ian 11:43 on 2025-07-14 Permalink
It all went to hell after Rapido renovated haha