Don’t let me out of the house again for a winter coat!
Just kidding. Sort of.
Going to look for something in particular, and getting sidetracked along the way, means it takes more than 3 days to be able to scour an entire city.
Three Lessons Learned when Shopping on Ste-Catherine
- Avoid this store: “Onze” on Ste-Catherine!!!!!! Horribly rude sales staff (all 3 times I’ve gone in there on separate occasions). They won’t even say hello or bonjour to you, and are INCREDIBLY stuck-up.
- Don’t wear complicated clothing, even if you are only going for a coat
- Bring more than just jelly snacks.
What I wore to shop in
Wrap dress (true wrap) from La Baie when they had that sale. I got it for $30 I think.
Knee high boots, and grey tights.
Naturally, I also had a thick sweater over that.
WINTER COATS
I know I wanted a simple coat, but this one was too simple for the price tag.
What I bought:
Creams! 
Lotions for my legs and hands. From J.R. Watkins now available at Shoppers Drug Mart!
I bought the Lemon Creme line.
Their vanilla line smelled kind of cheap & fake, like the same kind you can buy from The Body Shop.
It wasn’t a deep, rich, expensive vanilla, which is what I was hoping for.
Their mango line also smelled fake. Too sweet. It wasn’t rich or deep in smell.
Only the Lemon Creme worked out the best in terms of smell.
They had a sale on! $8.50 for each bottle. Naturally, I bought 3 bottles of the best value — 11 Fl. Oz, and only 2 tubes of the worst value (same price) for 3.3 Fl. Oz to carry around & travel with.
I am going to try and re-fill them somehow..
If you want to know more about it:
97.5% natural and above, NPA Certified, Natural oils include apricot, coconut, avocado, jojoba & safflower
- Sodium Lauryl Sulfate Free (Duh, it’s a moisturizer, not a cleanser)
- Sodium Laureth Sulfate Free (Ditto duh)
- Paraben Free
- Phthalate Free
- Mineral Oil, Petrolatum free
- Dye Free
This frilly blue top from BluBerry (a very nice, AWESOME shop that has incredible pieces)
It is a bright, cobalt blue, and the frills I thought would be too much, but ended up looking awesome.
It also has a tie at the top you can tie, or leave open.
Same store, Bluberry. LOVE the colour. Very soft and comfy.
Got this dress for $22 at Urban Outfitters!
Can you believe that!? On the 50% off rack sale. I saw a bunch of them around..
I know you might get turned off by the macrame-like neckline made in fabric, and I thought I’d hate it too.. until I put it on.
It fits great (forces you to sit and stand up straight with better posture, because it bunches strangely in the front if you don’t), and the colour is more green than blue.
(See? Wore them with my grey tights and boots. Looked awesome.)
And the best part about the dress?
POCKETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Revanche, I know you are all over this one. POCKETS!!!
What I ended up NOT buying!
I did try on more things, but they didn’t have mirrors in the change room & I felt weird trying to take pictures in public.
So that’s it for Day One.
Stay tuned for Day Two. I still have more of Montreal to cover.
- Day Three: The Search is OVER, but I ate some Pho
- So I’ve just realized that I need a winter coat
- Day two: Trying to find a colourful, reasonably-priced, winter coat is like trying to find a sleeping unicorn under a rainbow
- Hey hey, jeans that fit!
- What I purchased for January 2010
Tee aka The Diva's Thoughts
on Oct 27th, 2009
@ 12:01 PM:
I LOVE how you modeled all the clothes for us!!! Some of the items were really cute.
Tee aka The Diva’s Thoughts´s last blog ..Parents, Instill a Little Fear!
Jackie@Lilolu
on Oct 27th, 2009
@ 12:39 PM:
I usually have trouble shopping for coats too.
Jackie@Lilolu´s last blog ..Penne Alla "Not-Ka"
me in millions
on Oct 27th, 2009
@ 1:42 PM:
I find the clothes at Urban Outfitters to be very cheaply made and of pretty poor quality for how expensive they are. I worked there one summer and you really see that when you are folding the same style over and over again.
And I LOVE pockets in dresses too. Best and most useful trend!
me in millions´s last blog ..Get Rid of Stuff Sunday #15
frugalscholar
on Oct 27th, 2009
@ 2:47 PM:
It’s hard to find a coat made of good quality wool nowadays unless you want to spend $400.00plus. This is one area where I would go vintage. Also, have you checked out Lands End or LL Bean? Kinda stodgy but both offer unconditional guarantees for the life of the item.
i got a vintage cashmere coat recently at a thrift. In Louisiana! I would bet they are easy to find in your neck of the woods.
frugalscholar´s last blog ..Clutter and Bargains: The Example of Babysitting
LA Daze
on Oct 27th, 2009
@ 3:00 PM:
I love that blue ruffly shirt! The first picture of your Shopping Outfit doesn’t show up on my end for some reason. Would love to see it! Oh, and your tights + boots are so cute!
LA Daze´s last blog ..Weekend workouts + help!
FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com
on Oct 27th, 2009
@ 3:33 PM:
@Tee aka The Diva’s Thoughts: Haha I still have Day Two coming up.
@me in millions: I agree. I find their stuff poorly lined, of cheap material,.. I mean some of it is cute, but not for the $68 tag.
I’d only scour the 50% racks, if I were to really buy anything there.
@frugalscholar: Neither stores are available in Canada as far as I know. It’s really getting to be a pain in the butt to find a coat…
@LA Daze: Thanks! .. Er.. I don’t know why Wordpress sometimes doesn’t show up pictures, but if you reload the page it should work?
Gayle Herbert Robinson
on Oct 27th, 2009
@ 4:04 PM:
I like the Laundry coat. It’s a little steep for my budget. I would have to check back at the end of February or March for end of season sales. Most likely, it will be sold out. That coat has a great shape which is hard to find. Either they’re too matronly or too trendy. That’s a classic style.
summershoegal
on Oct 27th, 2009
@ 4:15 PM:
I love the color of the pink coat but yeah the sleeves look … different
Looking forward to part II
The only problem I have in buying coats is that I like so many, I can’t make a decision!! but I have a problem finding the right Jeans so I can relate a little … Good Luck!
Last Born Child
on Oct 27th, 2009
@ 4:20 PM:
That frilly blue top is the business – very nice.
Good luck on day 2!
Last Born Child´s last blog ..The Car Parks Itself
FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com
on Oct 27th, 2009
@ 4:24 PM:
@Gayle: That’s what I thought too… but the price really makes me cringe.
It was at Winners, marked down to $300 so the price is as low as it’s ever going to be.
Revanche
on Oct 27th, 2009
@ 5:44 PM:
OH. Mah. GOSH. Pockets in a $22 dress?!?! You’re right. You got me. And those cobalt tops are Gooooorrrgeous!!! Love love love. You are totally allowed to go shopping again.
Revanche´s last blog ..Wielding the big pen
simes
on Oct 27th, 2009
@ 10:30 PM:
Hey! nice pictures, great blog btw, check out ours whenever you want. We invite you to follow it.
Love,
A&A
http://this-is-simes.blogspot.com
simes´s last blog ..From Buenos Aires with love. Chanel in Argentina.
The Asian Pear
on Oct 27th, 2009
@ 10:47 PM:
that red jacket is seriously not worth $700 at all. and the sleeves ARE weird.
the blue cobalt sweater is very pretty colour. looks warm too!
good luck shopping for a winter jacket!
The Asian Pear´s last blog ..RRSP Talk
Foxie
on Oct 28th, 2009
@ 12:14 AM:
Love love love that blue sweater, the buttons are to die for! (<- Button freak, all of a sudden.) I would love some cute sweaters to wear, especially with where we're moving next year…. (Washington state, pretty darn close to the Canadian border.)
The modeling is cute, shopping vicariously is quite fun!
The tights are cute, reminds me, I need to pick up some cute black ones before Saturday for a wedding…. Um, dunno when I'm gonna do that!!!
Funny enough, I found a pic on my phone today left over from earlier this summer that I took in a dressing room…. Modeling surf shorts, of all things. Certainly not as cute! (But it *is* a fairly decent pic of my one tattoo… Not many of those exist, I'm deathly afraid of bearing my belly for the most part.)
Oh, I'm also totally inspired to dress up cute tomorrow now.
Foxie´s last blog ..Car loans: Are they evil to you?
HighClassLowIncome
on Oct 28th, 2009
@ 8:36 AM:
I love that blue top!
suzie
on Oct 28th, 2009
@ 10:08 AM:
oh don’t you just hate it when you end up buying other stuff? but they look really good!
suzie´s last blog ..Rainbow
E
on Oct 28th, 2009
@ 10:28 AM:
My vote is for the Laundry (grey) coat. The others did nothing for me. My opinion but perhaps something to think about…when it comes to winter coats, I say go with classic lines and colours (grey or black) – gives an air of elegance and sophistication (again, my opinion). Grey herringbone…yum. Trendy may be good if that’s your thing, but one cannot knock classic. And if it’s a classic look, drop the cash for it because you’ll get many seasons out of it. But yeah, I know how much you dislike “plain” – i.e. no punchy colours.
Thanks for the body shots.
Now, all we need to see is your face. 
SeeJaneGetRich.com
on Oct 28th, 2009
@ 2:31 PM:
I love the dress with the pockets! Its totally unfair how guys get to have everything with pockets when we have to go far and wide to find casual dresses with pockets.
Jaka Merriman
on Oct 28th, 2009
@ 7:53 PM:
I’m totally digging those blue tops. Want! And I’m also terribly jealous of your wardrobe in general. You’ve got such amazing taste. <3
Day two: Trying to find a colourful, reasonably-priced, winter coat is like trying to find a sleeping unicorn under a rainbow « Fabulously Broke in the City
on Oct 29th, 2009
@ 7:06 AM:
[...] COMMENTS: Leave me a comment This is Day Two of Project Winter Coat…Day One is located here. [...]
FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com
on Oct 29th, 2009
@ 8:17 AM:
@SeeJaneGetRich: TELL ME ABOUT IT! I want pockets in everything, or at least a free purse with it
FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com
on Oct 31st, 2009
@ 11:58 AM:
@Jaka Merriman: Thanks!! You’ll see more in the future