Montreal has a reputation for being a stylish town, and as Gifted Travel’s new Montreal Maven, I often feel compelled to live up to the world’s expectations. While champagne tastes on a recession-pinched budget leads to compromise, Montreal is still full of surprises for the budget fashionista. Let me share a few of our insider secrets with you!
As every budget-conscious clotheshorse knows, the first stop is always the Salvation Army. Whether you’re looking for vintage scores or more modern cast-offs, the good old Sally Anne has plenty to choose from, if you’re willing to dig. Here in Montreal, the Salvation Army shops offer an excellent 25% student discount on Wednesdays, so produce your student ID and reap the benefits!
For a slightly more upscale variation on this theme, your next best bet is Winners, a chain that offers new deals, daily, on designer duds for the whole family. With a variety of locations throughout Montreal, including their Alexis-Nihon store at Atwater metro, this is a great place to shop for some of the latest trends.
Friperie St-Laurent (photo by Flickr user Rick's Pics {Montreal})
The truly adventurous shoppers, however, venture further north to the friperies of Mont-Royal and St-Viateur. What’s a friperie, you ask? Somewhere between a vintage shop and a bargain basement, these independent boutiques round up used clothing and re-sell it, often focusing on specific eras or styles. The prices range from the truly cheap to the occasionally exorbitant, but you won’t have to dig through as much junk to find your nuggets of gold. Tourism Montreal’s correspondent Tamy Emma Pepin gives a quick video tour of some of the most popular shops on St-Viateur, including General 54, Local 23, Bohème and Arterie, but there are also plenty on Mont-Royal between St-Laurent and St-Denis whose names seem to change frequently. Try Montréal Fripe and its nearby sister stores Friperie St-Laurent on St-Laurent and Requin Chagrin on St-Denis.
If you’re looking for something truly outrageous, however, you’ll definitely want to check out local institution Eva B. A cross between a vintage clothing store and a costume shop (they both sell and rent clothing, so be sure to find out whether your score is only available for rent), with a café thrown in for good measure, this is definitely the place to find unique and unusual clothing to shock and awe your friends. Get a mermaid costume or a tuxedo, sparkly sequinned dressed, lycra pants from the 80s and so much more! Eva B is not for the faint of heart, but whether you’re looking for items from up-and-coming Montreal designers or some vintage finds, this is the place to score.
In addition to purely thrifty shopping, sometimes you’ve got to mix things up with a bit of local flair. For a new take on pre-owned clothing, be sure to check out Preloved, a Montreal boutique that creates unique new pieces from reclaimed fabrics. With a celebrity following that includes Anne Hathaway, Hillary Duff and Kate Hudson, this store has got to be doing something right. Perhaps it’s their classic shapes and modern styles, but their eco-friendly approach also holds plenty of appeal. Their clothing certainly isn’t cheap, but it’s well-made from materials otherwise destined for the landfill, so they’re worth their sticker price in karma points.
WHERE TO FIND:
Salvation Army
various locations
http://thriftstore.ca/locations/
Winners
various locations
http://www.winners.ca/en/index.asp
General 54
54 St-Viateur West
Metro: Laurier
Phone: (514) 271-2129
http://www.general54.blogspot.com
Local 23
23 Bernard West
Metro: Laurier
Phone: (514) 270-9333
Bohème
206 St-Viateur West
Metro: Laurier
Arterie
176 Bernard West
Metro: Laurier
Phone: (514) 273-3933
http://arterieboutique.blogspot.com
Montréal Fripe
371 Mont-Royal East
Metro: Mont-Royal
Phone: (514) 842-7801
Friperie St-Laurent
3976 St-Laurent
Metro: Mont-Royal
Phone: (514) 842-3893
Requin Chagrin
4430 St-Denis
Metro: Mont-Royal
Phone: (514) 286-4321
Eva B
2013 St-Laurent
Metro: St-Laurent
Phone: (514) 849-8246
http://www.webfairy.ca/archive/evab/en/index.shtml
Preloved
4832 St-Laurent
Metro: Mont-Royal
Phone: (514) 499-9898
http://preloved.ca
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
There is also Le Coffre aux Trésors du Chaînon on St. Laurent Blvd. Portion of sales go to a womens shelter. A lot of great deals on clothing and furniture. Selection is pretty decent.
http://www.lechainon.org/index.php?/site/coffre/
Thanks for the list! As an eco-conscious traveler you made my job easier! I love reuse and repurposing! I also use http://www.EnvironmentallyFriendlyHotels.com and found an awesome eco-friendly hotel, the Fairmont:
They have a green procurement program, including the reduction of pre-packaging, ensuring that purchase like amenities, supplies, equipment, fixtures and furniture are environmentally sensitive. They encourage green conference planning as well.
Whoop my trip is all but planned! I appreciate the help!
Super Info! Good to know about the green procurement program as well.