Walk into any newer vintage store these days and your eyes are likely to be seared with white, white, white: white walls, white floors, white lights. A rack or two of overpriced fast-fashion rejects and a sea of stained tees, a disinterested zoomer manning the cash register. Thus on Keele Street in the Junction is different. You enter through a door set slightly askew, so you feel as though you’re passing into some kind of secret chamber or a portal to decades past. Inside lies a real old-school vintage joint: treasures fill the racks, spill out of the window display, stuff the cases, cover every inch of the walls.
The cosy shop is presided over by a friendly husband-and-wife duo, which just feels right somehow, each embodying a kindness that fills a gnawing little void in your big-city life. Varak Babian is the jovial hype man, welcoming customers with a quick smile and cheery patter. His passion for the past spills out of him like a chain of scarves streaming from a magician’s sleeve; some of the store’s inventory comes from the little old ladies Varak meets in the course of his volunteer work who are eager to pass down their fashion troves to someone who will appreciate them. He may offer you candy, or spontaneously gift you something from the store simply because he wants it to go to a good home. Calling something or someone “sweet” is his highest compliment. “I feel like it’s a privilege to be able to serve people and to make them feel like they’re coming into our home,” Varak says. “Especially when it comes to vintage clothing; it’s such a saturated market — there’s so many of them in the city — so we want to make sure people realize how much they’re appreciated when they come here.”
His partner, Elizabeth Babian, has a stillness that belies her previous life as a model; she may be a quieter presence, but she offers just as warm a grin and sisterly encouragement in between tempering her husband’s more exuberant outbursts. A sweet soul, she’s still getting the hang of haggling with the occasional sellers who stop by to try and unload their vintage. The couple opened the store in 2021, only one year into dating. Three years later, they’re newlyweds. Varak proposed with a gigantic mural painted on the side of the store, which remains there today. “Elizabeth, will you marry me?” (She said yes.) Together, the two of them work hard to form deep connections with their customers and suppliers, sending birthday cards or hand-picking items they think their regulars would like. One young vintage enthusiast spent her birthday at the store because she feels so at home there.
The shop’s lived-in vibe is enhanced by the pair’s vintage specialty: treasures hailing from right here in our beloved Toronto. “We were surprised that, when we were shopping for things and when we opened up our business, there aren’t many places that highlight Toronto,” Varak says. “I feel like sometimes people want to duplicate a different city’s vibe or esthetic, but I can curate things I know, and I know the city. There are certain things I love, and it’s validating to see other people are appreciating that as well.”
Everywhere you look in the store reveals another garment, another curio, another book that is a little piece of our city’s past. The store boasts multiple TTC and Metropolitan Toronto Transportation jackets and even a Toronto Star press centre one. “There’s a sweetness to (Toronto) that I’ve always gravitated toward,” Varak says, “and I think it reflects on the kind of clothes and artwork we like to curate, whether it’s old art gallery posters from a Toronto museum or a T-shirt from a specific barbecue the Toronto Fire Department had in the late ’80s.”
One sweatshirt commemorates 10 terms of Mel Lastman’s reign, another reps the Ontario chapter of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, yet another the Moscow Circus 1971 Canadian tour. Want to learn more about these bygone organizations and events? Each tag is crammed with text in Varak’s hand, sharing a little Toronto history or even a pop quiz. “Which former prime minister of Canada once held the position of CEO of this company?” graces the tag on a perfectly sun-kissed cherry-red Canada Steamship Lines anorak. (Turn the tag over and you’ll discover that it was Paul Martin.) Varak spends hours after the shop closes burrowing into the depths of the internet to research their prized pieces; one jacket from, say, the Downsview Radio Control Fliers might yield a photo of the Mike who wore the piece in the late ’70s and early ’80s. “Celebrating those little moments in each little community where we can research and find and shed light on them, I think people take interest in that,” Elizabeth says.
Into sports gear? There’s plenty, from Raptors merch (the Ogden Utah Raptors, that is) to a jersey from the inaugural era of the Toronto Lynx soccer team. More interested in trinkets? There’s vintage bookmarks from the Toronto Reference Library, an ancient tome entitled “100 Glimpses of Toronto” filled with black-and-white snapshots of everywhere from Allan Gardens to our yacht clubs, or perhaps an ashtray from Antonio’s Driving School on Oakwood that is so old that there’s no area code on the phone number (“successo garantito”). You can pick up a 1984 Shaw Festival poster or a songbook for senior citizens produced by the Minister Without Portfolio. Every piece has a story, and the Babians are ecstatic to share it.
And there’s no better time to embrace shopping vintage and help reduce the strain on an increasingly stressed Mother Earth. Vintage shopping prevents buying a fast-fashion piece made in unethical conditions overseas, millions of tonnes of which fill landfills worldwide every year. While clothing from past decades tends to be better made, so it doesn’t need to be replaced as often. “I do think that things are made to break nowadays,” Elizabeth says. “The quality and the craftsmanship of these (vintage) garments, they’ve been made to last.”
The Babians are determined to reduce waste as much as possible. Sometimes, they might end up with clothing that isn’t a fit for the store, so they give it away to customers who may need a wardrobe boost, free of charge.
They occasionally come across cool pieces with a rip or a stain on them, but even they are diverted from landfill: Elizabeth puts her sewing skills to work in a wee cubby at the back of the store, adding custom embroidery to the items and upcycling them into something one-of-a-kind, whether it’s a clown topping a denim button-up pocket or a cactus sprouting out of a linen skirt hem.
In these tariff-mad times, buying from a small business also supports your neighbours versus a giant faceless corporation, and, in the case of a store that often sources from community members and church rummage sales, those folks by extension as well. The pair has noticed a definite uptick in clients excited to buy local in the wake of the tussle with America. “People can pick up that we have a very proud, civic-pride angle, Varak says. Elizabeth smiles: “We have a lot to be proud of.
Next, the pair is facing that most dreaded of store-ownership nightmares with their usual sunny disposition; come May 1, Thus is moving to a new space around the corner on Dundas West. There, the twosome will set about adorning the shop with all their treasures, adjusting them just so, readying each item for its next life. Surrounded by our city’s rich past, they can’t help but feel hopeful for the future.
Looking for more vintage goodness? There’s a great second-hand spot for you, no matter what part of the city you’re in
Dundas: Chosen Vintage
Putting together next weekend’s fit is a breeze here; choose from fun textures galore, from leopard-print lace to a rainbow of Danier suede pieces.
More Dundas vintage: Three Fates, The Wanderly, VSP Consignment, Penny Arcade
The Junction: Arts Market
Venture into the basement to bask in the elevated taste level of the vendors here; you could browse the booths for hours, plucking up treasures like a pink linen blazer or King Tut-inspired earrings.
More junction vintage: The Art of Demolition, Smoking Vintage
Parkdale and Roncesvalles: Stella Luna
This small space has the perfect mix of ladylike separates (cashmere sweaters!) and on-trend accessories (leather berets!). Bring cash.
More Parkdale/Roncesvalles vintage: Public Butter, House of Vintage, In Vintage We Trust, Maison Violet
Kensington Market: Courage, My Love
A Toronto institution open since 1975, every vintage head needs to make at least one pilgrimage here to sift through the bohemian-leaning gems.
More Kensington Market vintage: Exile, Bungalow, Plethora
Queen East: Second Voyage
A sense of play and whimsy imbues the pieces found here, from a fun frog-emblazoned sweater to NKOTB deadstock. They sell cute housewares, too.
More Queen East vintage: Gadabout, Good Juice Box, Fevers, Good Market
