Empire Exchange runs on a simple trade: bring in clothes you no longer wear and leave with cash or store credit. The buy-sell-trade shop opened in Mile End in 2013 and added a second location in Little Italy in 2018, both on Boulevard Saint-Laurent. Its racks turn over through that exchange program, giving secondhand and vintage pieces a second life as customers cycle their own wardrobes through the store. Alongside the used clothing, the shops carry new goods from local independent designers and makers: jewellery, sunglasses, accessories, candles and incense, beauty and home products, stationery, socks, and reusable bags. The draw is the combination of the two, pairing the hunt for a retro find with a small, curated run of new design.