canada :: toronto :: general

[minimal]

I have to agree with this man. Toronto is a great city with some pretty exciting gear.

While we are on the topic and I have the attention of so many local,

Where do you guys like to eat/drink/chill etc.

This city does have a bit of an identity crisis.

I like hiro sushi, communist daughter, the gem, octopus, and my personal favorite bar has to be Ronnie Local 069.. i miss tiger lily's on queen that place had nice noodles.

[Guest ATS]

???

I don't get your last quote, actually theres good oriental food in toronto...but that shit makes me sick? so is it good or not?

fuck you don't understand?

theres good oriental food

but it makes me sick...

[minimal]

^^ cosign that.

frankly, he's very mad.

[fade to black2]

Noir is open already? Hmm didn't get a chance to check it out yet...but if i remember correctly back when i-cii was re-opened for a brief stint the stuff was pretty pricey. I remember getting a N(N) shirt on sale nobody was even buying that stuff after it was temp. relocated to 57 Bloor.

food in toronto is good for the local chinese places up in richmond hill...not a fan of downtown restaurants. Susur is terrrribbbble...hiro was overrated too. Kaji was good for a while but the last time i went about 2 years ago it had started to go downhill and i've never been since.

[chrisbunnington]

ronnie's is classic.

i really think, though, that if i ever left toronto, the place i would miss the most is sneaky dee's.

[minimal]

food in toronto is good for the local chinese places up in richmond hill...not a fan of downtown restaurants. Susur is terrrribbbble...hiro was overrated too. Kaji was good for a while but the last time i went about 2 years ago it had started to go downhill and i've never been since.

maybe i'll have to make the trek to the burbs, can't say I've ever been up there..

ronnie's is classic.

i really think, though, that if i ever left toronto, the place i would miss the most is sneaky dee's.

sneaky's is great man, i was there last night for cheap burgers and 50

[Guest ATS]

ronnie's is classic.

i really think, though, that if i ever left toronto, the place i would miss the most is sneaky dee's.

X deuce...

I miss good old Andy Poolhall.!..

I heard Muzik is the new shit....

Like 5million ppl rammed in there like a bunch of fools and overpriced drinks...

but thats what toronto likes, and thats why i dont like toronto.

And all the dives on bloor... miss that shit.

[fade to black2]

Muzik...is that the Guvernment of this decade or something?

i've never even checked out the nightlife scene in Toronto...when i was underage i had a friend who'd take me to some of those places, went to the guvernment a few times and was too young to know what the hell was goin on in there then...

[SENDkylHISPASSWORD]

Muzik is 905ers linnign up in A/X t-shirts blowing paycheques on Grey Goose.

I like Amber in Yorkville although very pretentious, go with some bombshells if you want to get in on a busy night.

and I like LUX on King West latley, i think owned by the guy who did the Guvernment.

I used to eat alot at Brassaii but it has gone way downhill. Susur is overated, true but I like Lee.

Kultura is good, next to Hiro which is also good.

Favourite bar is a very low key place on Parliment called the Coburg near Carlton.

[chrisbunnington]

yeah, andy poolhall was really good. i haven't been there in like two years.

cosign on the toronto nightlife. clubland is some weak sauce, not my scene at all. there are however some nice smaller places throughout the city. talking about this makes me realise how long it's been since i've really gone out, shit.

[trees]

i try to avoid club district as much as possible. always seems to be a shooting every weekend...i think there was one at union on sunday.

[ahk1979]

Holts is bad for shoes/boots because their shoe/boots section is currently run by Browns. However, this is set to change as their contract with Browns is up and they are going to run their own shoe/boot department come Feb.

Your right Minya, Toronto is lacking in store that carries mid to high range tailored (or dressier) street wear from smaller indie labels. Noir is a too pricey and seems to only offer the "tacky" items from some good lines.

TNT Blu has been getting better lately and actually has some pretty good men's (their women's offerings are complete crap) labels, but they still stock some shit labels and their stuff is over priced.

Holt's imo only carries a few good men's labels (Cloak and APC) and again their stuff is overpriced (215 for a pair of NS...)

Nomad is a great store for what they are all about.

Uncle Otis imo only stocks one or two good lines and for the style of clothing Nomad is much better. However the service can't be beat.

Delphic has a few good lines (ACNE and JR), but they don't seem all that interested and are a little slow at picking up new lines (especially since the guy started up Klaxon)

Klaxon Howl is a nice enough store, but only really offers work/military wear and a few pair of repo jeans.

Hopefully my store is going to fill the void ; )

Queen E = great for Danish Modern Furniture stores and some decent bakery/coffee shops, but the last time I checked they didn't have any street wear stores.

[Analog]

Look forward to it - good luck with the venture, and be sure to keep us posted

[ahk1979]

Look forward to it - good luck with the venture, and be sure to keep us posted

thanks man, will keep you posted for sure!

[minya]

ahk, where/when is your store opening up?

I agree with your synopsis, too... TNT sometimes has some good stuff, but god damn - the prices. The prices are ridiculous. Nomad remains more or less the only menswear store where I actually spend money.

I go into Otis every time I'm in Yorkville, hoping I'll find something to buy, because I agree, the staff is excellent and extremely friendly. But it seems like all I find is a few Stussy t-shirts, some random stuff from Gravis, Maharishi, Duffer, and Prps, and some W+H goods if they just dropped. They need more stock, or new brands, or something.

[Guest ATS]

How is Uncle Otis still opened?

Rent in Yorkville is insane!

They dont carry enough inventory to make rent.

Same as Capsule, shit is bogus.

I hate that bitch at Delphic too.

[ahk1979]

ahk, where/when is your store opening up?

my hope is summer or early fall. ossington just north of queen.

[high_contrast]

what are you going to carry ahk or is it going to be a surprise?? a shop owner from SF is going to be pretty interesting.

[canice]

more importantly... will you carry women's?

[minimal]

more importantly... will you carry women's?

You really should..

The prices at TNT are a bit insane, but if you hit it early the 70% off sales are a goldmine.

ozzy and queen? I'm right up the street, looking forward to checking it out..

[NESK]

i think the city has okay nightlife. andy poolhall is good on tuesday nights for footwork, if your into hip hop. i actually jsut got in from there. sneaky dees is great but ive OD'd on the cheap food and since a few of my friends work there im kinda sick of the place form hanging there too much. ronnies is great. as for food, i think the city has alot to offer. its just hard to know where is good cause theres so many places to eat. ive worked in some great restaurants in the city and eaten at alot of good ones too. i had a birthday party at chezhoski (sp?) it wasnt as great as the last time i was there, but its pretty good. korea town trumps chinatown any day for asian food. but east chinatown got that shit on lock. hanoi 3 seasons is unstoppable. try the choca la vong.

[ahk1979]

[

quote=canice;284714]more importantly... will you carry women's?

yes we will carry women's!

[London]

After visiting Toronto a couple of times in the last six months for business, I can say that it is pretty cool up there. Queen Street West is dope. For my money, Nomad can give any store in NY a run for its money.

[MyMindSpray]

just thought i'd put my two cents in...

As someone that was born and raised in Toronto, i have only postive things to say about the current retail situation here...Those that have spent enough time here i'm sure would agree with me...

there was a time when streetwear was only starting to see the light of day (when Stussy was just starting to move away from surf...when Triple 5 Soul was actually a decent line...when small companies such as NFC was killing it with those Phillies Blunt tees) and Toronto was just horrible for shopping.

It use to to be about making quarterly runs to NYC just to see what was going down. There was no such thing as online purchasing...Hypebeasting wasn't even a term back then...Safe havens were army surplus and vintage stores. Bottom line - Toronto had nothing!! (anyone remember the original Uncle Otis in Cabbagetown run by Master-T?)

Things have progressed by leaps and bounds in my opinion. Hearing the Delphic, Nomad/Goodfoot fam talking years ago about what they wanted to do, finally fell inline with what the city was willing to spend on (anyone remember Matt's previous store which carried Duffer etc? - these places flopped - the city wasn't ready).

Times have changed. Streetwear has evolved from tees and medicore cut&sew lines such as Stussy/Freshjive into legitment fashion houses Nom De Guerre etc (even Fresh Jive made the attempt to reach high fashion with their Beggars Banquet / Exclusives line) and with this progression, the popularity of the culture has blown through the roof. I'm sure some of you will remember that Uncle Otis use to carry Supreme. They were also the first store in the city to carry Maharishi/MHI, not to mention Noah, Wings and Horns, Spruce, goods from Union (by the way, early Noah pieces kill everything that has come out recently - crazy trenchcoats and cable knit sweaters...man) but no one was ready for that, few too many heads knew the score cause the internet hadn't blown up yet.

The progression we've all seen has been a pleasant one. At one point in time (what i thought would be the city's peak) there use to be three spots to hit in the city - Vice, Otis and Delphic...Everything else was wack - if you couldn't find what you wanted, you were stuck. NY/Japan/London etc, was your only other hope. Over the years, as the culture as evolved into being more fashion based, and as many of us get older, new stores and new options have started to do things right...regardless of what you think of the many stores in the city, WE NOW HAVE CHOICE - TNT, Holts, Noir/I-Cii (though these cats had it right a LONG TIME AGO), Lileo, Klaxon, Delphic, Nomad, Goodfoot, Ransom, Lounge, Capsule, Uncle Otis, Studio Deluxe (when Ivan still ran the show), the list goes on and on as new stores keep popping up every month.

I guess what i'm trying to say is, things aren't too bad...You can't look to the future if you don't remember the past. Be thankful for the way things are now. Runs to NY aren't nearly as necessary as they once were. As a longtime supporter of the culture (though now i've "grown" a bit), i'm excited to see where things go...best of luck to all those looking to start new lines (Krane - very nice) or new stores...Do You...and everything will fall into place...

[homi29]

the real good chinese food is in scarb or markham/richmond hill

chinatown is so hit or miss, and good at dealing out some of the stuff that white people love

[homi29]

id love to commend mymindspray on his wonderful post

toronto is a great city and not just in terms of streetwear. It's growing by leaps and bounds, but we kind of take it for granted because we still feel inferior to NYC or LA.

But if u compare us to other midsize US cities, we're on par or better than alot of them.

[chrisbunnington]

good synopsis. i had actually completely forgotten about lileo (although it's kind of hit and miss, imo)

[ubersoul]

I usually buy from ebay, sometime i order from online stores that does not have retail here. Spend around $50 a month max.

[triniboy27]

While I wholeheartedly agree w/ everything that MyMindSpray said, my main complaint with TO is some of the prices that are charged - especially when pricing is so transparent these days and it's really easy to get things cheaper from the US (shipped + taxes).

There's no reason why a Rockers NYC tshirt should cost $69CAD + tax at Delphic when those things go for $32USD at Union.

[sr20det]

you forgot to throw in NO.6, the precursor to Delphic. shelltoes in unknown colors, fat caps, triple 5 (as mentioned), pnb (yes, it was cool back then), and judo belt fat laces. going further back in Otis's history, i could only afford the caps or stickers sold at the front desk! ha! tees were a luxury if loot was saved. to me, that was toronto's "streetwear".

i'm grateful heads have stepped up to offer what we have now retail-wise. i support and shop here still. something just feels missing though... the hunt. the internet has birthed this new crop of heads who just don't know. and if they did, it's only because your local retailer has done the legwork for you. where's the fun in that? there's the flipside of course, building contacts internationally. 2000db grabbing me japanese product locally and for that i guess i have the internet to thank for.

btw, somewhere in your history lesson you need to squeeze in grips.ca

just thought i'd put my two cents in...

As someone that was born and raised in Toronto, i have only postive things to say about the current retail situation here...Those that have spent enough time here i'm sure would agree with me...

there was a time when streetwear was only starting to see the light of day (when Stussy was just starting to move away from surf...when Triple 5 Soul was actually a decent line...when small companies such as NFC was killing it with those Phillies Blunt tees) and Toronto was just horrible for shopping.

It use to to be about making quarterly runs to NYC just to see what was going down. There was no such thing as online purchasing...Hypebeasting wasn't even a term back then...Safe havens were army surplus and vintage stores. Bottom line - Toronto had nothing!! (anyone remember the original Uncle Otis in Cabbagetown run by Master-T?)

Things have progressed by leaps and bounds in my opinion. Hearing the Delphic, Nomad/Goodfoot fam talking years ago about what they wanted to do, finally fell inline with what the city was willing to spend on (anyone remember Matt's previous store which carried Duffer etc? - these places flopped - the city wasn't ready).

Times have changed. Streetwear has evolved from tees and medicore cut&sew lines such as Stussy/Freshjive into legitment fashion houses Nom De Guerre etc (even Fresh Jive made the attempt to reach high fashion with their Beggars Banquet / Exclusives line) and with this progression, the popularity of the culture has blown through the roof. I'm sure some of you will remember that Uncle Otis use to carry Supreme. They were also the first store in the city to carry Maharishi/MHI, not to mention Noah, Wings and Horns, Spruce, goods from Union (by the way, early Noah pieces kill everything that has come out recently - crazy trenchcoats and cable knit sweaters...man) but no one was ready for that, few too many heads knew the score cause the internet hadn't blown up yet.

The progression we've all seen has been a pleasant one. At one point in time (what i thought would be the city's peak) there use to be three spots to hit in the city - Vice, Otis and Delphic...Everything else was wack - if you couldn't find what you wanted, you were stuck. NY/Japan/London etc, was your only other hope. Over the years, as the culture as evolved into being more fashion based, and as many of us get older, new stores and new options have started to do things right...regardless of what you think of the many stores in the city, WE NOW HAVE CHOICE - TNT, Holts, Noir/I-Cii (though these cats had it right a LONG TIME AGO), Lileo, Klaxon, Delphic, Nomad, Goodfoot, Ransom, Lounge, Capsule, Uncle Otis, Studio Deluxe (when Ivan still ran the show), the list goes on and on as new stores keep popping up every month.

I guess what i'm trying to say is, things aren't too bad...You can't look to the future if you don't remember the past. Be thankful for the way things are now. Runs to NY aren't nearly as necessary as they once were. As a longtime supporter of the culture (though now i've "grown" a bit), i'm excited to see where things go...best of luck to all those looking to start new lines (Krane - very nice) or new stores...Do You...and everything will fall into place...