Repeats Quality Used Family Clothing and Costumes has been outfitting Charlottetown families for decades, having first opened its doors as a partnership back in 1996 with a simple goal: give Islanders and visitors an affordable, quality alternative to buying everything new. Three decades later, the store still operates on that same premise, now from its location at 95 Capital Drive in the Owl’s Hollow Building in the West Royalty area of Charlottetown, just off the Trans Canada Highway.
The shop’s longevity has not come without setbacks. A fire in 2014 damaged the business, yet rather than closing for good or relocating elsewhere, Repeats rebuilt and reopened at its original site, a decision that speaks to how attached the store’s owners and its customer base had become to that particular corner of Charlottetown. That resilience is part of what long-time customers point to when explaining why they keep coming back generation after generation.
Inside, the inventory covers used clothing for the whole family, infants through adults, alongside accessories and home décor items that round out the secondhand offering. But what truly distinguishes Repeats from other consignment and thrift shops on the Island is its year-round costume centre, a dedicated room stocked with used costumes organized by theme and size, along with wigs and accessories to complete a look. While many costume shops only stock inventory seasonally around Halloween, Repeats keeps its costume selection available all twelve months of the year, serving theatre groups, school productions, themed parties, and last-minute costume needs whenever they arise, not just in October. That year-round availability, paired with a dedicated room rather than a seasonal end-cap display, is a genuine rarity among Atlantic Canada clothing retailers.
The store is located inside the Owl’s Hollow Building, sharing space with the toy and game retailer Owl’s Hollow, and shoppers are directed to a rear entrance located just past the building’s party room, an entrance the store notes is accessible for customers who have mobility concerns. That attention to physical accessibility, called out directly by the business itself, reflects an effort to make the shop welcoming to as broad a range of customers as possible.
Repeats keeps generous hours for a resale shop, open Monday through Thursday from 9 in the morning to 5 in the evening, Friday from 9 until 8 at night, and Saturday from 9 to 5, giving shoppers multiple evening and weekend windows to browse without needing to plan around a typical nine-to-five schedule. The store is closed Sundays. Customers can call ahead at 902-892-0200 to check on costume availability for an upcoming event or ask about current clothing stock, and the business maintains an active Facebook page where new arrivals and costume-room updates are posted regularly.
Nearly thirty years in business, a rebuild after fire rather than a shutdown, and a costume room stocked twelve months a year rather than only at Halloween make Repeats Quality Used Family Clothing and Costumes one of Charlottetown’s most enduring and distinctive resale destinations, a one-stop shop for affordable family clothing and costumes any day of the year, located inside the Owl’s Hollow Building on Capital Drive in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
