The city’s very first vintage store was founded back in 1993 as a company selling used clothing across Asia, Russia and eastern Europe. The company also creates miniature Boris buses, if your predilections incline towards London. Even if you didn’t grow up in the city, these iconic trams, delivery trucks and even soft-serve ice-cream vans make for perfect gifts. Tiny is fully stocked to create the old-school Hong Kong diorama: crumbling tenement building facades, in front of which tiny model street hawkers roast up miniature chestnuts, while vintage taxis and “hot-dog buses” – double-deckers so named for their colour scheme and lack of air-conditioning – wait for passengers alongside rickshaws. Modelmaker Tiny’s toys summon up times gone by, with die-cast models that are a serious nostalgia hit for Hongkongers. Miniature models of vintage (and modern) Hong Kong vehicles make for perfect gifts Rumour has it that Hong Kong celebrities are prone to dropping off their pre-loved items here, for that touch of extra glam. What that all translates to is a regular stock of barely worn clothes, accessories, jewellery and shoes that tend toward the Pradas, the Ferragamos and the Guccis, with some choice vintage options on top – all for far less than you’d normally expect to pay. But even the rich in Hong Kong are squeezed into smaller living spaces, and when they run out of walk-in wardrobe space they bring their brand names to Hipster 9 to be sold on consignment. There are plenty of them in this city of status and money, and along with all the high teas and spa days come an awful lot of designer labels. Hong Kong’s ladies who lunch are known as “tai-tais” – literally just “wives”. Halfway up this short street, the Man Mo cafe serves up some fascinating fusion dim sum, such as pan-fried truffle brie dumplings. But best of all are the wristwatches featuring a waving Chairman Mao on the face, his arm ticking away the seconds. There are also bronze tchotchkes, jade necklaces, Hong Kong postcards, and Bruce Lee posters aplenty for the souvenir shopper. One store even features large marble busts of Mao, Stalin and Lenin, if your breakfast nook is in need of a touch more authoritarianism. They still might not quite have the pedigree of the antiques stores that surround them, but this strip lies at the intersection of capitalism and communism: the stalls are full of mass-produced copies of Mao’s Little Red Book, Communist-era propaganda posters, and Chinese Politburo playing cards (can you name them all?). These days the trinkets lining Cat Street are rather more legit. In Cantonese, a “cat” is a fence for stolen goods, and the street was once well known for its less-than-legal wares. Do note that most stores only take things for the current season, so don’t expect to sell winter coats in summer.Officially named Upper Lascar Row, after the lascar sailors who used to bunk here, this little alley just off the Hollywood Road antiques drag is known universally as “Cat Street”. If it’s more high-end designer labels, head to a shop that carries similar items for a better buy-back price. While most stores will let you pick and choose what to sell or take back with you, some will only buy the whole lot, so you won’t see your items again after dropping them off.ĥ. Be sure you’re ready to part with any items you bring in. You’ll receive an itemised list detailing the target resale price along with the percentage of your cut.Ĥ. If the store needs more time, you might have to leave a phone number so the staff can call you when they’re ready.ģ. You’ll have to wait for your items to be appraised. Bring your items to the store along with some form of ID, like your residence card (or passport).Ģ. If you'd like to offload some of your old clothing and accessories, here's a general breakdown of how to consign your items in Tokyo.ġ.
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