Breathless Vintage

Rad vintage shop in Kensington Market with some VERY special finds. I have found some of my favourite pieces here. The owners/staff are very experienced in vintage and have a true passion towards the clothing and aesthetic they provide. Truly vintage experts! I've always had very pleasant experiences shopping here. Don't miss this one!

rude staff, followed my friend around store, wouldn’t allow any photos to be taken. was ready to purchase an item but was disgusted by rudeness of staff. would not recommend going here. prices are very high as well.

I shop often on Kensington market to find unique vintage items or furniture decor and accessories, and I've been to this store 3 times in the past year. On my first visit, I bought two beautiful vintage scarves; on my second visit the store staff said to me in a very rude arrogant tone not to take pictures. OK, I understand that is the story policy because they are afraid of competition taking photos etc. But you can say that in a polite manner, as they say in Yugoslavia "Beautiful word opens an iron door". On that second visit, I found an item I liked that was very expensive for a vintage store ($400) but I liked it, and the store was closing so I had to come another time. On my the third visit, when I came in and said that I would like to try on the coat again, the Co-Owner Rahat Alam said to me in a very rude, condescending, arrogant tone "Are you carrying weed on you". Now if you know Kensington Market and that corner, it often smells like weed. Actually, the whole Kensington market often smells like weed. On this particular day though, the whole street smelled like weed including his store, and since the store was filled with customers they were all telling him that because they saw that he is an arrogant, judgmental, person that the whole neighbourhood smells like weed. Naturally, all the customers left. It's not enough to have nice clothes and design in your store you have to be polite to your customers, period. It's called customer service. They sell vintage Christian Dior coat for $400, you can get that same coat for $25 in a Thrift store or online. They also sell old Geox shoes for $90, save your money and buy new Geox in the Geox Outlet store for $80.This is why they don't allow photos so that people can't make a note to check the item's price online to see if they are paying the right price. The root of the problem is that the co-owner Rahat Alam is a very jealous and evil person that has an inferiority complex so when he sees a good looking man that is dressed better than him he feels inferior and jealous. I'm not the first person he offended. I spoke with other people he offended as well. He will often comment on your clothing and try to put you down so that he can sell you estate sale and thrift store finds 10-20 times the market price. It doesn't work on me. I will never visit this store again. I would rather give my money to the other stores in the area. Other stores on Kensington Market like Flashback Vintage sell their vintage ties for $10, they sell them for $20 and $25 or more and plus vintage stores in the area like Flashback Vintage have a better selection and much lower prices on Vintage coats, jackets, suits, hats, dresses sweaters and much better customer service. Plus be aware they sell fake Chanel, which is illegal in Canada. Rahat Alam and his partner Lori Marsden are not the original owners and founders of the store, they bought it from the original owner and founder as an investment, hence the unprofessional customer service; they didn't think of this idea they bought someone else idea, its not their baby or their passion, they are just out to make cash. They lie to their young unknowledgeable customers how other thrift stores don't wash their clothes and you can get diseases; what a lie. They also delete negative honest reviews from Google (they deleted this one, but I reviewed them again) but you can't delete a Yelp review, so if you had bad experiences review this store on Yelp as well. They can't delete that ever, it stays on Yelp forever ;-). They also have fake reviews here on Google, two from the same person named Tessa Shank she reviewed their store twice with the same name but different account and different profile photo, check it out. P.S. If you buy more than one item the owner will give you a discount, or if you pay with cash, so they can hide taxes from the government.

the owner was one of the nicest and most genuine people, it was amazing to be able to experience and talk to someone who you could feel his passion for the items he sold and his interest in talking to people and sharing experiences. so lucky to chance upon this store. vintage stores aren’t about clothing or price, but about sharing beautiful pieces and stories. respect the store and he will treat you well. great place

Went to Kensington market for the first time, and the owner Rahat was very friendly and offered lots of great advice. I ended up finding a beautiful sweatshirt, and he pointed me towards a cute little Japan Airlines bag. Its definitely worth your time to take a stop in here!

I am very surprised at the negative reviews for this store. To the person who wrote the long one star review - I do not understand what bringing up the owner's Bangladeshi background has to do with anything. I'll leave it at that. I have visited a handful of times before, but it's been over a year. Today I had a positive experience at the store. The owner helped me find the perfect pair of 80s mom jeans and gave me several pairs to try. He really went out of his way to make sure I was happy with the fit.

The most passionate and down to earth store owner I’ve ever met! Worth a visit for the owner

Breathless is a fitting name. The clothes, the ambiance and of course the heartfelt chat with the owner was all spot on.