5 stars for the sign/font. Funny it's next to a "spa", JADE…read moreSPA. KIDDYTOWN is out of business.

The closed quarters are misleading. Yes, the space is small and yes, the size is emphasized by the…read moreseemingly massive amounts of stock. The area isn't really cluttered like it might seem at first glance, however. Items are organized by type and age range. Needful things for the littlest ones seem to take up the front of the store: Robeez, layette sets and age-appropriate toys. There are things for the bigger kids, too. I've found that all I need to do is ask and I can be shown exactly what I'm looking for. My most recent venture involved a raincoat. The sales associate who helped me was fantastic. She showed me the selection and even offered suggestions in a way that was helpful and without pressure, all while taking into consideration what my preschool age son might like. She even involved him in the process, much to his delight. The prices are reasonable, in some cases even a few dollars less than what you could expect to pay at a bigger store.

The Children's Place has great quality children's clothes for girls and boys aged newborn through…read moreto young teen. The price range falls somewhere between The Gap and Old Navy but when this store has it's 50% sale on (which happens before each new season) there is no better place to get value for money. I just did some fall shopping for my two year old and I picked up: a dress, 4 long sleeves, 2 yoga pants, 1 cargo pant, 2 sweaters, and a dress for $73 (tax in)! The staff here are also great- always very helpful and cheery and it's worth noting that they have a very decent boys range which is hard to come by.

Excellent service with two sales by Jamie & Malahat! They were excellent with helping to obtain…read moreexactly what I wanted and helped me with online purchases! Truly excellent customer service!

Nice selection of thrift store clothing that is in good shape. I think they are selective about…read morewhat they accept. I find the quality and prices very good AND it's a registered charity; part of the Big Sisters/Brothers organization so proceeds are going to an excellent cause. They now have a small housewares section but don't have room for big items like furniture. I do make sure this place is on my list when I'm on the hunt for something. Ample free parking and close to other shopping on Merivale.

Thrive Select Thrift Store is a thrift store that sells clothing and accessories, and 100% of their…read moreprofits go to support Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Ottawa. I like that the impacts of donations and purchases stay local. And organizations that help kids always have my support. The clothing at Thrive appears to be geared towards youth and so skews on the younger side, in my opinion. The racks are filled with brands like Old Navy, Garage, and Ardene. Prices are cheaper than places like Value Village. They had some new items like Funko Pops and Squishmallows, while I was there, but I guess these depend on donations, perhaps these were from a business (?) They also had some used video games and controllers. They also have (new) Big Brothers and Big Sisters merchandise. Staff are friendly. I believe that many of them are volunteers. They are located in the Emerald Plaza. Lots of free parking in the plaza.

This little shop has some really cool stuff for kids. Each of my kids picked out a special souvenir…read morethat they were excited about (finger puppets, a carved wooden trinket, smooth etched stone). They also had neat handmade cloth bags filled with activity books, as well as costumes, cute knitwear, etc. Stuff seemed a bit expensive, but there were some unique finds that I could see justifying the higher prices. Why the two stars? Well, the shopkeeper barely acknowledged our presence the whole time we were there. She went out of her way to ignore us, and did not greet us or smile. After paying for our items, she didn't even thank us. Keep moving on if you wish for any sort of polite interaction or civility.

This store is lovely! There are so many unique gifts and great finds. Staff are very friendly and…read morehelpful. I walked away with t shirts, fun socks and beautiful sheepskin slippers. I really appreciate the effort to have local and Canadian made products in the shop. I will definitely be back.

Fantastic local shop! The representative was very patient and seemed very experienced with kids of…read morea variety of different age ranges, and gave great suggestions that rounded out my gift for a toddler. The child had a great reaction to what I picked up from this spot, and I've made a note to come back for future purchases! Excellent quality as well!

Terrible customer service. Tried to spread their negative political views. They need to keep that…read morenonsense to themselves and focus on their business.

If you have kids, then you know that finding a great kids clothing store is SO important. The store…read moremust be easily accessible (hey, strollers are hell to steer), offer clothes that make your kid look cool (got to impress the other parents), and it must be cheap, cheap, cheap! I found such a place at Billings Bridge Mall - Growing Kids. The clothes are really hip (a mini Sens jersey anyone???) and they have these pretty princess dresses for your little princess!!! The prices are very cool and they have sales all the time. The day I went in, everything was 25% off! It is around the corner from the LCBO and near the exit by Independent Grocery.

Went to Growing Kids today for the first time and was very pleasantly impressed. I wanted to get my…read moredaughter a nice dressy Easter dress as we are going to a swanky restaurant hotel on Easter day for brunch. We found two dresses at the store that we both fell in love with and a bonus was that they had all the accessories to go with her outfit. Nice white nylons and the sales assistant, Evelyn, helped my daughter try on a variety of different shoes. The prices were very reasonable and there was no hard sell. Evelyn, really took the time to connect with my daughter and find out what we both were looking for. She took a lot of care wrapping the special dresses in clothes bags and making sure that my daughter felt very special too. We had a super girls time in this store and will definitely consider coming back when we are looking for dressy clothes on another occasion. Saw lots of nice duds for the boys here too. Thanks Evelyn you are one of the stars in Ottawa retail.

TL;DR/The Short Version: Store that sells items imported…read morefrom Scotland and Ireland. Prices are high, but they have clearance items at lower prices. The Long Version: I had been to the Scottish and Irish Store out in Bells Corners but didn't know this one existed until I saw it while dropping off my husband at Funhaven to spend a few hours with a friend of his and the friend's kids. We got there early and the friend hadn't arrived yet, so that gave us the opportunity to poke around the store. There are 2 floors, with food being on the first floor and clothes, decor and other non-food items on the second floor. I was only interested in the food, lol, so didn't go up to the second floor. They had lots of snacks, my favourite type of food. Haha. They had chips/crisps, cookies/biscuits, candies, chocolates, etc. They also had lots of sodas and other drinks like juices. They had a clearance section where they marked down items that were nearing or past their best before dates. This is where I shopped since I found the regular prices a bit on the high side. I picked up some chips for my husband (Lamb and Rosemary flavoured ones and Cheese and Onion flavoured ones) and a bag of Monster Munch for us to share (Pickled Onions flavour). No bakery section with fresh baked goods, but they have frozen baked goods. Staff were pleasant. I chatted with the cashier and discovered they actually closed down their Bells Corners location. Good to know, lol. I feel this location on Baxter is more hidden, but hopefully they have established enough of a customer base that they'll be ok. Parking on the weekends (and I assume also when kids are not in school, like the summers, March Break, and PD Days) is epic since it's in the same complex as Funhaven. And kids were running around freely, at least that's what I saw when I was there. Otherwise, there's free parking in the complex. Review #63 (2025)

How refreshing is it to finally have H&M available in Ottawa?!? I have been to H&M in Toronto,…read moreMontreal, and Paris France, some being smaller stores than others with limited selection, and was highly impressed with the Ottawa, Bayshore location. It's a pretty large layout with mens, womans and children clothing in their own departments. Selection was A-OK, and they had some pretty good deals. The clothing is mostly sophisticated, business casual, with a European flare. I was most looking forward to their jewels and accessories and found it to be a tad limited, although, I did find two interesting pieces for my collection. Change rooms are large, although I hate how they use curtains instead of doors. I can never seem to close those properly. Cashier was friendly, but associates mostly kept to themselves. **3.5/4 stars**

Having being a frequent shopper at H&M, I am annoyed by how careless these employees were working…read more Understanding it is NYE, I don't want to spend an hour of my day on taking off a tag that is originally supposed to be removed. As well, I've ruined two good pairs of scissors getting this tag off. The employee who checked me out for my purchase couldn't have been more careless. Honey, get your job done with effort so that we can both go home happy. Thanks for nothing.

I would say that Jason D's review of this store is spot on. They have clothes which are on the…read morepricey end, but in unique styles. They carry a huge selection of Sympli pieces in lots of styles and colours (I personally am not a huge fan of this brand, but I do see the appeal of pieces that pack well (i.e. don't wrinkle and fold down to nearly nothing) and you can mix and match). Their clothing aesthetic I find very similar to Marianne's in Westgate and Shepherd's at Trainyards. So, yes, perhaps catering to let's just say women who would subscribe to magazines like More, or Zoomer. Their kitschy items are fun and cute. They have fridge magnets that say things like "a clean house is a sign of a wasted life," or "housecleaning never killed anyone, but why take the chance?" I hate household chores, so I can relate to these sentiments, haha. They have luggage tags shaped like fashionable shoes, by Fluff. They have quirky handbags shaped like unusual items, like one by Betsey Johnson shaped like an ice cream cone. I love kitsch and I love quirky, so I like looking at the accessories here. They also have a lot of things (greeting cards, magnets, napkins, books, etc.) that divorcees would find funny. They also carry costume jewelry. Lots of statement pieces. A great place to pick up something for that wild eccentric aunt you have, lol.

I have to admit that the name of the store really hooked me. Three Wild Women Living Sublime. Hmm,…read morejust what the heck was this place about? I have listed it under women's fashion because the back half of the store is devoted to very glamourous and fabulous women's (not girl's) clothes. The front half is a collection of kitschy items targeted to women who are more "mature" and may or may not be divorced. There were fridge magnets, greeting cards, aprons and oven mitts sporting saucy and witty slogans. There were also novelty luggage tags, divorce guides and books offering advice for those over 40 and 50. They even had tables with high-heeled legs! It was a hoot to hang out there for a while, but it is definitely aimed at a specific demographic of which I am not really a member.