IN THE GARDEN OF FLOWERS AND PEPLUMS: WELCOMING H&M CANADA IN OTTAWA

HUGE Expansion seems to be the mot du jour in Canada’s capital recently. Everywhere you look, streets are getting widened, condos are getting vertically extended, supermarket are getting to be super centres and this is not exclusive to one place we, fashion lovers, consider our own go to mecca – the shopping mall. Having been invited to many a press conferences and official store launches, it is definitely one exciting time in Ottawa!

From seeing big American retail giants (like TARGET Canada’s opening in Ottawa, we attended one in Billings Bridge a few weeks ago!) to luxury brands and British brands like Topshop getting carried at The Bay, here’s one big source of excitement and anticipation in the city these days – the opening of the Swedish fashion mega house H&M in Canada’s capital! The perfectly coined phrase “Better late than never” for H&M’s opening in Ottawa (via Bayshore Shopping Centre) is perhaps a sentiment shared by many as this is quite a great retail store for budget conscious shoppers who want to pick pieces that are fresh off the runway, are on-trend but won’t break the bank! (Stay tuned for my take on H&M’s Ottawa opening in Ottawa Citizen, fashion issue comin’ up soon! You can also follow the conversation via Twitter, follow @20YS, @HMCanada and #HMOttawa.)

Image via Fashion Magazine. Did you know @20YS is part of the FM Beauty Panel?

With Nordstrom and Canada’s own (Quebec’s pride in fact) Simons also set to launch in government town (part of Rideau Centre’s $360 Million Redevelopment Project) soon, this era in Ottawa is definitely a game changer. Does more stores, more fashion choices in many different price points ultimately change Ottawa’s un-flattering monicker as the country’s boring and so not fashion forward city?

We bet our studded stilettos they will!