location: 2150 Bishop Street
phone number: 514-848-7445
hours: 10am - 6pm; Monday to Friday
payment methods: Cash, Interac, Mastercard & Visa
directions: Guy-Concordia Metro - Bishop Street between De Maisonneuve & Sherbrooke.

The Concordia Community Solidarity Co-op Bookstore is a bit of a mouthful, but it is one of the more refreshing campus organizations in Montreal. They’re well integrated into the local community, both buying and selling used textbooks and offering additional goodies to their customers (handmade pasties, for instance). A lifetime membership at the co-op costs $10, an exceptional price given both the discounts afforded to members, and the opportunities for participating in the store’s operation.

The store sells a ton of interesting, off-beat stuff – much of which is made by Concordia students. Their handmade pleather laptop bags ($25-$35), for instance, instantly transform clunky grey computers into fashionable oversized clutches. The book bags are just as fantastic and run between $50 and $70.

The store’s selection of gifts is wide and varied. Everything is personal and thoughtful, from pins and postcards to my perennial favourite, handmade undies (just $5) and the aforementioned pasties, with lots in between. Of course, the best part of shopping at the Co-op is knowing that you’re putting your money where your mouth – or at least your mind – is.

profile by Laura Snelgrove
photography by Heather Utah

location: 5319 Du Parc
phone number: 514-315-8912
hours: Tues-Wends 12–6, Thurs-Sun 10-6
payment methods: cash, debit, Visa, Mastercard, Amex
directions: take Metro to Place-des-Arts, then take 80 or 535 bus to Fairmount and walk north.

Walking into Wooden Apples, one is struck by how perfectly the airy, clean space serves the store’s three functions – boutique, gallery, and workshop. The primarily small, delicate pieces of clothing, jewellery, and home accessories aren’t lost against the spare walls; rather, they stand out like the art they truly are. The gallery wall, similarly, is independent enough not to distract, and instead provides the room with a lovely aesthetic cohesion.

The former flooring emporium, evidence of which remains in the multi-toned hardwood, was opened as Wooden Apples very recently by a friendly and obviously passionate West coast import named Amy. She has put together a beautiful collection of handmade pieces by a rotating cast of about 15 artists, many local and some others from all around North America. Most of the items for sale are ordinary, useful things made beautiful with creative and thoughtful flourishes (the best examples I saw being a cork board and pushpins decorated with simple burned-in designs by Cabin and Cub, and hand-embroidered underpants by Vanessa Kay). The prices are shockingly reasonable, given how much work has obviously gone into each article. The dresses range from about $30-$100, the household items from about $2-$20, and the jewellery is in the $5-$40 bracket. There is a well-selected stock of crafty zines like Portland title Croq, as well as how-to books that are hard to find anywere else. Everything is something you’d love to buy for or receive from your best friend.

The most interesting and inspiring thing about the store, however, is the commitment to the treatment of fabric as art. The tidy, inviting workshop in behind the boutique is a space where workshops for the public on sewing, embroidery, and other techniques are held regularly. Vernissages (art openings to you non-Montrealers) are hosted about once a month to celebrate the artists featured on the gallery wall (rumour has it they serve cupcakes and beer, so look out for upcoming dates!), and sewing and knitting supplies are also sold at great prices for anyone who strives to create wearable art for themselves.
Laura Snelgrove

See also our interview with Wooden Apples owner Amy Johnson.

I’ve had the slideshow of autumn trends at Style.Com cycling for an hour. I’m practically quivering with excitement. Why, you ask? Because clothes are back.

Pretty ruffles and opaque tights at Bottega Veneta.
It’s almost more about the shape of the dress than the body in it.

It is absolutely undeniable that clothes are back for […]

location: 256 Queen Street West
phone number: 416.598.1447
hours: Mon-Fri 9.30 am to 10 pm / Sat 10 am to 10 pm / Sun 11 am to 8 pm
payment methods: Cash, debit, Visa, MasterCard, Amex
directions: At the corner of Queen St. W. and John St. From TTC Subway get off at Osgoode station and walk west two blocks.

If Pages were a book, it would be the best kind – old and charmingly illustrated, maybe with a nice cover. When you get to the doors of Pages you’ll find their regular art installation window that faces Queen West an engaging one (everything from typewriters to crocheted genitalia have graced its glass). Like a good book, it’s a store you’ll keep returning to. Walk inside, leave your bags at the counter, and get lost among the buttercream walls and pine shelves that boast over thirty genres of general interest bliss.

While Pages does keep stock of some popular titles and genres (yes, all of the Harry Potter books), they shine in their trove of alternative offerings. Pages’ selections run the gamut from general poetry, history and literature sections to cultural theory, Eastern philosophy and gender studies. All sections are labeled with hand-painted signs, many with tables featuring new releases in that area of interest. Be sure to check out their small press shelves, and their really small press turning rack of cut and paste zines and self-published books.

While decidedly smaller than the book space, their magazine selection is equally impressive. Those looking for Canadian magazines like Shameless, Worn or Masthead will be pleased, along with anyone looking for titles small to big – from Toronto’s Spacing to Vogue Australia to People.

Even with a two-storey Chapters location less than two blocks away, it’s little surprise that Pages has thrived in the hip Queen West neighbourhood for nearly thirty years. With their regular This Is Not a Reading Series events, signed book series and a staff that will hold, ship, and locate books for you, the focus on the literary community in Pages is apparent, and arguably more valuable than an in-store Starbucks café.
Chantal Braganza

address: 1300 Queen Street East
phone number: 416-463-1254
hours: Monday – Everyday 11:30 – 6:30
methods of payment: Mastercard, Visa, Interac, cash
directions: Queen streetcar to Leslieville, between Leslie and Coxwell (closer to Leslie), North side of the street.

Gadabout is not just a vintage clothing store. It has everything you could imagine from the late 1800s to the late 1970s, including (but not limited to) art supplies, pillowcases, cosmetics, office supplies, ink wells, shaving supplies, turpentine, tiny little leather canoes, you name it. It can be overwhelming as you first walk in but Gadabout’s classification system could put any librarian to shame. Organized by object and then color, each drawer and cubby has its proper label, and, better yet, the owner, Victoria, knows where everything is, so if you don’t feel like looking but know exactly what you want, just ask. Or, if you don’t see what you are looking for, ask, because she has more than what’s in the store.
The prices are higher than what you’d find in, say, Kensington Market. Gadabout doesn’t do tee-shirts or denim and keeps to the classy and fancy. You’d be paying for items that are in very good condition, have been cleaned, and repairs have been done (if needed). Another exciting thing about this store is that the owner seeks out larger sizes (as well as shoes – up to size 10). Gadabout rented out clothing for Hairspray –so yes, they really do carry larger sizes (up to size 40) from pretty much every decade.
They have items like dresses by Oleg Cassini as well as Oscar De La Renta, and a large selection of Edwardian garments, which are usually difficult to find. (Again, ask. A lot of the older stuff isn’t on the floor because it’s too fragile.)
What are the prices like, you say? The average price for a cotton day dress is $65-$75; for a cocktail dress $120-$140. One 1930s brocade dress (with jacket) is $395. Some dresses cost up to $900. A pair of 1940s heels - $35, a pair of 1980s spikes - $20. They rent to prop and set for productions but do not rent for Halloween or Prom. It is also interesting to know that the owner will do house calls. If, for whatever reason, you want to sell some of your vintage, she will visit you. She is helpful, friendly and really knows her stuff. Even if you don’t buy anything, spending some time in Gadabout will improve your life.
Bonnie De Kuyper