Final day of Arterie sale!

Have you indulged in your weekend shopping yet? Do you have the perfect scarf for winter? Longing to expand your wardrobe with pieces from local Montreal designers? Go to L’Arterie (176 Bernard O.) today for the final day of their quarterly sale!

There are several stores in Montreal that really do sales right. Arterie is one of them. The store celebrates each sale weekend with a Friday night in-store party, complete with drinks and finger foods! You’d better believe that I was there. Socializing with fellow lovers of local designers and friperie finds and getting fantastic deals on much-coveted wearables? Oh! Two loves with one kiss!

I arrived fresh from Friday evening yoga to find the store almost empty around 9pm. If I remember correctly, I loudly asked, “Where is everybody?“ Little did I know that I need not have worried… A half-hour later, the cozy boutique was packed, and proper mingling began, wine in hand.

There’s something about a sale party that creates the perfect atmosphere for grabbing the most ridiculous, expensive, or ill-fitting items and trying them on just for the fun of it. One petite gal was thrown into a changing room with a hot pink prom dress, and after much coaxing she emerged, the most adorable pixie… Well, the most adorable pixie who had to hold the top of the dress up to keep it from falling down! (But I’ll buy things that are too big and just alter them at home — anything can work if you really want it to!)

As I worked my way through each rack several times, picking pieces to add to my pile of try-ons, I got to know two lovely Arterie staff members, Becky and Jocelyn, and chatted about upcoming craft sales and the latest Indyish happenings. I bumped into Serah-Marie McMahon of Worn Fashion Journal and told her how I’d just given away my new copy of issue #5, still fresh from the launch, to a designer from DC who’d fallen in love with it. (Whoops, guess I’ll just have to buy it again…)

I was lucky enough to be near the cash when a blue-haired gal found a Damned Dollie after her own heart, complete with the same shade of blue hair. (The one for me wasn’t there, but is on the Web site… Guess which one!)

And of course, I shopped! My favourite find of the night? An adorable toile sleeveless dress that had already been loved and altered by its former owner! (Telltale signs of past alterations include stitches coming apart from where pre-existing sleeves had been cut off and hems left in the basting stage.)

With all the excitement, I’m pretty darn impressed that I didn’t spill my wine.