Everything old is new again

Vintage Glory is on the move, but still has the fashion you crave

Doug Shand has collected vintage clothing for the past 35 years. He’s moving his store, Vintage Glory, from Albert Street to McDermott Avenue. Dylan Hewlett

The collection that started as a hobby for Doug Shand and his late wife Lana has outgrown its home once again. The store known as Vintage Glory may be packing up from its 88 Albert St. location, but fret not, vintage lovers, it is not moving too far.

Shand has been collecting vintage clothing for 35 years, and the 60-year-old is nowhere near to giving up his daily shopping trips.

He explains how his business of giving old clothes a new home came out of a fascination for past styles.

“I met Lana when I was 17,” Shand says from the green couches at the rear of his store, surrounded by his wares. “She always wore vintage. It intrigued me.”

“I love old fashions. They’re better made and they fit well,” he adds.

Shand is prudent when he selects items for his store; he won’t take torn clothing and he prefers to see where the garments come from.

“I like to make house calls. You find the best stuff on the third floor of houses.”

Shand also hunts down pieces in his daily thrift store jaunts.

“I go to two Sally Anns, two Value Villages, and a Goodwill everyday.”

Tuesdays he hits up the Mennonite Central Committee Store (“That’s when they put the new stuff out”) and makes a trip out to Steinbach.

He also makes two road trips a year to the West Coast in the quest for vintage gold.

I met my wife when I was 17. She always wore vintage. It intrigued me.

Doug Shand, owner, Vintage Glory

Originally, the couple sold pieces to other stores, but in the years since owning their own place, the concept that is Vintage Glory has gone through several incarnations. However, Shand’s extensive vintage collection has been housed in the current location for three years now, in a space that he built with his own two hands.

“I sat right here,” he says, pointing at the ground in front of the couches. “I imagined the store. I built everything (the shelving, etc.) myself, for $600.”

Shand is a carpenter by trade, and had his own cabinet shop in the ‘70s called Manhattan Interiors.

Shand has great aspirations for the new location that will be in the Bate Building at 223 McDermott.

Not only will the space be bigger by almost two times, it will also be under a new name, Rhymes With Orange.

On closing the current location Shand says, “I wanted to start something fresh. (Vintage Glory) was a big part of Lana’s life.”

Another addition to Vintage Glory 2.0 comes in a pair: the women behind Oh So Lovely, the old-is-new clothing line known for their adorable vintage trailer, became Shand’s business partners in August.

“(The partnership) worked out so well; it’s a really great match. I have the older vintage and they have more trendy wear, for the younger crowd. They are up to date with their fashion sense, which is what Lana had.”

Shand has fans from near and far who are sure to follow him wherever his collection goes.

“I love Vintage Glory because it always seems like there’s something just for you hiding in there,” says local fashion blogger Raezavel Argulla. “I always leave with something fantastic.”

Published in Volume 66, Number 11 of The Uniter (November 9, 2011)

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