The Dundas Street West vintage mecca has welcomed an elegant new addition to its roster of thrift stores. When you go shopping at this highly curated shop with bright white walls and a chandelier hanging form the ceiling, and inevitably leave with a beautiful new wardrobe staple, owner Elizabeth Lima only has one instruction: “Tell them it’s vintage.”
That’s the name of Lima’s shop, which took physical form three months ago after years of operating exclusively as an Instagram and e-commerce business. “If someone stops and they ask you where you bought your outfit, the shop name is me telling you to tell them ‘it’s vintage,’” she says proudly.
Lima has always been a thrifter, having earned the stripes from her mom whose first job after immigrating to Canada from Guyana was at a local Goodwill while she studied to become a nurse.
“I grew up in that environment and I would be so excited when she’d come home with bags of stuff,” remembers Lima. “People would stop her and say, “Oh my gosh, your kids are so well dressed!’ and we were entirely suited up in Goodwill clothes.”
Lima grew up in the GTA and spent her entire working life in Toronto, mainly holding retail roles before transitioning into the educational field for several years. When the institution she worked at closed for good, she realized that she had no interest in working for someone else again.
She turned to her large personal collection of vintage clothes for inspiration. Something inside of her told her she was finally ready to part with it, so she launched an Etsy shop and started selling – styling and modeling the pieces as complete outfits so that others could see her vision.
She began vending at the Toronto Vintage Clothing Show and within six months, Tell Them It’s Vintage was fully operational– the pandemic was underway and many people were dedicated to online shopping. Her Etsy shop was getting rave reviews.
Of course she adored every piece in her collection, but one was particularly hard to part with: a long denim duster vest with patches and a sunset appliqué on the back. The Etsy shopper she sold it to said it reeked of couture.
“I’ve even thought of messaging her since and saying, ‘If you ever want to let it go, to resell it, I’ll buy it back,’” Lima laughs. But she had no problem sourcing new and equally unique pieces to replace those that found a home. “I love sourcing. The hunt is everyone’s favourite part of this business,” she says.
Then in 2021, she was named a finalist in the vintage category of the Etsy Design Awards.
“When Etsy reached out to me to say they loved everything I was doing on the platform, that’s when I thought, ‘This could be a good business to be serious about.’ And that’s when I really started focusing on developing a brand for myself,” she says. She commissioned a logo, and began consistently posting on social media, showcasing her styling talent as well as her inventory.
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“I love styling, I enjoy it so much,” she says, “[but] sometimes it’s a crazy, elaborate piece that [seems difficult] to wear in real life, and I’m trying to show how you can translate it into an everyday outfit.”
In May, Lima’s friend Evate rented a space on Dundas Street West so that she could host a pop-up for her vintage shop Nahnushe, and invited other sellers to join her, including Tell Them It’s Vintage and Styles by Mariam Vintage. Lima absolutely loved it, and a month later a family friend who owns a slew of businesses on the street, including 16-year-old Toronto music venue Lula Lounge, presented an opportunity: a vacant street-facing unit that had previously been an office space. Jumping on the opportunity, she spent a week moving the business in, and opened the first Tell Them It’s Vintage retail location in June.
“I hadn’t planned to do it at all. But it just so happened that Little Portugal is the place to come for amazing vintage shopping. The stars aligned,” she reflects.
What you can expect from your shopping experience is a selection of diverse, but refined, everyday apparel, sprinkled with pieces that scream main character energy. Lima thoughtfully curates her collection for all age demographics and the average price ranges from $80-$100, with a handful of designer pieces nearing the $1,000 mark (John Paul Gaultier, Christian Dior and Gucci, to name a few). Sizes similarly range from XS to some plus-sized clothing, and there’s a small men’s collection that Lima intends to expand.
She has also invited Styles by Mariam Vintage and Nahnushe to share the space with her, as well as artist Jordan Vandeputte who sells her paintings out of the space, as seen hung above clothing racks around the shop.
You can visit Tell Them It’s Vintage at 1449 Dundas St. W. every day from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Lima will also bring her collection to the Toronto Vintage Clothing Show in September.
