Hooray! Saks Fifth Avenue opens in Canada

Ready your credit cards: This Thursday, Saks Fifth Avenue — New York City's biggest shopping draw for nearly a century — will open its doors in Canada. Chatelaine got a sneak peek at the company's 169,000-square-foot flagship store at the corner of Toronto's Yonge and Queen streets — and it's a serious stunner. Here's what shoppers can look forward to.

1. It's super fancy. Not only does the store stock high-end brands — Christian Dior, Celine and Alexander McQueen to name a few — but the space itself is luxurious. The inspiration for the Eaton Centre location came from our nation's wilderness and weather (albeit a very sleek interpretation of it). Shoppers might notice nods to nature in art pieces throughout the store, like the "iRain" light installation in the beauty department, which will display a light show every hour on the hour.

2. Shoes, shoes and more shoes. For the opening, the Eaton Centre store has stocked approximately 15,000 pairs of shoes in 1,000 styles, including Prada, Manolo Blahnik, Jimmy Choo, Gucci and Balenciaga. The best part? The design of the footwear department is based on the chain's New York City location. It even features the same glass bubble chandeliers above the shoe displays — so you can live out all your Carrie Bradshaw fantasies.

3. It's all about you. In addition to dapper doormen, there are plenty of associates all over the store. Ask them to direct you to the on-the-go facials or to "Fragrance Discovery," where you can create your own personalized scent. Oh, and we won't even get into the personal shoppers.

4. New brands to discover. Canadian shoppers will be able to buy items from the Japanese luxury skincare line Decorté and cult Parisian beauty line By Terry for the first time on home soil. Woohoo!

5. There's food! And it's brought to you by two of Toronto's most gourmet food establishments: Pusateri's and Oliver & Bonacini. The Saks Food Hall by Pusateri's will offer deluxe groceries, as well as edible options to enjoy in-house (when you need to refuel after trying on multiple pairs of Manolo Blahniks). O&B is also behind two new restaurants: The west coast-inspired Beaumont Kitchen at the Sherway Gardens location (opening February 25) and Leña, which will serve South American–inspired plates at the Eaton Centre outpost. Yum!

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