Bespoke denim in Toronto

[Guest StuckOnStupid]

Just found out about this fellow on Queen West

http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2006-06-01/goods_storeoftheweek.php

any Toronto shoppers had experience with him or been into his shop?

[triniboy27]

Just found out about this fellow on Queen West

http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2006-06-01/goods_storeoftheweek.php

any Toronto shoppers had experience with him or been into his shop?

I've been to the store - visually it's nice but I've never really like any of the clothing he carries - not because it's not my style but rather, I don't like his selection. He's perhaps a shittier version of Boomer.

[bokbok]

I've been to the store - visually it's nice but I've never really like any of the clothing he carries - not because it's not my style but rather, I don't like his selection. He's perhaps a shittier version of Boomer.

initially, i thought the same thing as well...but lately, the store's picked up some decent stuff (i.e. patrik ervell, opening ceremony, loden dager & f-troupe). the selection is quite slim, but it might be worth a visit.

[SENDkylHISPASSWORD]

You guys are so off comparing this to Boomer. Sydney's is great.

This is top notch stuff. Band of Outsiders, Opening Ceremony, Alexandre Hershcovitcvh etc.

Its a small collection, but very well curated.

They owner is a great guy and is really passionate.

I wouldn't get jeans there though because they start at $400 and I can get exactly what I want in a pair of New Standards for $180.

[triniboy27]

You guys are so off comparing this to Boomer. Sydney's is great.

This is top notch stuff. Band of Outsiders, Opening Ceremony, Alexandre Hershcovitcvh etc.

Its a small collection, but very well curated.

He's obviously updated his stuff since the last time I've been there.

[Guest StuckOnStupid]

in other Toronto shopping news btw, i checked in at TNT blue tho other day...sadly i didnt take a 2 gravols for the nausea their sales staff inevitably make me feel. they had some decent stuff, the new kicking mule workshops are actually phenomenal to see in person, a definite step up from my made in china ones...decent amount of surface to air tees & sweats...common projects sneakers which at $400 are about $175 overpriced, and a bunch of $100 teeshirts that i didnt even feel like stealing, much less buying.

and what the fuck is the deal with these bleach blonde, orange-tanned, incredibly made up hussies that work at that spot? fuck outta here telling me about "dont wash these jeans for 6 weeks". oh worrrrd, bitch?

[CommieRabbit]

and what the fuck is the deal with these bleach blonde, orange-tanned, incredibly made up hussies that work at that spot? fuck outta here telling me about "dont wash these jeans for 6 weeks". oh worrrrd, bitch?

Haha, I know exactly what you're talking about. God that one girl is so annoying.

I think the only decent person there is the asian dude since he actually knows his shit.

[SENDkylHISPASSWORD]

Pricing at TNT is nuts. They just say "You think we will be able to get people to drop a G on this?" and price everything arbitrarily. Nomad does everything at TNT cheaper anyways. Can't deny they carry good lines Nomad doesnt though.

[lms]

and what the fuck is the deal with these bleach blonde, orange-tanned, incredibly made up hussies that work at that spot? fuck outta here telling me about "dont wash these jeans for 6 weeks". oh worrrrd, bitch?

I hear ya too. There's a few leathery ex-porn stars working there now.

I hate how there's no mirrors in the men's changing room. You have to go outside where the attendants hover over you like hawks, telling you how great the fit is, when you haven't even checked it out yourself. The women's changing room near the "denim bar" is a completly different story. A thousand mirrors in those motherfuckers, you can see yourself from every slight degree.

[lms]

Nomad does everything at TNT cheaper anyways. Can't deny they carry good lines Nomad doesnt though.

Walking into Nomad is like walking into a flagship BAPE store. The owner's are out of touch with any fashion trends that aren't featured on hypebeast, and there's only 30 products in the store at once.

[triniboy27]

Walking into Nomad is like walking into a flagship BAPE store. The owner's are out of touch with any fashion trends that aren't featured on hypebeast, and there's only 30 products in the store at once.

What are you talking about? Yes - they carry some hypebeasteque stuff like Visvim and Supreme but they carry a lot of quality stuff that isn't as lauded like Corpus, Filson, etc. They're also going to be carrying Commes des Garcon and Margiela.

What would you prefer them to carry?

[lms]

What are you talking about? Yes - they carry some hypebeasteque stuff like Visvim and Supreme but they carry a lot of quality stuff that isn't as lauded like Corpus, Filson, etc. They're also going to be carrying Commes des Garcon and Margiela.

What would you prefer them to carry?

Are you one of the three owner's of the store? You sure sound like them. I know one or two of the owners sit on the computers all day refreshing hypebeast, niketalk, and superfuture every 30 seconds. It's amazing how much power superfuture holds over the retail world.

Ransom and Goodfoot are complete jokes. Filled with asian hypebeasts and a token black kid asking, "have they faked this product yet?" (I am absolutely not kidding, real quote.)

Nomad isn't as bad, but it's nothing to be lauded over. Nomad comes from the same mentality, where everyone thinks they're the bomb-diggity cause they just picked up a pair of fresh Dunks at Goodfoot.

Sure, Nomad carries a few Wings&Horns sweaters, so what? Ya ya ya, they might pick up Dior. For the most part, out of the 20 items the store carries total, there's only 1 or 2 decent items at once. The store isn't worth defending, ain't nothin' special. The clientele and owners come from a poor sense of style, where they value "freshness", price tags, and face over fashion.

[Etz]

Are you one of the three owner's of the store? You sure sound like them. I know one or two of the owners sit on the computers all day refreshing hypebeast, niketalk, and superfuture every 30 seconds. It's amazing how much power superfuture holds over the retail world.

Ransom and Goodfoot are complete jokes. Filled with asian hypebeasts and a token black kid asking, "have they faked this product yet?" (I am absolutely not kidding, real quote.)

Nomad isn't as bad, but it's nothing to be lauded over. Nomad comes from the same mentality, where everyone thinks they're the bomb-diggity cause they just picked up a pair of fresh Dunks at Goodfoot.

Sure, Nomad carries a few Wings&Horns sweaters, so what? Ya ya ya, they might pick up Dior. For the most part, out of the 20 items the store carries total, there's only 1 or 2 decent items at once. The store isn't worth defending, ain't nothin' special. The clientele and owners come from a poor sense of style, where they value "freshness", price tags, and face over fashion.

While I can agree on the Ransom and Goodfoot comments, I think Nomad does a really good job. My first time in there I remember talking to Zeb for nearly half an hour about different brands and he sounded really passionate about the store and where he saw it going and not to mention also very knowledgable. He even mentioned how the store wanted to slowly deviate from the hypebeasty stuff.

So I don't get how you can rip on them when there aren't many shops as it is in Toronto. They've brought alot of brands into the city that otherwise wouldn't be here and I think they deserve credit for constantly trying to push forward and expand their selection.

[lms]

While I can agree on the Ransom and Goodfoot comments, I think Nomad does a really good job. My first time in there I remember talking to Zeb for nearly half an hour about different brands and he sounded really passionate about the store and where he saw it going and not to mention also very knowledgable. He even mentioned how the store wanted to slowly deviate from the hypebeasty stuff.

So I don't get how you can rip on them when there aren't many shops as it is in Toronto. They've brought alot of brands into the city that otherwise wouldn't be here and I think they deserve credit for constantly trying to push forward and expand their selection.

Just because there aren't many shops in Toronto doesn't mean Nomad deserves praise.

While the store has the potential to be something great, it isn't. Nomad, Ransom, and Goodfoot are all guilty of furthering bad fashion. A few gems carried by Nomad does not exonerate them. The stores overwhelmingly sell crap, under the noble banner of furthering fashion in Toronto.

Zeb is a nice guy. A little misguided, but a nice guy.

[Analog]

What would you prefer them to carry?

Smaller sizes in larger quantities. Same goes for TNT.

Have yet to visit Sidney's but from what I hear they carry suits? This interests me. Anyone know which labels/styles/etc. ?

The stores overwhelmingly sell crap, under the noble banner of furthering fashion in Toronto.

So what would you like to see then?

.

[triniboy27]

So what would you like to see then?

I'm definitely not one of the owners - hell, I've never even bought anything from them - I'm just curious to know what brands/labels you'd like them to carry.

[lms]

So what would you like to see then?

Are you an owner of the store? I have the paranoid suspicion that the owners of the stores will be checking this thread, and may even ask for advice.

Do you want me to name specific brands and items? You can hire me if you’d like.

I’d be happy if Nomad was a carbon copy of any of the following: IT (Hong Kong: https://www.ithk.com/), Opening Ceremony (New York: http://www.openingceremony.us/), Seven (New York: http://www.sevennewyork.com/), Hollywood Trading Company (Los Angeles: http://shophtc.com/), Blackbird (Seattle: http://helloblackbird.blogspot.com/), and so on. Obviously, not everything from the above boutiques is fantastic, and it’d be unimaginative to copy them outright.

I’d like to see odd cut sweaters, tailored in-expensive dress shirts, leather lace-up shoes, non-denim slim-fit trousers, cardigans, small label inexpensive t-shirts, cashmere/wool/nice crewneck sweaters, and any other items with interesting fashion forward cuts. I’d like to see interesting, inexpensive products like HARE. I’d like to see small label European designers. Any large t-shirt line should be dropped, and substituted with small t-shirt lines by art students (Epigone, Memphis, It’s Our Thing). No t-shirts over the price of $45 should be carried (start boycotting that shit, idiots).

Yadda yadda.

[Analog]

Are you an owner of the store? I have the paranoid suspicion that the owners of the stores will be checking this thread, and may even ask for advice.

No, I'm not affiliated with any stores. Was just curious.

[hamham3001]

IT in hongkong has a large chainstore with selling their own stuff, and having parts of the space in their store for brands that they have register for in hk(eg. carhartt, fingercrox, beams).. how can you possibly compare the two stores??

what u think is a poor sence of style may not be true for others, for me, i think the owner dresses alright.. nothing special.. but not a poor sence of style..

also, bad fashion because the stuff stocked at nomad isnt to your liking?? quite biased..

[lms]

IT in hongkong has a large chainstore with selling their own stuff, and having parts of the space in their store for brands that they have register for in hk(eg. carhartt, fingercrox, beams).. how can you possibly compare the two stores??

what u think is a poor sence of style may not be true for others, for me, i think the owner dresses alright.. nothing special.. but not a poor sence of style..

also, bad fashion because the stuff stocked at nomad isnt to your liking?? quite biased..

OH YEA. SOUNDS LIKE UR POST IZ FULL OF OPINIONS NOTTT TRUTTH. HOW CAN YOU JUDGE. HEY! WHO ARE YOU TO JUDGE ME YOU'RE NOT GOD! ONLY GOD CAN JUDGE! SOUNDS VERY SUBJECTIVE. SUBJECTIVE SUBJECTIVE SUBJECTIVE! WHO ARE YOU TO SAY WHAT'S RIGHT. WHAT'S RIGHT? IS THERE A RIGHT? WHAT'S FASHION? YOU CANNOT JUDGE!!!!!

[lms]

Why must everyone defend Nomad?

[triniboy27]

Are you an owner of the store? I have the paranoid suspicion that the owners of the stores will be checking this thread, and may even ask for advice.

Do you want me to name specific brands and items? You can hire me if you’d like.

I’d be happy if Nomad was a carbon copy of any of the following: IT (Hong Kong: https://www.ithk.com/), Opening Ceremony (New York: http://www.openingceremony.us/), Seven (New York: http://www.sevennewyork.com/), Hollywood Trading Company (Los Angeles: http://shophtc.com/), Blackbird (Seattle: http://helloblackbird.blogspot.com/), and so on. Obviously, not everything from the above boutiques is fantastic, and it’d be unimaginative to copy them outright.

I’d like to see odd cut sweaters, tailored in-expensive dress shirts, leather lace-up shoes, non-denim slim-fit trousers, cardigans, small label inexpensive t-shirts, cashmere/wool/nice crewneck sweaters, and any other items with interesting fashion forward cuts. I’d like to see interesting, inexpensive products like HARE. I’d like to see small label European designers. Any large t-shirt line should be dropped, and substituted with small t-shirt lines by art students (Epigone, Memphis, It’s Our Thing). No t-shirts over the price of $45 should be carried (start boycotting that shit, idiots).

Yadda yadda.

I'm trying really hard to respond to your comments without sounding like I'm defending Nomad because again, I have no vested interest in them but there's a couple of factors that come into play here that you're not taking into account.

1) A fair amount of the lines carried by the stores you've mentioned as examples are actually already carried in Toronto - just by different stores like Delphic, Uncle Otis, Holts, Capsule, Lileo, Noir, etc. As a result, it's hard for Nomad to come in and try to carry those same brands if they (the brands) already have an existing presence in Toronto (which is still viewed as a small market as compared to NY, etc)

2) In terms of the examples of items you'd like to see, like tailored shirts, small label European designers, etc - these things are NOT cheap - smaller labels lack the economy of scale and that's why their prices are more expensive. You're also ignoring the whole shipping/customs costs, etc involved in getting those items here.

3) You mention 'inexpensive' a number of times but the items you've mentioned are normally far from, especially if you want quality items. Good leather lace up shoes, Cashmere sweaters, etc? Those things do not come cheap and to even get a discount from the labels, you'd have to do large orders, something I doubt Toronto can support. Plus, there are already places for inexpensive clothing in Toronto: H&M.

This whole discussion could apply to Toronto on the whole rather than just Nomad.

[cromulated]

Why must everyone defend Nomad?

calling Nomad a "flagship BAPE store" is silly. with some exceptions, that store's largely hypebeast-free.

[Guest StuckOnStupid]

Are you an owner of the store? I have the paranoid suspicion that the owners of the stores will be checking this thread, and may even ask for advice.

Do you want me to name specific brands and items? You can hire me if you’d like.

I’d be happy if Nomad was a carbon copy of any of the following: IT (Hong Kong: https://www.ithk.com/), Opening Ceremony (New York: http://www.openingceremony.us/), Seven (New York: http://www.sevennewyork.com/), Hollywood Trading Company (Los Angeles: http://shophtc.com/), Blackbird (Seattle: http://helloblackbird.blogspot.com/), and so on. Obviously, not everything from the above boutiques is fantastic, and it’d be unimaginative to copy them outright.

I’d like to see odd cut sweaters, tailored in-expensive dress shirts, leather lace-up shoes, non-denim slim-fit trousers, cardigans, small label inexpensive t-shirts, cashmere/wool/nice crewneck sweaters, and any other items with interesting fashion forward cuts. I’d like to see interesting, inexpensive products like HARE. I’d like to see small label European designers. Any large t-shirt line should be dropped, and substituted with small t-shirt lines by art students (Epigone, Memphis, It’s Our Thing). No t-shirts over the price of $45 should be carried (start boycotting that shit, idiots).

Yadda yadda.

ultimately i understand exactly what you mean. toronto is really funny like that tho. very very VERY Mr. Me Too.I guess nomad should be...applauded, is that the word? They really are the first cats to do something on the level of the stores you mentioned above. That being said, their entire thing really is redundant, and doesnt really reflect where toronto's true tastes/heart lies....which, as we all know lies about 5 years and 8 months behind NYC. Actually, its kind of like NY in 2000 and LA right now, and if you look deep in it's closet it still has pictures of itself wearing a mullet & a lumberjack coat.

Also I dont like the goodfoot cats at all, one mostly on some personal shit, and i wouldnt set foot in there for nothin. I fucking hate that whole hip-hop/sneakerhead/washed up b-boy scene of washed up rappers/b-boys/writers. Martin from Ransom is my homie tho, and he's a veteran of that whole streetwear thing, and really was the first to do shit like throw parties at his store, when he used to run the Vice spot.

and yes, if you buy a supreme shirt form a retailer for 60 bucks plus tax, you suck at life.

[SENDkylHISPASSWORD]

Nomad, Ransom, and Goodfoot are all guilty of furthering bad fashion. .

I see how you can say that for Ransom and Goodfoot as they stock gaudy, of the moment circle jerk streetwear items, but Nomad stocks mostly plain simple items like jeans, sweaters and jackets etc, which by no means is bad fashion.

Despite carrying some "hypebeast" brands which I have no interest in, It's hard to deny the quality of brands like Nom De Guerre, APC and Engineered Garments etc.

I wish they had more interesting, affordable stuff though, local or non. Grandiose was interesting for a bit but still expensive for a pair of trousers whos buttons fall off after a wear.

The other brands I would like Nomad to carry, which fits with their thread and brings this thread full cirlce are carried at Sydney's (Opening Ceremony, Band of Outsiders) or TNT or Delphic anyways.

[London]

you cats are buggin.....I'm a New Yorker who visited Toronto a couple of times in the past year for the first time. Nomad is giving any store in NY a run for its $. I had a chance to build with Zeb for a while and the guy knows brands and retail.

[SENDkylHISPASSWORD]

you cats are buggin.....I'm a New Yorker who visited Toronto a couple of times in the past year for the first time. Nomad is giving any store in NY a run for its $. I had a chance to build with Zeb for a while and the guy knows brands and retail.

I have to agree with that. However, Toronto will never "be on par" with NYC because

a) locals will never stop saying "Toronto is 5 months behind..."

much smaller population so a much smaller demand. A store like Nom De Guerre can support it self with Odin/Opening Ceremony in the same area carrying similar things because there is so much more potential to move units if to nothing me

I perosnally love Toronto and am very happy with the way the current state.

I mean i'll go shopping once or twice a year in NYC but only for the deals and MJ in the Village.

[lms]

Again, Nomad should neither be defended nor praised.

They carry APC denim and one black sweater, so fucking what? They carry a Wings & Horns sweater, so fucking what, they're a Canadian boutique! The rest of the shit is usually gross. Nom de Guerre is boring and greatly overpriced for the quality. Engineered Garments is gross. There are only 20 items in the store at once for Christ-sakes!

As others have pointed out, there are a number of other decent boutiques in Toronto. I criticize Nomad so highly because the Superfuture/hypebeast crowd treats it as “Toronto’s only savior!!!â€.

Nomad is nothing special. The owners of Nomad also own Ransom and Goodfoot. Ransom is completely bad, Goodfoot is bad, and Nomad is half bad. I don’t care if Zeb is a nice guy, the owners are guilty of furthering bad fashion.

calling Nomad a "flagship BAPE store" is silly. with some exceptions, that store's largely hypebeast-free.

Ransom is worse than a flagship Bape store. Just because the owners install a small partition to make their clientele feel special does not exclude Nomad from blame.

Let’s start hearing about other boutiques in Toronto more. I don’t give a fuck if Nomad + Goodfoot are throwing a b-boy party for the release of a new pair of Dunks. Nomad deserves blame not praise. Plenty of other boutiques are better than Nomad.

[London]

I don't know much about the Toronto fashion scene other than the stores that I visited when I was up there, but Nomad and Uncle Otis are both top notch retailers.

Engineered Garments is gross????????????....your entitled to your opinion, but give me some facts to back up your ASSertion.

[tm]

lmao Nomad basically carries the stuff that are in demand at TNT. so....if you're not against TNT i dont see why you hate Nomad so much.

TNT has a bigger retail space, been around longer, and caters to female audience as well.

also you calling ppl subjective is ironic when you dislike the store because of the band that they carry at Nomad. and NO im not judging you as i'm not God... just analyzing what you present to us from your replies in this thread.

It might be biased coming from me since Nomad treats me well, but Zeb does have the intention to throw all the "hypebeasty" stuff upstairs but i'll agree with you on the point that they dont have much of a variety in the store AT THE MOMMENT so they are still keeping supreme, MHI and what not. but if you compare the store to when it first initially opened you can see the evolution in brands that they carry. afterall, they still caters the "streetwear" crowd, but bringing in the higher end stuff.

personally i shop around, wherever has the good shit for cheaper gets my money.

This might come off as a defense for Nomad but I'm just trying to answer all the point that you have against them. you also got a guy from New York vouching for them. it's pretty hard to compare to all the boutiques you have thrown at us as Toronto is not known for being fashion forwarded (for now at least). Now heres a question for you.................which boutique IN THE CITY do you like the most?