Smart Set

Smart Set has reduced the prices even further on their remaining summer merchandise. Some of the great deals available: jean mini skirts for $9.99; wrap tops $14.99; lightweight long sleeved sweaters $22.99; dress pants $34.99; knee length checked shorts $19.99 - these can be carried into fall when paired with tights and the new cropped jackets.

Lingerie Sale

Super Seller Inc offers brand name lingerie at 25% off the regular price. But now their lease is up, so they're offering even bigger discounts on all of their stock. Choose from names such as Champion, Papillon Blanc, Chantelle, Jockey, Dim and Cosabella. Not only do they offer bras, underwear and lingerie, they also carry socks, nylons, wigs and cosmetic accessories (sponges, nail files, etc).
474 Yonge Street, just north of College

St. Jacobs Factory Outlet Mall

A friend of mine always has great outfits on when she comes to visit. When I ask her where she bought it her reply is almost always “the Jones New York outlet in Waterloo, you should come visit me sometime and we’ll go there.” So I finally hopped the bus to Kitchener and met up with her for a visit and a day of shopping at the outlet mall.
I can’t believe I waited this long to go! Where to start?

Jones New York Factory Store – regular, petite and plus sizes available. They already had lots of fall/winter stock in and reduced by at least 40%. The first time reductions aren’t bad, but the clearance section at the back of the store is even better. There were 2-3 racks of summer items marked way down but they had also started extra price reductions on their fall items. I pretty much liked everything I saw in this store. The casual tops were all made of super soft jersey, the pants were beautifully tailored, there was a variety of jacket styles to choose from and the colour palette was rich and vibrant.

Kodiak – men’s and women’s rugged apparel. I only checked out the women’s wear in this store and was impressed with the super cheap prices of their end of summer items. They had sleeveless t-shirts marked down to $7 – great for outdoor exercising or yoga class! Some of their early fall stuff was also marked down, such as ¾ length and long sleeved t-shirts in a variety of colours for a mere $13. It’s a fairly large store well stocked with lots of merchandise.

LEGO – if only to see the dinosaur made entirely of Legos or the life-sized Batman. This store carries Lego, Duplo and Bionicles. Most of the Lego is sold in sets/kits, but they do have a small selection of bulk Lego if there are specific pieces you need to complete your set. The Duplo blocks came in handy storage buckets in a variety of sizes. The 128 piece zoo bucket was $24.99 and the 405 piece bucket was $32.99. I was amazed at all the different sets Lego has to offer. They had everything from Sponge Bob, to Spiderman to Hogwarts Hall.

Liz Claiborne – regular, petite and plus sizes available. I was disappointed with this store in regards to their marked down prices - still rather high for my liking, but the selection of clothing didn’t disappoint. Lots of great items for fall/winter in wonderful colours. Unfortunately they don’t have a clearance section, but it’s worth stopping in to check out the purses.

Oxford Mills – the place to go for towels. They also have bed linens and bathroom accessories, but the real reason you shop here is for the fabulous prices on towels. You can get towels in every size, colour and quality here. At the lower end you can find fingertip towels for $1.69, facecloths for $0.99 and bath towels at a very reasonable $6.99. Their luxury line is also reasonably priced with bath sheets selling for $15 or less. You can pick up great bath mats starting at $7.99.

Tootsies Factory Shoe Market – I’m not a lover of loafers but the purple leather ones they had for $39.99 were fabulous. I could have easily expanded my shoe collection by shopping just at this store if it weren’t for my size 10 wide feet. Tootsies has something for everyone. The women’s section is quite large and the men’s section is a good size too and a small children’s section can be found at the back. Definitely check out the women’s slipper section; lot’s of styles and colours to choose from starting at $7.00. They also have a small clearance section.

Some other stores of interest: Corningware Corelle, Paderno, Royal Dalton, Reebok and Rockport
25 Benjamin Rd, Waterloo ON

Bits & Bites

No time to post anything substantial today. Was away last week and still need to report on my excursion to Kitchener.

Marks Work Warehouse has women's dress boots at great prices. The "Emma" high stretch boots look great with skirts and dresses and are priced at a reasonable $49.99. For those on the hunt for short boots to wear with pants, you can choose from the "Amika", "Monika" or "Paula" models also reasonably priced at $39.99 each. All models come in black, with some available in brown . Bonus - wide sizes are available in most styles.

Cotton Ginny has all their summer stock on sale with the further enticement of buy one get the second 1/2 off the sale price.
They are also offering buy one get the second one half price on all new fleece.

Spent an afternoon at Dufferin Mall. They never stop putting work into this place. It's cleaner, brighter and better than ever! Some stores of note: Le Chateua - nice sized store with men's, women's and accessorie sections; Cotton Ginny - regular & plus sizes as well as their reintroduced baby organic line; Reitmans - regular, plus, petite and petite plus;
You'll also find The Children's Place, Winners, Payless, Aldo & Aldo Accessories, Pennington's, Fairweather, Moore's, Pinstripe, Costa Blanca and many more.

Joe Affordable

It’s time to start updating your fall/winter wardrobe. Fall/winter trends this season are fun, fabulous and can be hard on the wallet, but Joe Fresh can help make it easier. My trip to check out their new merchandise was a much more exciting experience this time than last (see Joe Disappointed).
The first thing that caught my eye were the patent leather flats in lipstick red, royal blue, black and gray for a very affordable $16 a pair! For those who prefer their shoes not to shine so much, there are gray reptile print flats or matte metallic flats in silver or bronze for $19.
Waist skimming swing coats or jackets with bracelet length sleeves are a big trend for the season and Joe has them in black or gray wool blend for $49 and green brocade for $39. The same brocade is also available in a silver-gray A-line coat for $59. The short, swing style has also been applied to a burgundy sweater for a reasonable $29.
Feminine silk blouses in black or cream are priced at $29 and look great with the new pencil skirts or dressed down with a pair of dark-wash jeans (Joe jeans are only $29!). And as always, they have lots of long sleeved t-shirts in super soft jersey knit. I highly recomend visiting one of their larger stores near you to get the best selection of sizes and colours.

Tealish

This isn’t your average quaint, cozy little tea shop. On the contrary, Tealish is rather modern looking and the interior would be considered well laid out and functional. Using the word modern to describe a tea shop may turn off/scare away some people, but don’t let it.
Tealish sells loose tea, tea accessories and freshly brewed tea. The large, square tins of loose tea, adorned with colourful labels indicating the teas name and ingredients, line the three rows of long shelves behind the counter. The staff is more than happy to open a tin or two so you can smell the wonderful aroma of a certain blend, and can tell you about that type of tea. Tea selections include orthodox black, rooibos, herbal & fruit, special teas (such as Yerba mate and blooming tea) and orthodox green. Tea can be purchased in amounts of 50g for $5-$7, 100g $10-$14 and 250g $23-$28. May I suggestion the Canadian Breakfast Blend, Patisserie and the dessert of teas Toasty Almond.
They have many different styles of tea strainers to choose from - my favourite being the plastic flower-shaped ‘Audrey’ from Koziol. A Bodum travel press for $26.50 is a great gift for the tea drinker on the run. Those who are always on the look-out for cute cups/saucers and teapots to add to their collection will be charmed by the ones from CoroCoro decorated with lady bugs. For the girl who likes a little ‘bling’ with her tea, there are the mirrored metallic ‘Alice’ tea cups and saucers from Torre & Tagus.
Make sure to order yourself a tea from their menu of hot, cold, smoothie or latte style tea drinks while you’re taking a look around.
located at 198 Walnut Ave (next door to Burst Flowers)

La Boutique ParPar

If you’re a girly girl La Boutique ParPar is for you - the pink exterior is kind of a giveaway. Make sure to give yourself plenty of time to look through this store as it is filled with many little (and big) delights. Where to start? Just inside the door you will find Elle lunch bags for $25 with moc-croc trim in blue, green or red as well as hand knit hat and scarf sets for $35. Their stationary section has file folders, accordion folders and clipboards with a feminine touch. You will also find cards for all occasions and my favourite, pop-up gift cards.
They have a small lingerie section, but a really large section with pajama tops and bottoms in cotton, flannel and waffle-weave fabrics. Lots of girly prints and colours to choose from. You can top off your pj’s with a super soft, cuddly bathrobe available in two different lengths and a variety of pastel colours (don’t forget to also pick up a pair of slippers). For your delicates, there are linen wash bags with cute images of stockings, undies or bras embroidered on the outside.
The children’s section has onesies, bibs, growth charts, blankets, car seat covers, night lights, china tea sets and more.
Sparkling chandeliers, beaded jewellery, serving platters, dessert plates and Cake Beauty products can also be found in this delightful shop.
(A word of advice: the St Clair streetcars are not running at this time, but don’t bother waiting for the bus as the walk from St Clair West subway station is under five minutes)
649 St Clair Ave West