location:33 Kensington Ave.
phone number:416.598.2981
hours of operation:Mon–Sat 11am–7pm, Sun noon–6pm
payment methods:cash, Interac, Visa, MasterCard, AmEx
Directions:Heading south on Spadina from College, turn right on St. Andrew, then turn left on Kensington Ave.

Flashback is jam packed with coats, dresses, skirts, pants, purses, belts and boots from the forties through to the ninties. Finding the 2000-some-odd square feet of space inside insufficient, Flashback maintains a dozen or so racks outside as well – winter and summer. The sheer number of items on the Flashback racks defies the laws of physics and means you’ll have to use some muscle to see what they’ve got. This may be daunting at first but the store is well organized, making shopping there a worthwhile (if not slightly marathon) experience. Along with the usual vintage, they regularly stock a wide range of military surplus, so it’s a good place to find utilitarian winter gear, costumes, and interesting military accents. Flashback is dedicated to quantity, so look over your choices carefully. It’s not uncommon to find some damages, stains, etc., and some items don’t have prices, which can be annoying. The good news is that the staff is friendly and always ready to answer your questions. The owner, Roger, is also open to a little haggling, so if you’re the handy type, you can get good deals on fixer-uppers. The size range at Flashback is quite narrow, as is often the case with vintage. Still, because of the formidable amount of clothing they offer, your odds of finding larger sizes are better than in smaller stores. The interior decorating is quite drab but almost doesn’t matter because the wall to wall items are the real decorations.
profile by Bonnie DeKuyper & Coco Buck
photography by Melissa Kuril