Queen Street West / Part Two

This post is a continuation of Queen Street West, east of Spadina. This area often gets pretty crowded in the summer, but some days it's rather empty.

The Kiehl's store below. I do love their retail space experiences, and although they've been acquired by cosmetic giant L'Oreal, its retail stores often retain personal little touches like guest books visitors can sign and personal cards sent to all customers. Their store aesthetics hold true to their New York apothecary heritage, with a tastefully modern twist. And perfectly placed next to Kiehl's is Club Monaco, a vital part of Canada's fashion retail history. If I'm not mistaken, this is the location of their first original store, opened by Canadian legends Joseph Mimran (Joe Fresh) and Alfred Sung.

Aldo, the perfect example of the type of mall stores you find in this area. Every time I see these Aldo stores now, I can't help but gawk at those amazing Terry Richardson campaign shots, especially the ones with Canadian madame, Jessica Stam.

And then... there is Lavish & Squalor. Definitely one of the more interesting stops on Queen Street West.

I really love the way they themed their store, and the staff there is always styling on everyone, haha.

Apparently, this used to be one of the only places you could cop vintage Starter snap backs, back in the day. And they used to only be like $15. Nowadays, I never really see them in the store anymore. But you can definitely find a decent staple of streetwear from Freshjive, WeSC, Insight, and Creative Recreation.

But you can also find your regular boutique labels like Fred Perry, Cheap Monday and Brixton, along with your more mature mix of labels like Ksubi, Rogues Gallery, and Rokin footwear. All of it wrapped up in one of the coolest retail spaces this side of Queen Street West has to offer.

I guess if you come here, you should also know the Much Music headquarters are here, along with CP24's building. Streetwear boutique Lounge used to be just across the road, but the recession hit that spot pretty hard and I haven't seen it since.

If you come at the right time, you can catch things like the Much Music Video Awards.

Things like Katy Perry rehearsals of California Gurls. Who needs Dr Dre and Tupac when you have Katy Perry, right? I'm sure California's real proud right now, haha.

I'm sorry, it's just not my cup of tea. But yeah, you can expect broadcasters on the sidewalks very often around here. If you're the type that's dying for a little attention, this may be your best bet on getting on local television. Haha.