Affordable fashion is right here, under our very noses. You don’t have to spend hundreds and thousands of dollars to look great, stylish, fashionable. There are so many great shops and brands in Toronto where you can buy beautiful clothes at affordable prices. I invite you to have a look at the affordable fashion world in Toronto, and what it has to offer. All these great shops I am going to tell you about are located in the major malls of Toronto – Fairview Mall, Yorkdale Mall, Toronto Eaton Centre, as well as in other shopping locations downtown Toronto and across the city.
SUZY SHIER
www.suzyshier.com
This is one of my favorite brands. I discovered it 4 years ago, when I first moved to Toronto. Also, it was one of the first stores in Toronto where I started shopping. I bought from there a lot of nice clothes – dresses, skirts, shirts, blouses, tops, pants, short pants, blazers, shoes, active wear, etc. Two years ago I even had a fidelity Prestige card from Suzy Shier, which allowed me to buy everything in the store with a 10% discount for a whole year. Every time I went shopping there (and it was happening quite frequently), I was offered to buy this card ($20). First few times I declined it, but after a while I figured out it was actually a good idea to buy this fidelity card, since I was coming down there for shopping so often. Even new collections are affordable at Suzy Shier, not to mention the sales. I bought there new collection dresses for $35, pants for $18-25, blouses and shirts for $15-25, blazers for $40, and so on. And when there were sales, I bought so many beautiful pieces, like dresses, skirts, tops and blouses for as little as $10. Plus the 10% discount! One of my favorite Suzy Shier dresses was bought on sale, for just $10! It’s a cocktail dress, luxury gray, and I wore it on 3 occasions – once at a New Year’s Eve party at a Russian restaurant, once at a club downtown Toronto and once at a baptism party at a Greek restaurant. Last time when I went shopping at Suzy Shier (last September), I bought a delightful teal blouse. Teal was very now in the last fall Suzy Shier collection, and I instantly fell in love with this color! When I saw it, I said to myself: “I must have it!” And it only cost $25.
$40
$45
$25
$22
$18
$28
LE CHATEAU
www.lechateau.ca
Great style at great prices – this could be easily the saying of Le Chateau, another North-American brand, very popular here in Canada. If you want luxury goods but have no big budget, Le Chateau is the perfect place for shopping. And yes, I love it too, and yes, I wear it too. My favorite Le Chateau piece in my wardrobe is a little nice suit, luxury navy blue, composed of a blouse and a skirt. And it only cost about $17 (on sale). A perfect outfit for parties, and this is where I actually wear it – at parties. I wore it at a couple of birthday parties, and at 3 Christmas parties. I also love Le Chateau scarves. I have one myself (a gift from a friend), and I figured out Le Chateau scarves are some great ideas for gifts. So I did the same thing – I bought Le Chateau scarves as gifts for other friends of mine.
Affordable Le Chateau is even more affordable in outlets. There is a fantastic Le Chateau outlet at Eglinton & Warden, just beside Walmart, with fantastic prices! Last time I had the opportunity to go there a few months ago. When I entered the store, I said waw! A great place to shop! Everything looked so good, and had such friendly prices, I felt the urge to buy the whole store!
$99.95
$129.95
$129.95
$149.95
$159.95
$169.95
DYNAMITE
www.dynamite.ca
My nicest shopping experience with Dynamite was 3 years ago, when I was looking for a white outfit. So what I purchased in this store was a white shirt, a white top, a white short-sleeved blazer and a white bag. I adore white for summer, and all the white clothes I bought form Dynamite weren’t half-bad! I completed my white wardrobe with pants, shoes and skirts from Suzy Shier.
$39.90
$36.90
$39.90
$42.90
$19.90
$30
SMART SET
www.smartset.ca
Another affordable North-American brand I want to tell you about is Smart Set. When you are looking for a nice casual outfit, Smart Set is the perfect place to go shopping. If you go to any Smart Set store today, you will be able to find great casual outfits at very affordable prices. There are blouses for $27-$38, tops for $19.99-$35, dresses for $20-$55, skirts for $30-$45, scarves for $4.99-$16, pants for $20-$45, denim for $32-$48. I have a few Smart Set pieces myself, most of them casual wear. My favorite piece is a shiny brown top, which I remember buying on sale for as little as $14 some time ago. Also, I used to wear a great pair of Smart Set denim, which I bought on sale for only $10! There is a Smart Set outlet at Eglinton & Warden, beside Walmart, where you can surely find very nice outfits for prices even lower than in malls and other shopping centers.
For Smart Set pictures and more information please go to www.smartset.ca.
LA SENZA
www.lasenza.com
The beautiful world of lingerie is no doubt La Senza. Not only very beautiful, but also very affordable. La Senza is well known in Canada, as well as around the world. You will be delighted by the rainbow of colors offered by La Senza. If you are looking for bras, you can find them for $18.50-$44.50. Also, there are special offers for bras – 2 for $34.50, 2 for $39.50, 3 for $39.00. And if you are looking for panties and bikinis, the offer is even more attractive. You can buy La Senza panties and bikinis for as little as 7 for $30, or 5 for $35. Don’t forget about sexy lingerie – babydolls for $16.50-$$59.50, bustiers and garters for $14.50-$59.50, satin negligees and kimonos for $34.50-$39.50. Also, don’t forget to check out La Senza outlets, for even better prices. I know two of them – one at Eglinton & Warden and one at Vaughan Mills Mall, the mall of outlets.
For La Senza pictures and more information please visit www.lasenza.com.
Other affordable brands and stores in Toronto are Costa Blanca, Urban Behavior, Urban Planet, Urban Outfitters, American Apparel, and many more.