location: 63 Avenue du Mont Royal Est( near saint Laurent)
phone number: 514 844 0167
hours of operation:: Mon-Wed, Sat : 11am-6pm Thu-Fri: 11-9pm /Sunday 12pm-6pm
payment methods: Visa, Mastercard,Debit and Cash
directions: Go to Mont Royal metro station, and walk west along Mont Royal for 4 blocks. On the north side of the street.

While many consider Friday the 13th to be very unlucky, Richard Goulet and Claudine Verstraelen have proven the opposite to be true. Noticing a lack of gothic stores in Montreal, the pair opened Cruella on Friday, May 13th, 1996. The store started as a subculture thrift store that appealed to Montreal’s alternative scene. More than a decade later, Cruella has developed into a specialty boutique with a house line – Cruella – as well as other popular brands like Lip Service.

“We cater to many alternative styles,” says Jojo, a long time employee at Cruella. Browsing through the fairly crowded store on a Friday evening, I’m pleasantly surprised to see the variety of people shopping at a Goth store. Among the leather-clad mannequins, fishnets, and coffin displays, I find a sketer teen and even a young man in a business suit.

The store has a wide selection that appeals to many: punk, glam rock, rockabilly, psychobilly, and emo. Woman can find dresses in patent leather, lace skirts from floor length to short ballerina, and corsets in every conceivable pattern and material. The men’s section includes long black trenches, pants in various colours and cuts, and hoodies with alternative logos and prints.

Then there is the impressive accessories collection that decorates the walls: black platforms in every size and height, chains, spiked chokers…there is a lot to choose from. Cruella goes beyond the stereotype of Marilyn Manson and provides a bit of black for any wardrobe.

profile and photography by Sarah Gelfand