Inside Little White Sneakers, a designer consignment store for kids
Mini Case Study
Cousins Kara and Reagan Kennedy were fed up with dropping huge coin on clothes their kids would outgrow in a matter of weeks. They decided to ditch their corporate careers (Kara was a marketing manager and Raegan was a lawyer) and launch Little White Sneakers. They started with an online shop in December 2015, and opened their first storefront near Mount Pleasant and Eglinton earlier this month. Local moms will find both high-quality second-hand pieces (“We only sell Gap and above,” says Raegan) and new, locally made stuff from Toronto designers. Right now, LWS has more than 500 different brands in stock, including designer gear from Burberry, Baby Dior and Stella McCartney, all in excellent condition and priced at a fraction of the cost of buying new.
The space was a flower shop before they moved in. The pair installed walnut floors and stark white fixtures:
A chalkboard wall displays style tips for Toronto’s neighbourhood-hopping toddlers:
Plush animal puppets from Cate and Levi ($25) are handcrafted from repurposed sweaters, making them all one of a kind:
Patterned leggings from local brand Ollie Jones ($39) are made with 100 per cent organic cotton:
Baby Dior moccasins are comfortable luxury for little ones. And at $33 (regularly $85), they’re a steal, too:
These Brooks Brothers patent-leather oxfords are like-new and on sale for $40 (they’d be $100 full price):
The Kennedy cousins feature some of their Instagram-famous clients—wearing their clothes, of course—on the wall:
You can snag dresses for as low as $10:
For parents who don’t want to pay full price for a pretty flower girl dress that will almost certainly be worn only once, this one is only $75 (originally $180):
Most shoppers come in during the day, with their kids. This play table has apparently prevented many a tantrum:
The shop has had to restock Ollie Jones’ popular Toronto onesie a few times ($24):
This practically new Lisa Perry dress (selling for $99, down from $220) is great at camouflaging finger-painting disasters:
Torontojewellery label Marmalade’s necklaces ($25) are all handmade in a downtown studio using sterling silver and bronze:
Playjamas’ organic cotton PJs ($38) double as cool costumes—making getting your kids into them less of a struggle:
