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End of an era: Anik Boutique owner Marie Anik Desmarais gets ready to retire

Popular shop owner has worked in women’s fashion for nearly 50 years

March 6, 2024
9:16 AM
ET

Organizations: Anik Boutique

People: Marie Anik Desmarais

Beloved Ottawa shop Anik Boutique, a go-to store for high-end women’s clothing, is shutting down this spring. The reason: owner Marie Anik Desmarais is retiring.

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Loyal customers of a beloved Ottawa fashion boutique couldn’t believe it when they learned their go-to store for high-end women’s clothing is shutting down this spring. The reason: owner Marie Anik Desmarais is retiring. Anik Boutique will bid au revoir in April, bringing an end to Desmarais’s decades as a small business owner and fashion expert for so many women who’ve faithfully shopped at her store. It was important to her, however, that she retire while still healthy. “I’ve got less time ahead of me than I have ‘en arrière,’” she said during an interview at her boutique on Cumberland Street, near the ByWard Market. Desmarais has worked in women’s clothing in Ottawa and Gatineau for as long as she can remember. “I don’t know exactly when we started, but it’s probably close to 50 years. It’s in my blood, it’s in my veins.” She inherited her passion for fashion from her stylish mother, Gilberte Hamelin, who owned a store in Gatineau specializing in baby products. She fondly remembers how her mom combined her calf-length pedal pushers with crisp white blouses and sandals, complemented with necklaces and summer hats for family picnics and outings. “She was an inspiration, I have to say.” Desmarais was an only child, raised in Gatineau, where she continues to live today. For a time, she attended a primary boarding school in Westboro run by French Catholic nuns. That’s where she learned to speak English. She has a look that’s bold and chic, with red lipstick and jet-black bangs. She prefers to wear black because it’s practical. She loves high heels but has learned to prioritize comfort. She can be shy, but she can also be a charming conversationalist with a playful sense of humour. “To be in this business you have to love people,” said Desmarais, who considers herself lucky to have never had an unpleasant encounter with a customer. “Touch wood.” Until recently, Desmarais couldn’t bring herself to talk about her pending retirement without being on the verge of tears. Originally, she was going to close in March but is now looking at April. “I’m stretching the umbilical cord,” said Desmarais, who’s as devoted to her clients as they are to her. “My husband asks me all the time, ‘Are you closing or are you not? Are you closing or are you not?’” There was a time when Desmarais ran three shops, with two stores in Outaouais. She shut the other two locations and kept her boutique on Cumberland Street. It’s been open “probably 30 years now, I think.” Anik Boutique has outlasted its competition, including high-end department stores such as Holt Renfrew and Nordstrom. “I used to think being in the fashion business was frivolous, that it was just all fun and dressing up, but I realize — especially now — that it’s much more than that.” Along with selling high-end fashion, Desmarais helps women figure out what goes with what. “That’s our forte: putting it all together,” she said of her expertise as a wardrobe adviser. Assisting clients in their shopping and seeing them leave the store “feeling assured, feeling good, feeling happy” is what she loves most. “It makes you feel good because people have confidence in you and in your taste.” Online retail doesn’t offer the same personalized experience, she added. Some of her customers took the news about her upcoming retirement unusually hard. One woman was incredulous. “She would go, ‘No, no, no. No. No, no, no, you’re not closing. Where am I going to go?’” Desmarais recalled. “She even offered me money to stay open.” As word spread, the shop owner started receiving flowers, champagne and hand-written letters. The warm responses left Desmarais deeply touched. “C'était marvelous,” she said, slipping back into French. Among the clients sorry to see Desmarais retire is Stephanie Appotive, co-owner of Howard Fine Jewellers. “From one entrepreneur to another, I have so much respect for the business and the relationships she’s built,” Appotive told OBJ. “It’s pretty incredible to see the level of style and sophistication she’s consistently introduced to the city and has offered to her clientele.” Anik Boutique has served high-ranking bureaucrats, politicians and Supreme Court judges. Clients have included “ladies who lunch,” second-generation customers, and husbands looking to purchase special gifts for their wives. The boutique’s most famous shopper is perhaps Ottawa-born actress Sandra Oh (she purchased clothing by Montreal-based designer Marie Saint Pierre). Then there was the time pop star Prince walked into the store to browse. “May his soul rest in peace,” Desmarais said, as she does each time she mentions somebody who’s passed on. Prince sent his body guard outside to see if crowds had gathered on the sidewalks, she recalled. “There wasn’t anyone, obviously. We’re in Ottawa.” Timeless in appearance, Desmarais remains coy when the topic of her age is broached. “I’m old enough to know better, but not all the time.” Looking ahead, she wants to travel, particularly to France and Italy. As for hobbies, she has a few. “I love to read. I love to rest.” Desmarais hopes to host a gathering at the store before it closes for good. Tears will flow, she predicted. “Especially if,” she begins, pausing to let her emotions pass, “clients are around.” She added with heartfelt acknowledgement: “It’s my life. I’m thankful to all my clients and friends who made it possible.”