Chloe Popove is taking the idea of the modern closet quite literally – by redefining the way Vancouver women shop for pre-loved threads.
The 23-year-old launched her online consignment store last November as a way to help fashion fans steer clear of buying cheap clothes made for quick consumption, often by workers being paid less than a living wage. Popove made the leap to her new enterprise from a stressful career in the fast-fashion retail biz, working on the floor and watching shoppers buy thousands of dollars’ worth of clothes in one sitting, and then coming back just weeks later to do it all over again.
She no longer wanted to be a cog in the fast fashion wheel, but she still loved clothes, particularly hunting for unique vintage finds – over the cookie-cutter clothes she saw in the big-name stores.
With her new online consignment site, My Modern Closet, women get the chance to discover their own sweet finds while shopping at home in their underwear. There’s no need to pursue racks with that aged, pungent people smell that permeates your poor nostrils at so many vintage stores, and no need scour through racks of clothes that aren’t even remotely your size. My Modern Closet enables shoppers to hone in on their size, prices they want, and even collections curated by local Vancouver personalities, such as blogger Elaine Rystead of the tourism site Local Wanderer; advocate Tori Swanson, who is igniting a conversation around eating disorders; and local fitness dynamo Keighty Gallagher, founder and head coach of Tight Club Athletics. The site includes lines such as J Brand denim, Aritizia’s many labels, Zara, Won Hundred, Lululemon, Partyskirts, Rag + Bone, and Citizens of Humanity. Standouts currently on My Modern Cloest include a soft cream like-new Wilfred dress for $50, and a sleeveless Everly dress with a Moroccan-inspired print, also $50.
For potential consignees, here’s how My Modern Closet works: the online consignment store pays out 20 per cent cash up front (through an e-transfer within 24 hours), and 20 per cent in credit towards another purchase at My Modern Closet.
Interested consignees book an online appointment, through the website, and Popove comes to them – as a way to eliminate the back-an-forth hassle of consignment. She picks up the clothes and takes them home to clean, steam and photograph before uploading. If the clothes don’t work for the website, Popove donates them to local charities, such as Dress for Success, Get Warm Project, Gordon Nelson House, ensuring the garments have a second life – wherever they go.
For those who can’t always shop for pre-loved goods, Popove suggests being mindful about what they buy in general – know where it was made, understand how employees are treated and paid, and its impact on the environment. Beware of fast fashion, and investment shop for the longterm, she suggests. Her advice: don’t buy a dozen cheap white T-shirts, instead buy one really well-made shirt that you’ll treasure and be able to wear again and again.
“It’s not about brand bashing, and I’ve never wanted people to stop shopping, I’m just saying, let’s change the demand. Let’s change the wages, working conditions,” the platinum-blonde bobbed fashion firecracker says while sipping coffee at Greenhorn Espresso Café in the West End. “It’s been a lot of learning. I’m not claiming to be a professional or know everything in this industry, but what I do know is that we have power as consumers, and I want people to know what those powers are.”
