At 14 Douglas Ave in Bathurst, Out of the Closet Boutique has spent the past eight years building a reputation as one of northern New Brunswick’s go-to spots for consignment fashion, an achievement recognized formally when the shop took home the GOLD award for Best Thrift, Vintage, or Consignment Store from Excellence NB, and then repeated the win the following year. That back-to-back recognition places the shop among the region’s most respected names in secondhand retail, a distinction the business backs up with an inventory that refreshes with hundreds of new pieces every week.
The boutique’s stock leans toward hand-selected ladieswear that spans both vintage and contemporary style, supplemented by a strong accessories and footwear selection. Shoppers regularly find designer handbags from labels like Coach, Dooney and Bourke, and Fossil, footwear from Dr. Martens, and branded apparel from names such as Lululemon and Harley Davidson, all priced well under retail because everything on the floor arrives through local consignment rather than wholesale purchasing. The shop is explicit about that model, describing its inventory as one hundred percent local and on consignment, which means every piece has a previous owner in the community and a story attached to it rather than coming off a factory truck.
Because only a fraction of the boutique’s full inventory makes it online, the shop encourages customers to browse in person to see the true scope of what is available on a given day, though a curated staff picks selection is maintained both online and in-store for shoppers who want a starting point. The business runs several recurring promotions that have become part of its identity locally: Wild Wednesday drop-off events give consignors a dedicated day to bring in new items, a Pay Cash, Save the Tax promotion runs on the first Thursday of every month, and a bring-your-own-bags initiative encourages shoppers to reuse rather than take a fresh bag with every purchase, tying the shop’s sustainability message to its day-to-day operations rather than treating it as a marketing slogan alone.
During its summer schedule, which begins in late June, the shop is open seven days a week, running Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday through Monday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., giving both weekday and weekend shoppers ample opportunity to visit. For customers outside the immediate Bathurst area, the boutique ships across Canada for a flat rate of $9.95, with shipping waived entirely on orders over $125, and local shoppers can also opt for free in-store pickup on items ordered ahead of time.
Out of the Closet Boutique sits within Bathurst’s small but active independent retail scene, serving a city that anchors the Chaleur region of northern New Brunswick, and its consignment model gives local sellers a way to earn something back on gently used clothing while giving buyers access to name brands at a fraction of original prices. Between its two consecutive Excellence NB gold awards, weekly inventory refreshes, and a full slate of community-facing promotions, Out of the Closet Boutique has established itself as the standout consignment destination in the Bathurst area: an award-winning, locally rooted shop where nearly every piece on the rack was donated by someone in the community and is waiting for its next owner.
