I was raised near Saint=Hubert street in Montreal which always had around 20 t0 30 stores as far as I can remember, For our Sunday dress, my mother used to bring me at Beauregard, neat rows of bolt behind the counter, you had to ask what you wanted and keep your fingers far from the fabric. I never saw a snail on the clerks face. There was also Mr Mestel., dressed in black, His store had no order, stacked from floor to ceiling, if you bought different fabrics, the trick was to pick only one at the time,go to the counter, ask the price, he didn't speak French, I didn't know a word of English, he would write "his" price on a piece of paper, show it discreetly to you , a frown on your face meant a better price, need something else you repeat the procedure. Sometimes you would get there, it was closed to the public, a limo with chauffeur was at the door, government wives were being served! His store was closed by the Fire Dept. Then there was Madame Pelletier, everything was
remnants that you picked out of large cardboard boxes and sold by the pound. I still love shopping there even if the stores changed owners,