Toronto shopping

[Archaics]

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[Faust]

I thought RAD went out of business?

[Dane]

It did, unfortunately.

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[stagename]

Actually for Toronto one menswear place I'm kind of surprised to not see mentioned is local designer Michael Thomas (brand name Thomas Balint) who has a store on Queen West that actually stocks SZ Mag along with his own stuff of course and also another local brand Noir et Gris which is stocked in Serpentine as well. Highly recommend checking it out as the designer himself is actually the only employee so if he's out and about for some reason then the shop is closed! But he's usually around most regular hours on weekdays and is lovely to talk to.

Seconded! Great store, great guy. He has a couple of pieces showing on his tumblr. The Bay (mens) used to stock Rick but they stopped last season.

[juansolorzano]

to be honest it would have been more surprising to see him successfully throw it

LOL so true

[juansolorzano]

Seconded! Great store, great guy. He has a couple of pieces showing on his tumblr. The Bay (mens) used to stock Rick but they stopped last season.

We only carried Drkshdw and we actually we might bring it back for f/w14, why do i know...because i work at the whitespace...

[MyMindSpray]

We only carried Drkshdw and we actually we might bring it back for f/w14, why do i know...because i work at the whitespace...

this is very good news because the selection at the Bay is seriously lacking in comparison to the women's dept.

hopefully they improve their buy as well, as what they did carry the last few years was really quite poor

[Dane]

Would be nice to see drkshdw return...although the items they picked in the past were questionable (felted-cotton, cropped bootleg jeans...really?). Still nice to see it available in the city at more than one shop.

[0JSIMPS0N]

Haven is worth mentioning, not exactly SZ approved but has a store in Toronto, Vancouver, and Edmonton. That's all I can think of for outside Toronto / Montreal which has been covered pretty well.

Actually for Toronto one menswear place I'm kind of surprised to not see mentioned is local designer Michael Thomas (brand name Thomas Balint) who has a store on Queen West that actually stocks SZ Mag along with his own stuff of course and also another local brand Noir et Gris which is stocked in Serpentine as well. Highly recommend checking it out as the designer himself is actually the only employee so if he's out and about for some reason then the shop is closed! But he's usually around most regular hours on weekdays and is lovely to talk to.

Also for Toronto if anyone wants to bring up womenswear 119 Corbo is excellent and The Room at The Bay on Queen St. is not too bad (the mens version unfortunately seems to be stuck with the same selection as most relevant department stores circa 2007). Also did anyone bring up Research and Development? Hands down the best womenswear store in the city, unfortunately their site seems to have gone even more bare bones than it was before and doesn't even list available brands anymore but last time I was in (a little over a year ago) they had a very well curated selection of stuff like M.A.+ and forme d'expression. Also an SZ mag stockist if I do recall, by appointment only but the owner is very nice and easy going.

Serpentine doesn't have noir et gris
Thoma Balint doesn't have noir et gris
Research and Development doesn't exist anymore

[juansolorzano]

Would be nice to see drkshdw return...although the items they picked in the past were questionable (felted-cotton, cropped bootleg jeans...really?). Still nice to see it available in the city at more than one shop.

The previous buyer was risky and brave, to be honest he went against the BAY's safe buys which was awesome and in a way thats why he got let go of...sadly.. but he didn't know exactly what our clientele wanted in a sense, even though he put the Whitespace in the Map. The new Buyer wants to bring it back, but due to the unsuccessful buys from the past its harder, to know if drkshdw will be successful in the near future.

[juansolorzano]

this is very good news because the selection at the Bay is seriously lacking in comparison to the women's dept.

hopefully they improve their buy as well, as what they did carry the last few years was really quite poor

We will be improving our buy in the next few seasons, just toronto doesn't have as much clientele that are into RO,BBS,CCP,YYPH..etc plus it will take years to convert a man that wears APC, Sandro, Filippa K, into liking this Brands and understanding the Price point, going from 200 dollar jeans to 1000 pants... i think its a matter of taste aswell and also that's why there are stores like Serpentine and Sidneys that are meant to be for guys on SZ, the Bay still has a long way...

[juansolorzano]

My Fave shop in Toronto

The Serpentine

132 Cumberland St Toronto, ON M5R 1A6
(416) 513-1818

(Yorkville area)

[Archaics]

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[MyMindSpray]

We will be improving our buy in the next few seasons, just toronto doesn't have as much clientele that are into RO,BBS,CCP,YYPH..etc plus it will take years to convert a man that wears APC, Sandro, Filippa K, into liking this Brands and understanding the Price point, going from 200 dollar jeans to 1000 pants... i think its a matter of taste aswell and also that's why there are stores like Serpentine and Sidneys that are meant to be for guys on SZ, the Bay still has a long way...

i would say that its not an issue of being an SZ approved buy, but rather a buy that appeals to a broader audience. one could argue that APC, Sandro, Filippa K, etc DOES appeal to a broader audience, but in reality these brands actually appeal to the same audience. Many of these brands are just variations of the same aesthetic. having said that, i realize that The Bay is still The Bay and maybe i just got excited a few years ago when they started carrying Junya, CDG and Margiela for women. In many ways, a store like TNT has more of major department store feel when it comes to buys for apparel