Questions and Comments

People ask questions and comment on what I do, and I try to answer without attitude, a challenge for me. Here's a typical crop:
What is resale? (Something that was owned and is being sold again).
What is consignment? (You get paid after your item is sold).
Is this your line? Do you make the clothes? (No).
Are these used clothes? (Yes).
Why are they so expensive? (Some are and some aren't).
You don't have to be so cheap, jack the prices higher. (O.K.).
Why don't you sell women's clothes? (Many stores like this for women already exist).
What made you do this? (Thought about it for years, finally got the opportunity to try).
I'm very impressed with your store. (Thank you).
Oh, you're still here! They are keeping you in business. (Yes, it's going well).
Do you have this shirt in extra large? (Most of the clothes are one of a kind in this store).
When will you get more shoes, sweaters, suites etc. (I need a crystal ball to answer that).
Who is your average customer? (Men are, but some women shop here as well).
Does it make me look gay?(No, it looks great, and in any case gays know how to dress so you shouldn't care).
Got anything new? (Always).
What did you do before this? (Long story, I usually tell them parts of it, depending on the situation).
What are you reading? (This week was so busy I had no time to read at all, good for business, not good for the soul).
Have you sold any of my things yet? (Usually, yes).
Will you give me a deal? (Sure).
And so it goes.

A growing collection

The shop is becoming fuller by the day, and the selection varies greatly, from the kinky to high fashion, which is exactly what I wanted. Take a look at this naughty T - shirt: My mannequin was wearing it the other day, with nothing but underwear and a hat to go with. Today he is wearing this fabulous Balenciaga wool jacket.

What I did on Rosh Hashana

Our friend Alex is a wonderful sculptor. We were invited to the official opening of a ceramic installation he did for the municipality of Cambridge, about an hour and a half drive from Toronto. This is a detail from the piece, the entire thing takes up a wall of a building.
Alex is a typical artist who has no time for shopping, but he chose my shop to do his shopping for this occasion. His wife was very pleased.

Fall is here!

The chill is in the air and people feel it. I'm getting fall clothes in and out, it's making me very happy.

Happy New Year

Today the shop is closed. I'm sacrificing my usually best sales day of the week to feel in touch with my people, so to speak. But the week so far was very good for business so I'm not feeling too guilty about it.
Here is my man in brown, isn't he dashing?

Changes

I put up some new shelves in the shop for the fall selection.
The shop is getting to be quite crowded these days and I have to keep moving things around. It's a challenge, a bit like a puzzle. I don't mind.

The suit

A young man bought a suit, shirt and tie from me last week. He had to go to a wedding in the U.S. and kept coming back to check the suits, trying them on and asking me, quite anxiously: do I look like I have money, does it look good, can you tie the tie for me, can you give me a good price, etc. I obliged, of course.
When I opened on Tuesday he popped in just to say: "Thank you, it all worked out great".
I like it when people do that.