Habitude has built its reputation in the Gatineau and Ottawa region by pairing a consignment based secondhand clothing store with a gift boutique stocked heavily with locally made and Canadian produced goods, an unusual combination that turns a stop for a used sweater into a browse through regional makers as well. The business runs two locations on either side of the city, one at 425 boulevard Saint-Joseph in the Hull sector and another at 455 boulevard de la Gappe elsewhere in Gatineau, giving shoppers on both sides of town a nearby option rather than a single destination store.
The consignment model is central to how Habitude operates. People bring in gently used, seasonal clothing, from dresses and blouses to sweaters, outerwear, and boots, and the store only accepts pieces in excellent condition, free of stains, holes, or visible wear. Staff sort and price accepted items, and consignors are notified by email once their pieces sell, with proceeds applied as store credit toward their own account. To keep that intake organized across an entire year of shifting fashion needs, the store maintains a published seasonal guide that spells out what categories of clothing it is accepting during spring, summer, fall, and winter, which helps would be consignors avoid a wasted trip with off season items the store cannot yet take.
Habitude also runs a loyalty stamp program that rewards repeat shoppers with fifty percent off select items after ten separate purchases, a structure that favors regulars who treat the store as an ongoing wardrobe source rather than a once a year stop. Beyond day to day retail, the business has built a calendar of recurring events around its secondhand model, including a periodic sale event called La Grande Fripe held in both spring and autumn, along with fashion shows built around sustainable styling and themed evenings such as a prom focused event and a Galentines gathering, all of which turn secondhand shopping into more of a community occasion than a purely transactional errand.
That community facing approach has earned the shop attention well beyond the Outaouais region, with coverage in Quebec publications including Elle Quebec, Radio-Canada, and Coup de Pouce naming it among the area’s notable thrift destinations. For a business with two storefronts to sustain, that kind of recognition matters in building the steady flow of both consignors and shoppers a two location operation needs.
Hours run Monday through Wednesday from 10 in the morning until 6 in the evening, Thursday from 10 until 8, Friday from 10 until 6, Saturday from 10 until 5, and Sunday from noon until 5, giving shoppers and consignors a late evening option midweek alongside more traditional daytime hours the rest of the week. The stores also offer free local delivery on orders over 60 dollars and shipping across Canada, along with gift cards and styling services for shoppers who want help putting outfits together from the racks.
In short, Habitude is a two location consignment friperie and locally focused gift boutique in the Gatineau and Hull area, known for its seasonal intake calendar, loyalty rewards, community events like La Grande Fripe, and coverage in major Quebec media as a top regional destination for sustainable, secondhand fashion.
