It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas with the recent heavy snowfall and that means Black Friday, the perfect time to kick off your Christmas shopping and score some serious sales. Whether you’re in need of a glam getup for your office holiday party, a festive hostess gift or just a treat for yourself, there’s no better place to snag a steal than at one of the capital’s many local boutiques. But don’t make the rookie mistake of failing to plan ahead; avoid the crazy crowds by going in with a game plan. Here are Ottawa Life’s picks for the local fashion deals you can’t afford to miss.
JV Studios
From delicate statement jewellery to natural beauty products to funky framed prints, JV Studios is the perfect place to pick up an original gift for the trendy bohemian in your life. Get 20% off their entire jewellery collection all weekend long in store and on their website.
From Black Friday to Cyber Monday, Workshop Studio & Boutique and Flock Boutique are giving away a tiered gift with purchase from their studio collection, both in store and online. Spend up to $50 to receive a free card, $50-$100 to get a free art print and $100-$200 to get a pair of gemstone earrings. Spending $200 or more gets you an infinity scarf or a pair of druzy crystal earrings.
Farah Studio
Farah Studio may be well known for their clothes, but this Black Friday they are all about self care. The shop is offering a custom selection of luxurious soaps marked down 50% off, including French lilac-scented Blanc Lila bath bars, Spanish Maria Evora alabaster beach-rose-scented bathing bars and a variety of soaps with sea salt, seaweed and coconut.
Victoire
This kitschy cute retailer sells local labels and under-the-radar niche brands. They'll be offering 20% off clothing in-store & online (discount code: BLKFRIDAY) and donating $5 from each item sold over $20 to Girls+ Rock Ottawa. They’ll even be treating their staff, helping them stay sane and counter some of the day’s typical craziness with manicures & a catered lunch.
Three Wild Women
Located on Richmond Road, this boutique is all about making your life easier and features extended sizing, from 2-18 and 1X-3X. They’ll be offering No Tax storewide for Friday only.
Roadtrip and Trustfund
These boutiques know how to do Black Friday right. Both locations will feature a tiered discount system of 10% off your purchase when you buy one item, 15% off your purchase when you buy two items or 20% off when your purchase when you buy three or more items. All shoppers will snag a coupon book good for $100 in savings for the new year, but the first 50 customers to spend over $250 will score a free seriously cozy plaid blanket scarf. Not only that, they’ll also be featuring a one-day-only new and never before seen Black Friday Collection from BB Dakota with slashed prices of 50% off or more. Make sure you’re attending their Facebook event to enter the random draw to win a $100 Roadtrip Gift Card to spend at the event.
CANTAS
If you’re searching for luxe casual clothes in festive fabrics or a glamourous party dress, look no further than CANTAS. Your go-to for formal wear and black tie, they have everything you need to rock this season’s holiday parties. This Friday, all casuals will be buy one get one free.
Ciel and Canopy
To compensate for the construction currently underway outside the trendy boutique, Ciel is hosting a special Warehouse Sale. Everything in-store (and from their sister store, Canopy) ranges from 30%-80% off until the construction wraps up. Canopy will also be hosting a BOGO promotion on a variety of basics, winter accessories and Butter of London Nail Polish.
Milk
Milk is a cute and quaint local favourite, selling hard-to-find items and quirky up-and-coming brands. Head over to the Byward Market shop this Friday for 30% off clothing, jewelry, and accessories (select collections not included). Be sure to check out their Black Friday contest currently running over social media for a chance to win an additional 10% off your purchase.
Vincent
Visit this Preston Street shop or their Westboro pop-up (open until December 23rd) Friday through Monday for 30% off various pieces from labels like Mother, Citizens of Humanity, Bailey 44, Aigle, 360 Cashmere, Ellie Mae, L'Academie, Tiger of Sweden, Bella Dahl and more.
Magpie
For local high-end jewellery boutique Magpie, this weekend is all about the Anne Sportun collection. The brand will be showcasing the full collection all at 15% off. An Anne Sportun representative will be in the house at the Rideau Centre location on Friday, the Westboro store on Saturday (where they’ll be serving up holiday cocktails) and the Glebe store on Sunday. They’ll also be offering 15% off their other designer collections both in store and online.
Kindred Shop + Studio
From Friday to Sunday, Kindred is offering a tiered discount on their gorgeous clothes. Buy one item for 20% off, two for 25% off or get 30% off when you purchase three or more, both in-store and online. The shop will also be donating a portion of this weekend’s proceeds to The Avery Foundation animal rescue.
NRML
Make sure to get to one of this brand’s three Ottawa locations bright and early to take advantage of their amazing doorcrasher sale – 10% off one item, 20% off two items, 30% off three items, 40% off four items and 50% off five items or more. If you’re not a morning person, they’ll also be offering between 30% and 75% off all day in store and online.
Viens Avec Moi
This boutique is going all out for Cyber Monday. Every chic item on the elegant boutique’s website, from the clothes to the jewellery, will be 25% off the regular price.
The boutiques of Wellington West (Victoire, Viens Avec Moi, Twiss & Weber, Flock, JV Studios, Kindred, Clothes by Muriel Dombret, Bloomfields Flowers and the Wellington West BIA) are teaming up for a “Pay It Forward” campaign, a charity initiative the collective of female business owners created to support local women in need and give back around the holidays. Tote bags will be available at each of the participating shops for customers to grab and fill with the donated items at from each boutique, as well as any additional small gifts or donations they would like to give. Filled bags can be dropped off at any of the shops on or before December 2nd. Each boutique will also be making bulk donations to the Caldwell Family Centre and Cornerstone Housing for Women.
l’Hexagone Menswear
If you're looking for a snappy suit for this season, make sure to check out L’Hexagone Menswear. Their Black Friday sale can’t be beat; buy one of their selection of suits and get a second one half-price.