Buying for the Lida Boutique Group of stores is a group effort (and a family affair). Some say that three’s a crowd but three heads are proving to be better than one when buying fashion — three different points of view, tastes and age groups.

Lida, Tamara and Olenka Stepchuk visit Dusseldorf, Germany twice a year and New York City six times a year, buying collections six months in advance for all three boutiques.

Lida Stepchuk
Lida started out in New York City attending fashion design school, where she met her husband. Moving back to Ottawa with two small children in tow, she opened the first Lida Boutique in 1977.

Tamara Stepchuk-Forrest
Tamara served her first customer at age 5 and started going on buying trips at the age of twelve. At fifteen she was being taken seriously as a buyer and at seventeen she was running the boutique. Tamara can be found at all three locations on any given day.

Olenka Stepchuk
Olenka started working at Lida at sixteen and was going on buying trips during school March breaks. After University, Olenka joined the family business in earnest. She is an integral part of the buying and merchandising for Lida West.

The next generation of Lida girls is up-and-coming with four granddaughters in training…stay tuned.