TOPSHOP Canada: Pop Up Shop Review and Report

 
Last week The Hudson Bay Co. finally announced the highly anticipated arrival of Topshop. Previously only available at Jonathan+Olivia with select pieces, the British invasion of Topshop is coming full force at The Bay's Yorkdale location come September (a little birdie told me new pieces will come every three days). To kick it off, today was the launch of the Topshop Pop Up shop as the first leg of the Topshop Summer Take Over and I was there to cover the event:

I arrived at the venue around 11:30, a vacant parking lot at Queen St. West close to Spadina, there was maybe 10 people in front of me. By opening time that number quadrupled.

The space was surrounded by barricades and the clothes were sheltered under metal sheds, one for Topshop and one for Topman, with racks and tables in front for additional merchandise. The smiley and helpful sales people wore Topshop as uniforms, hot pink pants for the girls and denim shirts with striped sleeveless underneath for the guys.

Scattered around the pop up shop were buckets full of Topshop bottled water, beach chairs with Hudson Bay Co lookalike pillows and  umbrellas. Plus there was a DJ playing music. Oh and in case you got hungry how about some frozen yogurt? It's not just a pop up shop it's a party!

Now on to the clothes:

Women, bright colors for summer and prints made up the majority of the pieces. The whole spectrum was present: yellow, pink, green, red, purple and blue - this includes pants! Black took a backseat on this one. Floral prints were found in skirts and dresses plus a sheer black kimono (one of the stronger pieces). Accessories was also covered. A selection of colorful sandals, leather bags, fedora hats and sunglasses were available for the picking.

The change room situation is a bit weird. It's at the corner of the booths and its just a curtain. So if you're cool with that dress however you want if not leggings is the way to go.

Men, rejoice as we were not forgotten as there were just as many pieces at the Topman section as there were at the Topshop section. Pants came in khaki(one in particular had an interesting harem cut detail on it), wine red, and jeans were available too. Beach shorts were seen in stripes, prints, and solid colors. Tops(sleeveless, polo, crew, and v-neck) varied from stripes, graphic, and the stronger pieces the aztec print tees which came in a variety of style( some were wool, how British!). There was also a blazer, sleeveless denim/hoodie jacket(a favorite), and a bomber jacket available. Again accessories including bags and shoes were covered for the mens as well. Oh and I was told mens bottoms will only be available down to size 30 (Topman goes all the way down to 26) for the pop up shop.

So the verdict? Go! Come early and avoid the line that was present throughout the day (its Saturday tomorrow so it will be worse!). It's worth seeing as there are so many styles The Hudson Bay Co. managed to cover. For the avid Topshop fan be warned I did not see feature lines such as CTRL, AAA, and Unique. This pop up shop is a teaser but there are pieces that will satiate you until the opening. Did I mention its a  party? The Hudson Bay Co. manages to stimulate all your senses from the clothes, the music and the food. Also dress nice to get a chance to win 2 tickets to the VIP Opening of the Yorkdale Topshop and a $500 shopping spree with a personal shopper. This is a great kick start to Topshop's  Summer Takeover in Canada so check it out and see what the commotion is all about.

Wanna find out more about upcoming events The Hudson Bay has for Topshop Canada?! Check more about them here:

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