Shop: Aritzia Soho

The Canadian retail chain Aritzia opened it’s doors a couple weeks ago and I finally had a chance to check it out in person.  In case you aren’t familiar, Aritzia started in Vancouver in 1984 and slowly spread  to markets  in Vancouver, Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto, Portland, Seattle and now New York.  The company thanks to it’s high quality clothing, great fit, trend right pieces at a relatively reasonable price have earned the boutique quite the following.

When I was living in Toronto, I would shop Aritzia often for merch ranging from perfect basics to work ready adorable wool pants and jackets.  Also, come winter, as far as the eye could see Toronto ladies have embraced the ubiquitous winter coat with faux fur lining as the puffer alternative.  I’m actually guilty of once upon a time owning this myself.  The house brands (including TNA, Talulah, T Babaton, Wilfred, Wilfred Free, Le Fou) encompass just about any need that the modern woman might need plus they curate a great selection of must have items from select designers.  Currently however the Soho store still is only carrying the house labels but that will soon change.

As for the store itself it is large and spacious (10 000 square feet!) with 2 levels of well placed merchandise to shop.  The feel of the store is very zen and airy with it’s textural stone walls, wood fixtures, crystals, touches of greenery and soft lighting.  There are screens displaying merchandise from a fashion show playing on some of the walls. The Manhattan flagship also includes an old bank vault that was discovered during renovations, carefully preserved, then repurposed as a fitting room.

While the main floor was dedicated to sporty, casual and slightly trendier clothes (including some uber cute brocade shorts) the second floor was a world of sophisticated calm neutral pieces that would look great in the office.  Great little silk blouses and dresses, a gorgeous little Battenberg lace tank, great little trench coats and so much more.

There is room to breathe, space to shop and most importantly great merch to check out.  I will definitely be adding the Aritzia to my list of stores that I visit on my Soho Shopping trips.

Aritzia Soho, 524 Broadway (at Spring St) 212-965-2188.

Mon-Sat: 10am-9:30pm, Sun: 11am-8:30pm