A friend of mine described Original as a "prom dress shop on ecstasy". I felt like Alice falling down the rabbit hole into a fantastical land where everything is colourful, eccentric, beautiful and in extreme plentitude.
My shopping mission: find a bridesmaid dress. I was allowed to choose my own style (that's why the newlywed is my BFF) but the colour had to be navy. I'd spent the summer casually shopping to no avail but after an impromptu trip to Toronto, and then Original, I was successful.
Ground floor is for shoes and jewelry and featuring some ensembles. But place the emphasis back on shoes. These are not your regular run-of-the-mill shoes from Aldo. These are heels by Betsy Johnson and the like - with cupcakes and rainbows shooting off of them.
Upstairs are the dresses. The room is PACKED and can be daunting upon entry. I wouldn't have been able to navigate the store myself. Every section of the upper floor has a particular theme of dress style and colour. Once giving the (very very) knowledgeable staff a vague idea of what I was looking for they had a wide selection of cocktail-type navy dresses for me to try on.
My most memorable part of the visit was having a pair of platform, t-strap, blush coloured shoes fastened to my foot (emphasis on for me). The customer service at Original was impeccable. Everyone, and I mean everyone, in the store helped me. Side note: This makes me sound like a demanding customer but I really am not! I'm the type of shopper that says "nooooo, just browsing". The staff at Original were not pushy but conversational which put me at eeze and helped me find the dress and shoes I was looking for.
Original is definitely a special occasion outfit kind of store, be prepared to stay a while and enjoy the experience of having a guided tour of Wonderland.