Terms of Sale & Use

These terms govern your use of this website and any purchase made through it. By browsing the site, creating an account, subscribing to the newsletter, or placing an order, you accept them. If you do not accept them, please do not use the site.

The Procuress is a private dealer in vintage and antique garments, jewellery, accessories and objects. Throughout these terms, “we” and “the shop” mean The Procuress; “you” means the person using the site or buying from it. You must be of the age of majority in your jurisdiction to place an order.

Every piece in the collection is one of one. Nothing is reproduced, restocked or reordered. Once an object is sold, it is gone, and the listing remains only as a record.

Dates, materials, makers and origins are given as our considered opinion, formed from research, maker's marks, construction and provenance where it is known. They are offered in good faith and are not warranties of authenticity, age or valuation unless a listing states that a piece is accompanied by third-party documentation.

If you offer a piece to the shop, whether outright or on consignment, you confirm that it is yours to sell, that it is free of any lien or claim, and that you have told us everything you know of its history, repairs and origin. Consignment arrangements, including commission, duration and insurance, are set out in a separate written agreement made at the time.

Vintage and antique goods are sold as found. Wear, patina, small losses, repairs, alterations and the marks of long use are inherent to them and are not faults. We describe condition honestly and photograph notable flaws, but photographs and screens vary, and colour may not render exactly.

Measurements are taken flat, by hand, on the garment itself rather than by modern size label. Please read them before ordering; historic sizing rarely corresponds to contemporary sizing. If anything is unclear, write before you buy and we will answer, and send further photographs on request.

Antique textiles, paste, gilt, kid and early plastics are fragile and were not made for daily wear. Any care notes we provide are offered as guidance only. Once a piece is yours, its cleaning, alteration, repair and use are at your own risk, and we accept no liability for damage or injury arising from them.

Prices are shown in Canadian dollars and exclude taxes, shipping and any duties, which are calculated at checkout or on delivery. We may change prices at any time; the price that applies to your order is the one shown when the order is confirmed.

Because pieces are unique and are sometimes shown in person as well as online, an object may sell between the moment you add it to your bag and the moment you pay. If that happens, we will cancel the order and refund you in full. We reserve the right to correct pricing or description errors and to cancel any order affected by one.

An order is an offer to buy. It becomes a contract when we send a confirmation of dispatch. Payment is taken in full at checkout through our payment processor; we never see or store your full card number.

We may decline or cancel an order where an object is no longer available, where payment cannot be verified, or where we suspect fraud or resale in breach of these terms. Holds and payment plans on higher-value pieces may be arranged by correspondence and are confirmed in writing.

For the present, purchases are begun by request rather than by conventional checkout. A request to purchase, or an enquiry about an object, is an expression of interest and not an order. It does not reserve the object.

The Procuress confirms whether the object remains available, and an invoice then follows setting out the item, the price, the currency, applicable tax, delivery charges and any other amounts payable. You are asked to review the invoice before paying it. The contract is formed when payment is completed against that invoice.

Orders are packed by hand and usually dispatched within three to five business days, tracked and insured for the purchase price. Delivery estimates are estimates; once a parcel is with the carrier, its timing is not within our control.

Risk passes to you on delivery. International buyers are the importer of record and are responsible for any duties, taxes or brokerage charged on arrival; we cannot estimate these in advance and do not mark parcels as gifts or understate their value. Certain antique materials are restricted by import law in some countries and we will not ship them where that is the case.

For those nearby, local pickup in Toronto may be arranged by appointment.

Because each piece is unique and cannot be replaced, sales are final unless an object arrives materially different from its description or is damaged in transit. In that case, write within three days of delivery with photographs, and we will arrange a return and refund the purchase price and the original shipping.

Returned objects must come back unworn, unaltered, uncleaned and in their original packing. Nothing here limits any statutory right of cancellation you may have under the consumer law of your own country; where such a right applies, it prevails over this section.

Objects of Desire is a means of keeping a record of the pieces you are drawn to. Marking an object saves it to your own list and nothing more.

Saving an object does not reserve it, does not hold it, does not guarantee that it remains available, and does not oblige you to purchase it. An object saved by you may be sold to another.

Please do not scrape the site, harvest its listings or images for another marketplace, place speculative or automated orders, attempt to interfere with its operation, or use it for anything unlawful. We may refuse service to anyone who does.

The photography, written descriptions, field notes, illustrations, name and marks of The Procuress belong to us and may not be copied, resold or used commercially without written permission. You are welcome to share a listing or a note with credit and a link back.

Product imagery appearing through The Collection is created or commissioned for The Procuress, or otherwise used with appropriate permission or licence. Product imagery is not intended to reproduce or imply ownership of third-party brand campaign or promotional materials.

You are responsible for the accuracy of the details on your account and for keeping your password to yourself. Tell us promptly of any unauthorised use. We may suspend or close an account that is used in breach of these terms.

The site is provided as it is. To the fullest extent the law allows, our total liability in connection with an object or an order is limited to the amount you paid for it, and we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss. Nothing in these terms excludes liability for fraud, for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be excluded.

These terms are governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada that apply there, and the courts of Ontario have jurisdiction over any dispute. If you are a consumer resident elsewhere, this does not deprive you of the protection of the mandatory consumer law of your own country.

We may revise these terms from time to time. The version in force is the one published here on the date of your order, and the revision date appears at the top of this page.

Questions about an object, an order or these terms are welcome. She reads everything and answers in turn.