When Betty and Rob Blanchard opened My Closet Consignment in Fredericton on September 5, 2017, they built the business around a model that looks different from most secondhand clothing shops: everything happens by appointment. Rather than keeping a walk-in storefront with racks open to browsing at any hour, My Closet schedules customers directly, running between fifteen and thirty appointments on a typical day, with fresh inventory arriving on an hourly basis throughout that schedule. The result is a shopping experience that feels closer to a private styling session than a typical thrift run, with staff able to give each visitor focused attention rather than splitting time across a crowded floor.
The boutique specializes in gently used women’s clothing, and its size range is notably broad for a secondhand shop, spanning from XXS up through 4XL, an inclusivity that has become part of what customers point to when describing why they keep coming back. Alongside size range, the shop emphasizes access to labels and one-of-a-kind pieces that are not typically available elsewhere in the local market, giving Fredericton shoppers a way to find distinctive items without traveling to a larger city. Because inventory is entirely consignor-driven, no two visits look the same, and the appointment structure means staff can walk new arrivals directly to customers whose preferences they already know.
That consignment model works in both directions. Sellers bring in clothing they no longer wear and, once accepted, earn a share of the resale price, giving them a way to turn closet clutter into cash while extending the useful life of garments that would otherwise sit unused or end up discarded. Buyers get access to quality pieces, often well below original retail, while participating in a process that keeps textiles circulating rather than adding to landfill volume, a point the shop treats as central to its identity rather than an afterthought. The environmental angle has resonated with a customer base that increasingly weighs sustainability alongside price and style when deciding where to shop.
The business’s growth has been recognized locally: just two years after opening, My Closet won the Wilson Insurance Start-Up Award at the 2019 Business Excellence awards, a notable achievement for a company still in its infancy and a signal of how quickly it built a loyal customer base in Fredericton. That early momentum appears to have held, with the shop now regularly described as one of the city’s go-to shopping destinations for women seeking secondhand fashion, a reputation built one appointment at a time rather than through high-volume walk-in traffic.
Anyone interested in consigning or shopping is directed to review the store’s acceptance criteria before booking a time slot through its online scheduling system, a small extra step that keeps the appointment-based model running smoothly and ensures both sellers and buyers know what to expect before they arrive. For Fredericton shoppers looking for an appointment-only, size-inclusive consignment boutique with hourly-refreshed inventory and a track record of local business recognition, My Closet Consignment stands out as a genuinely distinctive model in the city’s secondhand fashion scene, one built on personalized appointments rather than open-door browsing.
