41 years on King Street West
A family shop in a small downtown, still doing the thing it opened to do: help a woman find something that fits, looks right, and lasts.
Amarettos opened in 1985 at 21 King St W, in the heart of downtown Dundas, Ontario. It has never moved.
It did not begin as a women's clothing shop. Colleen opened it in 1985 selling lingerie, then expanded into men's wear and women's clothing. Today the focus is back where it started, on women: an eclectic mix of clothing, shoes, lingerie, sleepwear, accessories and the everyday things you run out of.
Before that, the same address was a butcher shop. There are old photographs further down this page: the delicatessen that stood here first, the renovation, the fashion shows, the children who grew up on the shop floor, and the afternoon Robin Williams walked in.
In that time the shop has dressed mothers, then their daughters, and now their granddaughters. It has done the outfit for the retirement party, the bra that finally fit, the winter coat that replaced the one that was falling apart. Most of the people who walk in already know someone who shops here.
Who you'll meet
The shop is run by Colleen, with Allison as assistant manager. Between them they know the stock by hand, which is a different thing from knowing it by barcode. If you tell them what you're dressing for, they'll pull three things you might not have picked yourself, and one of them will usually be right.
What we carry, and why
Everything in the shop is chosen for women who are past the age of dressing for anyone but themselves. That means clothing that fits real bodies without fighting them, intimates that are comfortable enough to forget about, and shoes you can stand in all day.
- Women's clothing: dresses, tops, tunics, jeans, pants and jackets, from labels like FDJ French Dressing, Carreli Jeans, Baba, Papa Fashions, Soya Concept and Papillon.
- Lingerie and intimates: bras, underwear, shapewear and sleepwear, including Jockey, Wonderbra, Bali and Body Hush. Professional bra fittings are done here, in the shop.
- Footwear: sandals, boots and everyday shoes.
- Accessories and everyday essentials: the hats, bags and jewellery on the display tables, and the small things you came in for because you had run out. This part of the shop turns over constantly, so it is the one to phone about.
How the shop works
You come in. Somebody says hello and means it. You can browse on your own or ask for help; either is fine. If you're looking for something specific and want it set aside before you drive over, call (905) 627-1150 and we'll hold it for you. There's no website checkout, no account to create and no app to download. We've found that most of our customers prefer it that way.
If you're not sure whether we'd have what you're after, the answer is almost always "call and ask." We'd rather spend two minutes on the phone than have you make the trip for nothing.
Downtown Dundas
King Street West is a walkable old main street, and Amarettos is one of the independent shops that has kept it that way. If you're making a morning of it, we're an easy stop between coffee and lunch. Directions, hours and the map are on the visit page.
What was at 21 King St W before Amarettos?
A butcher and a delicatessen. Before 1985 this address was Link's Delicatessen & Meats, a food market and butcher shop on King Street West.
The first photograph below was taken during the delicatessen's retirement sale, with the hand-painted signs still taped across the windows. It is worth looking at the two pictures together: the brick under the display windows, the panelled fascia above them and the door on the far left are the same brick, the same panels and the same door today. The sign changed and the awning went up. The building did not.
Did Robin Williams really come in?
He did. Robin Williams came into the shop, did his shopping, and stayed for a photograph beside the Christmas tree.
Nobody here has ever made a great deal of it, which is probably why plenty of regulars have never heard the story. The tree, the Christmas sweaters pinned along the wall and the glass gift cabinets behind him in the picture are all simply the shop as it was that December.
The children who grew up on the shop floor
Colleen's daughters grew up in this shop, and they are in a good number of the old photographs. Holding hands in matching white dresses beside the Christmas tree. Sitting on a blanket on the sales floor with the whole day's worth of toys spread out in front of them while the rolling racks got pushed around behind them. In one of them, up against a stripped wall with a scraper in hand during a renovation.
There is a fashion show in there too: models walking the floor between the racks, with every seat in the room taken. That is what forty-one years in one building looks like from the inside.
These are photographs of physical prints kept at the shop, so they come with the creases, the grain and the odd thumb of whoever held them up to the camera. If you recognise yourself, a relative, or anything at all about the delicatessen, call (905) 627-1150. Colleen would like to hear it.
21 King St W, downtown Dundas
On King Street West, in the same shop since 1985. Call (905) 627-1150 if you'd like something set aside before you come in.
| Monday to Saturday | 10:00 am to 6:00 pm |
|---|---|
| Sunday | Closed |