Second Hand Rose

Disclaimer: This review is a little late coming, and is based on my experience in this store a year ago. Hopefully there have been no drastic changes to the quality of this store since then.
Mid-​October, 2010, Halifax, Nova Scotia. My Mission: To find a red trenchcoat to go with my Carmen San Diego Halloween costume.
Having called/​searched/​generally made a nuisance of myself at pretty much every other used clothing location I could possibly think of, I called the number for this shop and was greeted by a friendly, booming voice, which seemed happy to take a look around her store for my request. And soon returned to tell me she indeed had one!
Later that day I shot down to her quaint but cute little shop on my lunch break to take a look at the coat. It was perfect, and I ended up buying it, filled with relief that I would not be rushing around the day or two before Halloween seriously considering accosting strangers on the street, begging to borrow a red trench coat.
The shop itself is small, but full of a variety of previously-​loved treasures for women and men. There is also a cute selection of wallets, change purses, and a few other types of accessories.
The staff member (I’m not sure if she was the owner, or simply an employee) who served me was boisterous, cheerful, and seemed more than happy to help.
Mission completed… wait, it’s Halloween again and I don’t have a costume… again. Sigh. Commence next Mission…

Hmmm… this nondescript, hidden shop leaves me a little confused post-​visit.
I popped in today, never having ventured in before. There was no signage, just an open door and some pieces on display in the window. The store smelled smokey and stale, with a variety of fashions mixed together on hanging floor wracks.
I asked the woman working whether it was consignment and she said it was mostly new. There didn’t appear to be any two pieces that were the same, and things were organized willy nilly.
I spied a sparkly dress costing around $ 300, which kind of blew my mind. The vibe offered up more of a used clothing, cheap feel — not one suggesting expensive designer pieces. I didn’t stay long, but also noted a variety of sparkly jewelry at the counter, as well as accessories sprinkled throughout the store.
There may be some pieces work discovering, but I didn’t feel overly inspired to prolong my visit. A «meh» and an «okay» from this here peanut gallery.