Fresh Collective

I just entered this store for the first time this weekend and was very impressed with the quality of clothes. Compared to the other boutiques on Queen, the prices were quite reasonable. The salesperson was really friendly and genuine, giving me her honest thoughts piece by piece. I walked away with a unique shirt and am proud of have supported a local designer, in this retail world ruled by H&M and Zara!

I like to support local businesses and designers, and don’t get much time to shop, so spent a lot of time trying to find something I really liked. The store clerk was helpful in selecting outfits. Unfortunately there were very few items with natural fibers. I finally found a nice sweater/​jacket style, unlined, a little pricey for polyester and not so comfortable. There always seems to be a disconnect between fashion and comfort.

Fresh Collective is the store I’ve been looking for in Toronto: an independent boutique offering fashion made by local designers, with reasonable prices and real world array of sizes. With friendly, helpful sales staff and a great selection of accessories, I’ll certainly keep coming back.
Okay, so let me be a bit more specific: By reasonable prices, I mean reasonable by non-​sweatshop standards.
These are not cheap clothes (prices seem to run in the $ 70 to $ 200 range), but consider that people are actually making a living designing and making them right here in the city, and then get out your wallet and pay what well made, unique clothes are actually worth. Or if you have to, wait until August and February and hit the sales.
By real-​world array of sizes, I mean there are plenty of Extra Smalls on the racks, but there are also Extra Larges and even one or two XXLs. The owner told me that she tries very hard to have something for everyone. Now, I’m a size 14/​16ish, right between regular and plus size. Most stores (whether regular or plus size) have a depressing lack of selection for me, but I’ve been able to find lots of pieces to choose from at Fresh Collective.
Most of the sales staff are the designers and artists who make the clothes and jewelery. These are the people I want to support so they can make more beautiful things for me to choose from.

As one reviewer points out, if you’re going for the «cute librarian» look, this place is for you. I, however, am not even a teeny bit going for the cute librarian look but one day something sleek and red in the window caught my eye, so after living literally up the street from the store for many years I finally ducked in. Amid the bright floral prints there are treasures of the monotone variety. Across the store from the high-​waisted, full-​skirted dresses you will find pencil skirts in deep reds and aubergines and little black dresses that really flatter.
Thanks to the friendly, helpful staff I’ve tried on things I never would have chosen myself and it’s made a big difference in how I feel about my wardrobe. Some of my favorite clothes now are funkier and/​or more colorful than I would have ever imagined. So not only do I get my usual classic stuff here, but I also branch out a little from my comfort zone.
The store works mostly on a consignment model, where designers provide the clothes for no money up front and they only get paid when things sell. You will often find one of the designers staffing the store. The idea of a large percentage of the purchase price I pay going right into the pocket of a local designer, who probably sewed the item herself, makes me really happy.

Came back to check out the clearance sales & tried on a number of dresses. The sales lady was so helpful & fun. There was no pressure at all to buy but after I tried on one of the dresses I knew I was going to walk out with it, even though I didn’t really need a new dress. I just loved it so much. I appreciated the fact that I felt more like I was playing dress-​up with a bunch of friends than in a retail clothing store. This is the coolness of Fresh Collective.

Supporting local artists is important to me, and I wanted to love this store for that reason. Their clothes and accessories are intriguing; some better made than others. Fabric and quality of clothing is generally good, and the sizing is reasonable: you don’t have to be a particular size or shape to fit into their clothes; there’s generally something for everyone.
Staff are exceedingly helpful and friendly.
Where they lose stars is in their returns policy. On the spur of the moment, I ended up dropping over $ 300 on jewellery that I thought would pair well with my newly purchased outfit. When I got home, I realised that the hook for the drop earrings was so large that it wouldn’t fit in my pierced ears. I also wasn’t crazy about the necklace, as it seemed to have limited appeal with the rest of my wardrobe.
I returned the next day to ask for a refund, explained the situation and was politely but firmly told they offer no refunds, whatsoever. Product exchange or store credit only. Even on jewellery bought less than 24 hours ago. The most annoying part was that no one explained their return policy while I was making the purchase, and I don’t think there was any such note on the receipt about returns.
The saving grace was that the store credit can be applied across all of their Fresh Collective stores, so I don’t have to only shop at the same location where I made my original purchase. Plus they record the store credit on their computers, not just on a sheet of paper given to me. But that refund policy seriously stung and made me want to avoid ever shopping there again.
Note to the wise! Otherwise, they would’ve received a 5-​star rating, especially for their exceptional customer service.

Fresh Collective is one of my favourite clothing and accessories destinations on Queen street. They feature a range of local and Canadian designers in funky jewellery and clothing that you’d be hard pressed to find anywhere else in the city. They carry lines like Mandala and Studio Fresh which are just awesome. The prices are reasonable and the staff are helpful.

I like this store a lot. Not only does it carry MORE of Mark Foreman’s Bionic dress line, but the owners are SO. SOOOOO nice.
I like about 25% of what’s in the store. The rest, is mostly colourful jersey and I can buy that any time, anywhere, and makes me think of maternity wear.
I especially like that they alter things for you, for a very good price versus going to a tailor (YAY!)
I also LOVE that it’s full of independent designers.
I know they have other locations so maybe I should pop by those instead…

I am a big fan of the dresses and skirts in this store, and always stop in when I am walking on that strip of West Queen West.
Love the fact that everything is made by locals, and that you can meet the designers because they work there!
Reasonable prices, and great sales!
The clothes fit normal people. Try on a few different sizes if you need to, but they fit normal people. You don’t need to be super tall or super skinny to wear them.
I’ll be back soon for my fashion fix.

The storefront says, «Buy Fresh, Buy Local.» But in reality, it should be «Buy Local? Buy Fresh.»
The Collective (note not co-​op) is a wonderful little haven of handmade crafts and goods. There were more adorable earrings, purses, and clothes than I could fathom. My friend and I wandered the store for nearly an hour alternately exclaiming, «cute!» with mouth agape or chatting up the staff.
As Erin H mentions, each showcased artist/​designer works onsite once a week. The only downside to this is if inquiring minds have questions about something other than the artist du jour personally made, there won’t be any answers. And as a person with some hard core metal allergies, I won’t buy jewelry unless I am certain that it doesn’t contain anything that will make my earlobes swell. However, I was lucky to encounter the artist who crafted the earrings that fell in love with and so, got to take them home with me (and support the local arts).
Plus, I was able to be a helper that day (I love being of assistance). As the resident artist handed me a credit card receipt, I was able to pass along this little tip: legal colors only please! I passed on the pink pen handed to me and instead signed with a my own, handy blue plume. For, although I wasn’t planning on contesting the charges, anyone could attempt to do so and without either a customer’s blue or black ink signature on file, the store might end up «out» some fundage.

Fresh Baked Goods encapsulates what I would like my wardrobe to look like if I had the money to spend on a complete clothing makeover.
It’s clothing for the cute librarian niche, filled with simple skirts splattered in apples and flowers, coats with off-​centre zippers, and other adorable I’m-30-but-I-dress-like-I’m-5 garments. Wait. Is this why I don’t have a boyfriend?
Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.
Anyway, it’s a haven for crafty types and does a great job of showcasing over 30 local designers — pretty cool in a city full of chains.

Despite the Lilith Fair music playing in the background this place was actually quite cool.
Fresh Collective is a Queen St. Shop run (but not owned) by all local designers, where each one has his/​her own section of the store and works once a week. The store carries handmade clothing, jewelry, bags, and other little knick-​knacks.
Although the stuff is handmade, it doesn’t reek of handmade-​ness like many items of this nature do. I was even loath to step into this collective but I am glad I went against my better (or worse) judgement and did.