L’expression De La Vie

My brother did some research and found out about this place. We knew to find it because a previous Unilocaler mentioned that it’s located next to Sumo Ramen and that was very helpful. I was able to get some seriously beautiful shawls here at only $ 7 a piece or $ 13 for two. They have a wide variety of animé goodies ranging from what others have already mentioned, Plushies, key chains, figurines, pins, back packs etc. I found an awesome Totoro mouse pad here.
I’d say it’s definitely worth a look, there’s something here for everyone.

The only reason I didn’t give this 4 stars is every time I go here I come away empty handed for some reason. They have TONS of stuff crammed in this little store, which can make it over whelming and difficult to find things, especially if you’re just browsing.
*Also every time I’ve been, one of the people working there watches me the entire time I’m looking, like they’re expecting me to steal something. There’s a lot of stuff to look at so it takes me a while to go through it all, and its very stressful/​unsettling to be watched the whole time.
Its a good place to find animé/​manga related plushies, figures and bags. they even have a few cosplay outfits (vampire knight, hatsune miku, naruto, etc) There’s also lots of asian style clothing in the back too.

Totoro! After searching for years, I finally found a store that sells Totoro products at very reasonable prices. Totoro backpacks, purses, wallets, cell phone holders, winter hats, and plushes (big, small, white Totoro, grey Totoro, blue Totoro, sleepy Totoro, happy Totoro).
They also sell other Japanese and Korean animé characters. Naruto, Deathnote, Chi (cutest kitten ever), Pucca and Garu. They even have Shuga Charo which made my 8 year-​old daughter jump for joy.
By the way, the store is located at 1005 Blvd St Laurent. Right next to Sumo Ramen.
We stopped here twice on our vacation. I wish we could bring the store back to the US with us. Merci beaucoup, L’Expression de la Vie!

The expression of life seems like a strange name for a costume /​hobby shop, however, this Chinatown store houses some of the most interesting Asian inspired costumes /​accessories in the area.
There is all sorts of stuff here, from wigs to dresses to specialty umbrellas. The store doesn’t look that big, but dig a little deeper and one will find there is a backroom with plenty of variety of fabrics in different sizes. I came here looking for old style shoes and umbrellas and came away empty handed. It was just my luck they ran out that day of the type of stuff I was looking for.
The couple running this place was young and super nice. They were gracious in answering my group’s questions and were able to communicate in a variety of languages. I’m sure the next time I need to find Asian accessories in Montréal, I’ll probably stop in here to check things out.