Trends Clothing Co

My FAVOURITE «thrift» store in Calgary. Amazing selection of brand new/​lightly used clothes, usually all in style! Really organized. However, the staff are a bit rude, and the prices are pretty crazy… a shirt from Forever 21 for 15 $?? No thanks I’ll buy it new.

I agree with the other bad reviews. First off the customer service was non existent and fairly rude. I stood there for at least 5 minutes with no eye contact and was walked by 3 times like I didn’t exist. When they did deal with me they was cold and I didn’t feel a good vibe at all. I found the store itself to be in blah condition. I’ve seen other consignment stores with amazing merchandizing skills and modern design. Trends was dark and unappealing and I don’t think I would want to shop there. I brought in about 15 items in decent condition. From sevens and mavi jeans to express dress shirts, 4 pairs of dress pants and a nice matrix jacket. Yes some items that weren’t current style or worn I assumed would be donated but they only chose 2 items out of the lot (and it took 3 weeks to even know this), I was shocked. Then I read the other reviews and realized this icky feeling I have over the whole thing is common at Trends. It takes a while for them to go through your stuff and get your account online and I don’t like the auto donation policy at all (but I was a first time consignor there so live and learn I guess). I won’t return. Peacock and Salvedge are much friendlier, appreciative of your business and go through your items with you. You can pick them up after 30 – 60 days no hassle.

I’m not sure why there are so many negative reviews on consigning here. Over the last two months I have taken two garbage bags of clothes to Trends and only one of my items (a pair of jeans) has not made it onto the floor (I have middle of the road brands from Banana Republic and Aritzia mostly. Nothing super high end). They take up to four weeks to process items you drop off but I prefer consigning here over Peacock Boutique down the road because you can track your items online (rather than having to call and check every few weeks) and they price their items waaaay better (more return for the consigner!). I think the people that are having issues with their items not being accepted are probably dropping off things that won’t appeal to the Trend clientele (which is mainly younger people I think!)

Classic oldies to New goodies.
I always pop into Trends when I’m in this area. I quite like it– I noticed a few people giving the store poor reviews based on the consignment policies. I only know it as a shopper so my review will be based on that.
I wasn’t expecting it to have such a large selection of items. From handbags and jewelry to clothing, there is a lot to choose from. I was looking for a vintage, navy blazer with gold buttons that retails for under $ 50. Something I never thought I would find considering J. Crew is selling a vintage-​inspired, navy blazer for $ 200. But guess what? Trends had it and had it for $ 40! See what I mean when I say they have a wide variety of things?
What really caught my eye was the selection beautiful dresses and jumpsuits. There was a great selection for different occasions– fancy, casual, day or night wear. I think if you are shopping for something to wear to a wedding– browse Trends first.
I even enjoyed the way the store was organized. It is done by colours, style and by size. There was a thoughtful display of current ‘Trends’ placed at the front. I thought that this was a cute idea and I almost bought another pair of ripped jeans shorts because of it. Great marketing, eh!!!
Trends is located in the «walking district» of our city, so if you’re driving down you most likely will have to pay for parking. Also, if you’re looking for thrift store pricing– Trends is a bit more expensive than that. But overall, definitely worth a peek!

Something funny going on here.
Brought clothes in to consign three times now. Several of the items I’ve brought in were brand new with tags on. Nothing I’ve ever brought in has passed their sorting process. It’s all been thrown out or donated, so they say.
When I asked for the reason they said my items needed to be laundered or were heavily worn. Big huge scam.

I went in yesterday, February 27^th, a month and 10 days after I dropped off my items to be consigned. I wanted to see out of curiosity if my items were there and what do you know, three of my earring and necklace sets are being sold along with a bracelet. But the manager on staff still says the rest was sent for donation. BS! What a bunch of thieves!

You know a real good way to get around shady consignment methodologies? Don’t consign! Not going to wear the items in the back of your closet anymore? Give them away– half of them will go to the Drop In Centre or something anyways if they can’t be sold at a shop. Hell, get in touch with me, I could probably list a handful of local women’s groups right now that could really use some hand me downs.
Want to take the risk anyways? Drop your clothes off at Trends so I can shop them. I find Trends a pretty decent consignment store in the city as a consumer. They manage to group their clothing by colour, which I find very visually pleasing. Pricing is mostly fair, from what I’ve purchased. And, if I think a used item of clothing is too much, I simply don’t buy it. I love the concept of second hand clothing and resisting the consumption of new clothes at a mall or some other soul sucking institution when I could check Trends first. Plus, when I was at Market Collective last, they stopped by at all the vendor’s tables with vouchers which I thought was super sweet of them, to get involved with a local community event. Just another reminder to pay a visit or two in the near future.
If you are looking for «vintage» consignment, you probably won’t find it here. I’ve noticed Trends provides mostly mid-​range, modern brands– Banana Republic, Tahlua, Jacobs, etc with a few exceptions. I am not the hugest shopper at all, but when in Kensington, I like to stop by Trends and see what they have to offer.

I wasn’t aware of all of the issues some consigners were having with Trend. My review is based on consigning there, not shopping.
Trend had a great reputation quite a few years ago, and was one of the main consignment stores in this city. I got quite turned off when they started really restricting number of drop off bags, dates, and the fact you have to book to get a cheque. Not only that, their parking lot is tiny, and there’s never anywhere to park. It seems more of a hassle to get in there than I’m willing to put the effort into.
I’ve found an awesome new place to consign my clothing, which is more than willing to take all of my bags, and you can walk right in and collect cash!

Trends used to be one of my favourite shopping places until I decided to consign some of my own clothing there.
As a customer, Trends is a great place to shop. Things are layed out nicely, it’s easy to find designer items in your size and they have lots of unique pieces for a decent price. The staff are generally friendly and the change rooms are boutique-​like, which is a nice change from the usual (gross) second-​hand store ones I’ve been in. I’ve bought plenty of funky shoes and shirts from there.
As a consigner, Trends failed miserably. They «lost» my entire collection of clothes and shoes. They have a policy of donating clothing that isn’t top quality, but they didn’t even know where my order went. It apparently never made it into the system and was not tracked against my account. A week or two later, I found a pair of shoes on the rack that I consigned and I never saw a penny of my sale because they had «lost» my order and the shoes were attached to some other account.
The exact same shoes, with the same slight mark on the heel, in the same size were consigned by another account? Riiiiiight. I felt really insulted by their lack of explanation and complete lack of investigation. I have only dropped in occasionally in the years since then if they have something nice in the window.
Trends gets two stars because while the clothing selection IS good, I wonder how often they have mysteriously «lost» other consigner’s items and turn a dishonest profit from it.

Where to start with Trend…
I was just there on Saturday, and as I often do, had a wonderful shopping experience. I’ve been coming here for years, and rarely leave the store empty handed. On one occasion I found a pair of Paige Premium Denim jeans for $ 35, score!
The staff are really helpful, and their effort & friendliness is certainly more than second-​hand. The layout is nice, quite spacious, and well organized. They have jewellery cases, and high-​end items are neatly segregated.
So why the 3 stars?
As a consignor, I’ve had less than lovely experiences with Trend. They take weeks (up to 5), to bring your items into store inventory, and on at least three separate occasions they’ve lost items. I’m not talking cotton t-​shirts worth $ 20, I mean leather handbags & designer sunglasses.
And I keep going back because…
I truly believe they’re the best consignment shop in the city. They have a lot of stock, awesome staff, and they price items fairly. Obviously they need stay in business & make money for the consignors, but they make a full-​outfit makeover possible on a $ 150 budget.
Love/​Hate Relationship I suppose. During my last visit another consignor came in with a few boxes of high-​ticket goods. She made a point of taking certain items out and showing the staff, in a friendly «I know these $ 1000 shoes are in here, so I’d better see them on the shelf in a few weeks, capisce?» kinda way… :)
Could be a good tip for you fashionistas.
KLM.

I had only heard about Trends from friends, I had never set foot in it until the other day. The store is big, nice and open. It was also very busy. I like that they have all the tops organized by color. I did have to dig to find my size in anything. The have a reasonable amount of jeans, but everything in my size was from the Gap. The jeans went for between $ 30 and $ 85 for designer ones. There were some Seven For All Mankind’s and Diesel jeans that I found, but they weren’t my size. I found that they didn’t have much for purses or shoes. A pair of Nine West shoes were $ 50, you can get them brand new for that! I found that the tops were hit and miss, there were some nice ones and some obviously worn ones. I found that even though a top was my size, they seemed to fit smaller, probably due to being cleaned and dried numerous times.
So I was unsuccessful in trends. I would return to check it out again, but I can’t say I will be rushing back.

I’m not a big consignment shopper and I don’t enjoy sorting through racks trying to find that ‘diamond in the rough’, but I must say that at Trends, things are a lot less chaotic than they are at Value Village and at Winners.
They have the clothes laid out expertly and it’s relatively easy to find what you’re looking for.
The service is decent and I enjoyed the atmosphere — they had incense lit, music playing and people happily sorting through the racks.
Although it’s not my kind of store, I can definitely see the appeal.

Where does second-​hand clothing shopping make sense? At Trend of course. Most of the stuff here is hand-​selected to still be cool enough to wear but at a fraction of the price. I went looking for a cute lil vest to wear over tank tops this summer and though they had what I wanted, I didn’t quite find my size. Much of the selection is colour-​coded, especially shirts so you can bypass the colours that make you look jaundiced. I’ve never been a fan of second-​hand footwear but I admit, the selection of shoes is surprisingly pretty good. I found a dress and pants to try on and had the sizes been right, I would have been sold. Much superior to Value Village for modernity, check it out when you’re on a budget or bring in your tired-​of-​duds to make a lil extra moula.

I’m not a big vintage shopper. I just lack the magic it takes to find clothes that fit in the colours I want without paying a massive premium. But I’d like to be, to find cheaper clothes and help cycle down some of the mindless consumerism that invades both Calgary and me. So a place like Trends is perfect for my kind of shopper, because they take all the hard work right out of it.
The clothes are organized by type (pants, jackets, blouses), colour then size, so it is relatively easy to navigate the store and find the right stuff. They focus a lot more on casual wear than office wear, but most of it is stylish and recent it. It is called Trends for a reason!
They also have a growing section of new clothing, which I enjoy glancing at as well. That in addition to their large collection shoes and handbags, their makeup (not used) business in the back, and the jewelry mean that Trends can be a one-​stop-​shop for many people.

I am a huge consignment shopper, not only do I believe in saving money but I also believe in recycling.
For casual and sportier items, Value village is the place for merch, for formal and business attire; I will turn to Vespucci’s.
But to really get my swag on, I would highly recommend Trends in Kensington. This is the place to go to fill my closet with urban street ware. This store caters to the 18 to 35 year old woman who wants a bit of funk but doesn’t want to end up with junk.
Expect affordable clothing and accessories on gently used items like Miss Sixty, Diesel, David Bitten, and Rock and Republic.
I never leave Trends empty handed.

Trends is your –almost– basic 2^nd hand clothing store. The only thing that separates it from the others is how much more awesome it is!
The clothes are easier to find and set-​up so that if you know what you’re looking for, you can find it no problem. They have an interesting selection of used clothes that seem to be a little more trendy than other places. I guess the should be trendier since the name says it all.
The prices of the clothes are reasonable considering this is a privately owned place. I’ve noticed that other private 2^nd hand stores ask for a lot more than necessary… this place doesn’t.
They also have an interesting selection of new clothes. I think the owner has her own line, which she sells through her store. Congrats to them for having the courage and motivation to put out their own clothes.
I like Trends because it’s nifty, thrifty and thriving. Every time I go it seems to be getting more and more full. My 2^nd hand hat goes off to Trend for being, well, awesome!