Warm temperatures and cloudless skies have Carleton’s fashion-savvy students flaunting bright shorts and floral tops.
For those scouring the city on a student budget to find unique new spring pieces, you might find something at Aunt Olive’s.
Part boutique, part café, Aunt Olive’s, located at Gilmour and Elgin Streets, is all about wearable vintage.
“I concentrate on recycling older clothes that are not too over the top,” said Jamie Garner, owner of the boutique.
“Ottawa[ns] are conservative with their money and also conservative with their style. It’s mostly the young people that are expressing themselves . . . but you can tell it is definitely toned down,” Garner said. “I try and keep it very ‘wearable’ as opposed to selling more outrageous pieces.”
To suit Garner’s economically conservative customers, it’s rare to find any piece in the store priced at over $60, unless “It is really special,” she said.
Shoes and shirts are generally priced at $20, necklaces at $15 and dresses range from $45-60.
Although she mentioned the café part of her business profits mainly from older women, most of her retail customers are 18- to 30-year-olds.
With the fashionable student included in the price and style target market, Aunt Olive’s provides a shopping treasure trove of purses, scarves, blazers, hats, T-shirts and ties.
If you find something you like, but it does not fit, Garner said customers should not shy away.
“Keep in mind that anything can be mended or altered. Look at items as raw materials,” Gar said.
Gar does simple alterations in the store for either $8 or $16, while more complicated alterations are pricier.
This one stop shop for vintage clothing, accessories alterations, and perhaps a bowl of curried potato and coconut milk before you leave, gives a fresh look to Ottawa’s conservative mind, a wonderful outpost of expression for the city’s younger population.
Overall rating: 4/5