Being follicly challenged and a hat connoisseur, when I saw LIDS for the first time, I was like a…read morekid in a candy store. Being a Kangol devotee, when the sales person offered me a selection of Kangols 504s in variant colours and styles - it was like taking candy from a baby. For a regular humdrum franchise, this is my favourite LIDS in the Nation's Capital. That being said, their Kangol has been reduced to slim pickings, with the majority being characterless ballcaps with the Kangol logo and/or wordmark. Still being the hat enthusiast, I have a hard time saying no to clearance $6 - $18 Kangol hats of any kind. You'll find this mall offering in the south western corner of the mall, near the Bay on the ground floor. It's pretty much the standard LIDS store. Decent standard selection of hats and I appreciate the rack of kids sized hats. I've had bad experiences at most LIDS in the nation's capital, but I don't really have any complaints about this location. I have found the staff to be pleasant and helpful, seeking to provide clients with a pleasing shopping experience. I guess you always remember your first.

I placed my order for an embroidery job sized 8.5x11. A full month later and 3 messages to the…read morestore manager, Tara, I am still waiting for my two copies to be done with no communication. I called earlier today and was treated extremely poorly and given the excuse for the lack of communication that Tara is 'uncomfortable leaving voice messages' and that my job may or may not get done promptly 20 days after the file got back to them from head office and I submitted my materials. The phone was then abruptly hung up on me. I work in the printing industry and I would have been fired on the spot if I treated anyone this way.

Last minute t- shirt order. Fun, eclectic and vibrant shop.. Pleasant young blonde staff member…read morethere working alone on a Friday night. I wish I had caught her name. She handled a store full of customers seamlessly and also made the t- shirt I ordered before closing! Thank you!!! Great store concept for downtown Ottawa.

Bang On is a shop that I would have loved about four years ago, but I'm getting a bit tired of this…read more70s-90s ironic nostalgia, especially the inauthentic kind. For $30 you can get a shirt pounded with your choice of design. You can choose between logos from Nintendo, children's programming, rock icons, porn covers, etc. You can also put transfers on trucker hats, dresses or jackets. If I was ever going to wear something like this again, I'd prefer to find it in a vintage store. It's snobby to think the real deal makes a difference, but there's something phony about basically mass-producing these shirts with logos and making people think they're unique because they can choose which American Apparelesque garment they put a sticker on. I just don't think the price is worth it, especially if it's just a gag gift. They also have some 80s and 90s sunglasses.

I got my Ottawa Redblacks jersey done here and the guy running it was extremely nice and the…read morequality was good and it was done fast.

From the owner: Our business specialized in custom embroidery, custom retail apparel, including hoodies, caps,…read moretoques and jackets. We also have 30 years experience in jersey numbering, team and corporate orders.

All right. I'm a hat enthusiast. I have a lot of headgear, but I am a collector by nature. And…read morewhen I receive random compliments from women young and old, it encourages me to buy more. So if I happen to be in one of the 4 malls with a LIDS, like clockwork, I will strut my way into the store to look around. You know you have a problem when you want to buy a Kangol 504 hat in every outlandish display of colour offered. The unmistakable classic design is just so cool - Just ask Date Mike aka Michael Scott. Plus I look smooth in them. But enough about me. :P My rating is heavily (or exclusively) based on the Kangol selection. While I love the standard 504 shape that has put Kangol on the map, I am open to military style caps. LIDS tends to stay Ottawa-public-servant-über-conservative in their colour and style offerings. If I were to find a hat that goes with my vintage Harris Tweed jacket, my review might double in stars. I guess I just wish they offered more diversity from common baseball cap. And the surprisingly large section of comic book character hats doesn't count. As ballcaps are their primary offering, realize that LIDS' offerings are based on the tastes of the National Capital Region. That being said, the hats in this store appeal mostly to teenagers. This LIDS store is in the south eastern corner of the mall, across from the food court and next to Loblaws.

The only thing that saves this place from being a one star is their merchandise. Every single time…read moreI've come here (about 5 or 6 times now), we've had zero customer service. Twice, the assistant manager has been on the phone with his feet up in the back for a solid 20 minutes talking to his buddy on the phone, and only moved to ring our purchases through (he never hung up his phone). The other times we've dropped by, no one has ever asked us if we need help finding something, or even said hi. The only thing that remotely saves this place for me are the hats that I purchase. I like their selection, though I do wish they had more female specific hats (the only ones they really have are one style each of Nike, Adidas, and Puma and a pink ball cap). A little more feminine variety would be nice. That being said, if I'm buying something for my boyfriend I never leave empty handed. I really want to like the staff here, and I come in with hopeful expectations every time, but I'm always let down. Hopefully management will change at some point and they'll hire people who actually enjoy their jobs (or at least pretend to. Hell, at least say hi).

In the past I've had very good experiences at Apple Saddlery however I recently went in to buy a…read morehelmet and asked for a proper fitting. The person helping us said she could do one. All she did was look at the helmet on my child's head, asked her to move it up and down and said it fit. I asked another person to do a fitting and they directed me back to the person who'd originally helped us. The person helping us could not have cared less and acted irritated that I wanted to compare different sizes. I was shocked at the poor service for such an important and expensive piece of safety equipment. I have bought helmets there in the past and the fitting was much more thorough. I then went to another store where they spent over an hour properly fitting the same helmet and we ended up needing a different size.

So for the longest time I never went into Apple Saddlery because I thought it just sold equestrian…read moresupplies, and I don't ride horses. Then one day one of my friends told me they also sell clothes. I said "yeah, like riding breeches that make you look like you're wearing a diaper? No thank you." She said "no, like regular clothes." Being the shopper that I am, I had to check it out. My friend was right, they do have regular clothes. Well, they are more "outdoor adventure/active lifestyle" kind of clothes. Like what you would find at Sail, Mountain Equipment Co-Op and Bushtakah. They have a huge selection of Royal Robbins and they carry my favourite brand of this kind of clothing, Toad & Co. (formerly called Horny Toad - and I'm so glad they changed the name because I used to get a lot of funny looks when I asked stores if they carry Horny Toad). Anyway, prices are on par with other stores that sell this kind of clothing. They do have a clearance section at the back of the store where items are marked down and prices can be quite low. If you need to use the fitting room and staff aren't around, there's an old school bell on the wall that you ring. It's pretty cool! I can't speak about any of their equestrian supplies because I don't know anything about such things, but there's a huge selection. Staff are always friendly and nice. The parking lot is unpaved and bumpy with potholes everywhere, so be careful!

If you didn't know, LIDS is a retail store that litters every shopping mall across the country…read more This particular franchise is located in the south eastern corner of the mall, near the Bay and Sportschek. It's a small location, but they managed to squeeze a lot of product into this corner island spot. Officially licensed baseball caps are the store's bread & butter. The majority of caps offered are Major League Baseball and Eastern Canadian National Hockey League Teams. In addition to balls caps, they have a small selection of fedora-type hats, branded toques for the winter, and brand labeled caps. All of the LIDS stores I've seen offer custom embroidery, but this offering has always puzzled me - as they cannot alter officially licensed product. They sell blank hats in a rainbow of colors, but really: who wants that? This is one of the few spots in Ottawa where I can pick up a Kangol hat, but they tend to be of the conservative/oatmeal/plain variety. This LIDS gets three stars, as I have been tempted on more than a couple occasions with their $6 clearance hats. All of their clearance items seem to have the same price points: $6 - $12 - $18 - & $24.

I love the store! Sandy is quite the character and provides amazing service. There's always…read moreinteresting and unique items in the store along with what you were typically see you in a western style store. Highly recommend it!

I requested a service from Sandy's Saddlery to repair a saddle's billets, replace tacks and find a…read moreprice on few other things. I brought them a saddle, showed her the work and asked how much it would cost. The male rep said he is not sure but would ask the leatherworker and he has to send the saddle in. I asked if $100 would cover it, and he said - most likely, it's not that expensive. I then was passed over to Sandy herself. I explained that I have $150 and I want to get a quote for replacement of billets, a cord, knee pads and to replace missing tacks. She told me, that if they don't have missing tacks leatherworker will have to replace all 8. I asked how much, and she said - not expensive, but the cord and knee pads maybe a lot. I said, ok, I want to get a quote for everything so I know, but I am just looking to get billets replaced, so I need to know the price before work is done. Sandy charged me $100 deposit. 5 days have passed, and I heard nothing. I was going to step by this Thursday (7 days) when she called me and said that saddle is back and I owe her another $125. I asked her why didn't she call, and she said that work is done and come and get a saddle since she has no room asap. I felt very pressured, and since I spent the rest of my money on this saddle I couldn't risk not getting it back. I came to get it, and they didn't replace a whole billet, but cut it down & stitched a new one on the worn leather piece. New part was nice, but I never got a call with the est and I wanted full thing redone, and if leatherworker would have called I would have explained in detail. They didn't have tacks to match, so they put 3 small ones to cover the holes of the missing 1s. They do not match. No one asked me, Iike we agreed if I wanted that. When I said - "you never called me", she said - "I misunderstood, I thought you wanted a quote for knee pads. Look they dyed the knee pads. And you can't see the tacks not matching." I never asked them to do any touch up on the knee pads. I was afraid she will not give me my saddle if I didn't pay. Awful customer service, horrible communication, I feel ripped off. Will never recommend to anyone and never coming back. I now have a saddle where repair cost me more than a saddle itself. Never ever go there!