Wanted to tell you about two beautiful shops we stopped by during our recent visit to Montreal:

1. Librissime is a gorgeous book shop located on Rue Saint-Paul near the outskirts of Old Montreal. Walk through the store’s striking double doors and you’ll enter into a dream library, with wall to ceiling mahogany shelves stocked with old tomes, photo anthologies and religious and historical literature in more than a dozen languages and just as many editions.

With a focus on rare and special-edition books (and accessories), Librissime is where the avid collector can find personally-signed editions by Chanel or Valentino, Massaï bookends, vintage crates and even a $4000 saddle-stitched white leather bookcase made by Coach. For the average reader, there’s also a fine selection of pocket books and comics, though we found ourselves enthralled by the neatly-arrange rows of Assouline art and photography books, featuring such iconic names as Serge Lutens, Helmut Newton and Peter Lindbergh. If you can’t check out the store in Montreal, don’t worry. The owners are preparing to open a second location in the Meatpacking District in New York this fall. Details at www.librissime.com.

2. Boutique Reborn is quickly becoming a top destination for trend-setters and fashion-minded folk in and around Montreal, with its carefully-curated selection of Canadian designers and hard-to-find international labels.

The clothing, like the store, is sleek and simple, yet unquestionably stylish. Savvy shoppers will appreciate the appearance of local designers, like Complex Geometries’ line of architectural tees and tanks, as well as old favorites like Acne and the house line from Opening Ceremony. We loved combing through their selection of Alexander Wang tees and dresses for women and their rack devoted to Rad Hourani’s new offerings for men (Hourani has been quoted as saying that storeowner Brigitte Chartrand is his “muse”). Indeed, Chartrand is one of those impossibly stylish women, whose eye for fashion is matched only by her pride in the tiny store. In many ways, it’s as if Chartrand has opened up her personal closet to visitors, inviting them in to browse and pick out favorite pieces from her collections. We know we’ll be shopping in Chartrand’s “closet” over and over again. Details about all the designers they carry and online shopping at reborn.ws.

- TC