For anyone shopping on Queen Street West in the new wave ’80s or grungy ’90s who needed stylish, trendy clothes on the cheap, there were few places like Black Market Vintage.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, that space had been sitting empty with a different sign, one that read “For Lease,” on the door. But now there’s life again at the bottom of those stairs. A brighter, slightly less gritty cousin to the Underground, where prices might rise above a tenner, Upstairs teems with more unpredictable one-off vintage pieces. Further west on Queen, yet another outpost, a “premium vintage” sister store called, where designer shoes coexist with Y2K-era Backstreet Boys and TLC merch, caters to a hipper Parkdale set.
In the meantime, Black Market stepped up its web presence. It built a more detailed online inventory, posting unique pieces, grading their condition . It launched a blog, expounding on topics like the evolution of band merchandise, how to care for vintage clothes, and the difference between “used” and “deadstock.” And, as lockdowns loosened, business picked up at the other two brick-and-mortar locations.
“We have an amazing buying team, and they’re out Monday through Friday, amassing loads and loads of goods,” Chung says. “Probably at least three vans full every day.”