induere_to
Senior Member
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2017
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- 583
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If my perspective matters as someone with a bit of a reversed vantage point from some of the rest of you, I'd like to point out that I currently have roughly 30 competitors downtown Toronto alone. Bespoke, made-to-measure or whatever you want to call them, they all have their clientele, they all think they're the best. Garrison made a $750k jacket for Drake before the 5th game of the Conference Finals with some pointless Guinness World Record of 325 diamonds embroidered into it. King & Bay has their athletes and Davido Afnani has his top guys too. A close colleague of mine used to work at Indochino and used to have real estate giants, car dealers and entrepreneurs all buy suits off him by the dozens.
Across the street from Spier & Mackay is Don Alfonso and newly opened Carisma; sitting between the two is an English school for Chinese students and parked outside along the curb are Bentleys and Ferraris driven by guys that look like they're not a day over 20.
I used to work at Holt Renfrew, I know first-hand what it is that people spend their money on and traditional classic menswear is far from it. I'd have guys try on Armani Collezioni in sizes that were way too tight and they'd leave the store with the size down; with the commission on a $2195 suit, I'm not going to fight it. When I walked into Harry Rosen about a year ago a friend of mine working there pointed at my Allen Edmonds and told me they were getting rid of them; when I asked why, he said "we always get these Styleforum nerds coming in to try stuff on for hours to leave without buying anything so they can go home and buy them on-line for cheaper elsewhere. We just want to carry brands that will actually sell." I'm sorry but I laughed so hard I had to use my inhaler to re-gather myself.
The population of Toronto has A LOT of money. I really don't care what people spend their money on. No one is right, no one is wrong. But there are still homeless shelters gasping for funds, Covenant House is trying to stop a billion dollar sex trafficking industry and all day long I get to watch the Toronto Police Parking Enforcement hand out $240 parking tickets to cars parked behind a sign that says 'motorcycles only' bent behind a tree that no one could ever see unless they knew it was there.
What people do with their money is up to them. And Toronto is definitely not a menswear wasteland.
Across the street from Spier & Mackay is Don Alfonso and newly opened Carisma; sitting between the two is an English school for Chinese students and parked outside along the curb are Bentleys and Ferraris driven by guys that look like they're not a day over 20.
I used to work at Holt Renfrew, I know first-hand what it is that people spend their money on and traditional classic menswear is far from it. I'd have guys try on Armani Collezioni in sizes that were way too tight and they'd leave the store with the size down; with the commission on a $2195 suit, I'm not going to fight it. When I walked into Harry Rosen about a year ago a friend of mine working there pointed at my Allen Edmonds and told me they were getting rid of them; when I asked why, he said "we always get these Styleforum nerds coming in to try stuff on for hours to leave without buying anything so they can go home and buy them on-line for cheaper elsewhere. We just want to carry brands that will actually sell." I'm sorry but I laughed so hard I had to use my inhaler to re-gather myself.
The population of Toronto has A LOT of money. I really don't care what people spend their money on. No one is right, no one is wrong. But there are still homeless shelters gasping for funds, Covenant House is trying to stop a billion dollar sex trafficking industry and all day long I get to watch the Toronto Police Parking Enforcement hand out $240 parking tickets to cars parked behind a sign that says 'motorcycles only' bent behind a tree that no one could ever see unless they knew it was there.
What people do with their money is up to them. And Toronto is definitely not a menswear wasteland.