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I spent a few days in Toronto (I am from a nearby town, and my brother lives there, so I spend some time there every year), and thought I'd point out a few stores and brands to look for if you are in the neighbourhood.
One interesting leatherworks brands that you see in a lot of retailers in Toronto that is not seen much in analogous stores in the States is Stars and Perfect Tens, a local company. Slightly military belts (lots of brass stud closures) and bags.
Of course, Krane, one of my favorite bag and outerwear makers, is also a local product, (sold by Context here) is also well represented, at Delphic, a decent store in the Queen West area, as well as at Holt Renfrew, an underwhelming experience (think Saks meets Barneys - douche meets middle aged hipster wannabe).
In the Queen West area, I really liked Sydneys, which, in my very brief time there, seemed to carry a lot of Bblessing (collection, which most stores only have the hoodies for) and Opening Ceremony, in addition to. They have no website (www.sydneystoronto.com is just a one page info deal right now,) but promise to have one. Also a ton of Property of... bags, and Entermodal wallets and card cases, which are some of the best leathergoods you can get. Period (all now 50% off). Klaxon Howl is also there, and they carry lots of good vintage and milsurp, as is Delphic, which has a funkier feel, and carries brands like WESC, Krane, Stars and Perfect Tens, and lots of funky women's clothing. Of course, there is Nomad, where you can get your fill of Wings+Horns, Robert Geller, Common Projects, Nom de Guerre, Acne, and APC - i.e. become "Styleforum Approved" (which I find a somewhat bemusing organism) in one stop.
The Yorkville area is decent if you are a middle manager at a bank, (a career that seems as dismal as they come,) or once aspired to be an I-banker (haha - suckers) but generally, much less interesting than the Queen West area. However, Marc Laurent has some solid, if not inspired, buys, from Martin Margiela, Jil Sander, Neil Barrett, and others in the designer category. Nicholas (I think that that is the name?) is good if you are a banker, or a make believe banker (they have lots of Paul Smith.) Uncle Otis ( www.uncleotis.com ) has a real streetwear feel, with Burton, Stussy, Reigning Champ, a good selection of Redwings, Rittenhouse, and Tsovet and Nixon watches. Donnell is one of the genuinely good guys in the business. TNT Blu has all brands under the sun, from Coming Soon to Wings+Horns to Robert Geller to NSF to Josh Podoll to Nudie to Nicholas K. The merchandise is expansive and the feel is not unlike American Rag, which is to say that there will be something that you like, but it will probably not be your favorite store of all time). More interesting is the year old UPC boutique, which has lots of Rykiel Homme (get it before the line goes silent forever), KZO, too often overlooked Yigal Azrouel (possibly he is well represented, but everyone just spells his name wrong) as well as, inexplicably, Rogues Gallery and Chimala?
If you want to get your douchebag on, AntiHero will have your DSquared, D&G, and all things Euro-douche. Get a huge buckled belt and then laugh at the plebians at Over The Rainbow with their plebian True Religions and Afflictions of the world.
One interesting leatherworks brands that you see in a lot of retailers in Toronto that is not seen much in analogous stores in the States is Stars and Perfect Tens, a local company. Slightly military belts (lots of brass stud closures) and bags.
Of course, Krane, one of my favorite bag and outerwear makers, is also a local product, (sold by Context here) is also well represented, at Delphic, a decent store in the Queen West area, as well as at Holt Renfrew, an underwhelming experience (think Saks meets Barneys - douche meets middle aged hipster wannabe).
In the Queen West area, I really liked Sydneys, which, in my very brief time there, seemed to carry a lot of Bblessing (collection, which most stores only have the hoodies for) and Opening Ceremony, in addition to. They have no website (www.sydneystoronto.com is just a one page info deal right now,) but promise to have one. Also a ton of Property of... bags, and Entermodal wallets and card cases, which are some of the best leathergoods you can get. Period (all now 50% off). Klaxon Howl is also there, and they carry lots of good vintage and milsurp, as is Delphic, which has a funkier feel, and carries brands like WESC, Krane, Stars and Perfect Tens, and lots of funky women's clothing. Of course, there is Nomad, where you can get your fill of Wings+Horns, Robert Geller, Common Projects, Nom de Guerre, Acne, and APC - i.e. become "Styleforum Approved" (which I find a somewhat bemusing organism) in one stop.
The Yorkville area is decent if you are a middle manager at a bank, (a career that seems as dismal as they come,) or once aspired to be an I-banker (haha - suckers) but generally, much less interesting than the Queen West area. However, Marc Laurent has some solid, if not inspired, buys, from Martin Margiela, Jil Sander, Neil Barrett, and others in the designer category. Nicholas (I think that that is the name?) is good if you are a banker, or a make believe banker (they have lots of Paul Smith.) Uncle Otis ( www.uncleotis.com ) has a real streetwear feel, with Burton, Stussy, Reigning Champ, a good selection of Redwings, Rittenhouse, and Tsovet and Nixon watches. Donnell is one of the genuinely good guys in the business. TNT Blu has all brands under the sun, from Coming Soon to Wings+Horns to Robert Geller to NSF to Josh Podoll to Nudie to Nicholas K. The merchandise is expansive and the feel is not unlike American Rag, which is to say that there will be something that you like, but it will probably not be your favorite store of all time). More interesting is the year old UPC boutique, which has lots of Rykiel Homme (get it before the line goes silent forever), KZO, too often overlooked Yigal Azrouel (possibly he is well represented, but everyone just spells his name wrong) as well as, inexplicably, Rogues Gallery and Chimala?
If you want to get your douchebag on, AntiHero will have your DSquared, D&G, and all things Euro-douche. Get a huge buckled belt and then laugh at the plebians at Over The Rainbow with their plebian True Religions and Afflictions of the world.
