What
is essentially the one advantage Toronto has over larger, more established
fashion capitals of the world is that it’s much less difficult to shop. I want
to clarify my use of the word “difficult” in this scenario; Toronto is easy to
shop because as it stands, it boasts a manageable number of Menswear boutiques located
in clusters surrounding the downtown core, specifically in the Yorkville
region. With some planning, it can become a bastardized version of a pub crawl
where instead of getting progressively drunker, you get to upgrade your closet
with fire garments. In either case,
you’ll end up a lot more broke than you started. Be responsible!
CNTRBND
My first experience with shopping
independently owned Yorkville stores was with a menswear boutique called Contraband. Fast-forward a few years and
a few licencing issues, CNTRBND emerged
rebranded while retaining their image as a contemporary streetwear boutique
with a primary clientele of foreign exchange students with more money than they
know what to do with. There’s an interesting mix of brands with extremely
varied price points. LA based brand Midnight Studios hangs on a rack beside
fashion powerhouse Haider Ackermann like a child looking up to their older
sibling. Geographically, it’s a bit difficult to find considering they switched
locations from its front-facing Cumberland location to a more humble Yorkville
Avenue alleyway. If you’re somehow adverse to the idea of owning money,
Serpentine
Maybe disliking
money isn’t enough. Maybe the thought of money turns your stomach and you have
to keep yourself from retching at its mere mention. Maybe money brings back
repressed memories you would rather have left at the back of your mind. If so, Serpentine bears no qualms saving you
from your existential, capitalist nightmare. This also happens to be the only
menswear boutique in Toronto which sells clothing exclusive to the “dark
fashion” sub-culture, stocking labels such as Julius_7, Rick Owens, and Guidi.
Contrasting heavily from typical Yorkville aesthetics, Serpentine is dark, grungy, fueled by influences of rock-and-roll
music. The only colour found in the store is the crooning red of the motorcycle
fixture situated by the road-faced window of the shop. The owners, both of whom
are initially intimidating due to their statures resembling that of a certain
large and green superhero in the Marvel universe, immediately disarm shoppers
with their helpful and friendly personalities.
Working Title
Moving north to the outskirts of
the Yorkville hub, Working Title is
tucked away in plain sight fixated between an anti-aging shop and a convenience
store. A rather unlikely setting for what is considered by many in the industry
to be the most thematically and aesthetically cohesive menswear boutique in
Toronto. Which, by most accounts, isn’t surprising considering much of the
store’s influence (and non-coincidentally, brands) hails from the Scandinavian region
of Europe. The store doubles as a clothing boutique and a magazine shop, both
curated by the store’s two co-owners who also run the store’s day-to-day
operations. Working Title’s aim to
bring contemporary Scandinavian minimalism to North America is reflected in
brands such as Our Legacy, CMMN SWDN (common Sweden), and Eytys. The boutique
still bears some of its initial influence which was rooted in Americana through
brands such as Engineered Garments and Gitman Brothers Vintage.
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