Two brand new boutiques

Sutton’s rue Principale is coming to life this fall with two brand new boutiques: Life in Linen(L.I.L.) and La Bou-Tyka. The owners of these shops have swung open their doors just in time for the autumn shopping season.

As its name clearly indicates, Life in Linen is an establishment that caters to all lovers of linen, a sumptuous and elegant material that has been worn by humans for millennia. The ancient Egyptians used linen to embalm their mummies, prizing it for its symbolic purity. Today, the best linen is arguably found in Western Europe, Ireland being the number one producer of this material which, aesthetics aside, is a great heat conductor, dries quickly, is anti-bacterial and is up to four times stronger than cotton.

At Life in Linen, the care and attention paid to designing fashionable clothing that fits different frames is evident, as is the expert combination of neutral colors: the clothing is found in attractive shades of grey, brown, black, white and cream. At Life in Linen, you can easily come across a dozen outfits that marry elegance, refinement and simplicity, thanks to owner Helen Salmen-Tremblay’s expert eye.

Working with her associate Dominique Lemire, Salmen-Tremblay, who hails from England, is proud to have opened up a second shop in Sutton, where she hopes to make her home one day. Her first shop, located in Hudson, is a success story, given that clients flock to her establishments which provide them with comfortable clothing that is as practical as aesthetically pleasing.

Don’t be fooled: there is more than clothing to be found at Life in Linen. Salmen-Tremblay has exclusive rights across Canada to Treaty Jewelry, a UK family-based business that creates elegant necklaces, bracelets and earrings that make a statement. Matching outfits with such silver is easy indeed, given that Salmen-Tremblay and Lemire have decorated the walls of their shop with these beautiful pieces of silver-plated, hypoallergenic jewelry that pack a punch.

Across the street, La Bou-Tyka is a quaint shop that sells eclectic items such as artisan jewelry, purses, coin bags, wallets, cash-mink scarves, bow ties… the list of accessories for the family goes on and on.Contrary to Life in Linen’s essentially economical look, painted in whites, La Bou-Tyka’s interior is a celebration of colour and abundance. Operated by Lyn Rabey, who traded 25 years of working in real estate for fashion, La Bou-Tyka sells everything from men’s underwear and socks to women’s leggings to children’s jewelry. Rabey decided to settle in Sutton, having owned a shop in St-Lambert, because she was looking for a place that had access to a mountain and to a body of water. Today, Rabey loves to go “hunting”, as she puts it, for items that she knows will sell at her boutique. Having survived breast cancer and two car accidents, Rabey is no stranger to misfortune. That being said, she hopes that La Bou-Tyka’s opening will serve as a brand new chapter in her life, serving customers and selling beautiful items – what she does best.

You can find Life in Linen at 2-12, Principale Nord and La Bou-Tyka at 17 C, Principale Nord. For more information on these establishments, please contact Life in Linen at (514) 880-4345 and La Bou-Tyka at (450) 270-0204.