Yonge Street / Urban Outfitters

I'm not sure why, but Yonge Street was closed off when I went there. Maybe it was because of the G20 thing going on, but it was cool, walking down the middle of Yonge.

Haha, I love some of the huge billboard ads here, like this Chloe one, I especially love Chloe's See collections. And Drake, one of the hardest working kids I know, always making Toronto proud. I have so much admiration for him. I find him so inspiring, the honesty he injects into his music and how he's managed to have so much commercial success yet stay so true to good art.

And would you look at that, Miss Jessica Stam's up there. too Haha, I can't go anywhere without seeing Terry Richardson's magnificent work.

And of course you have Urban Outfitters. One of only three in all of Ontario, one of only two in Toronto. It's my guilty pleasure. I just absolutely adore the quirky little novelties you can find in this place. Incredible little toys, new vinyl, and artsy books.

I like to browse the sale racks when I visit too. This Yonge St one has quite the retail space going on. It's probably the nicest looking one in Ontario.

Yonge & Dundas is probably the hugest thing on this part of Yonge. It's a youth culture hub. Ryerson University's right next to it, and they have a flourishing abundance of well respected art programs going on, so you're bound to find some interesting things to do around here. Like NXNE! Haha, that'll be coming up in my next post.

If not, you can always default ot H&M to get some shopping done, and then stop by the Hard Rock Cafe to catch some lovely music memorabilia.

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.

Queen Street West / Part One

So this may be the most popular shopping destination in Toronto. Especially this side of the street, east of Spadina. Although all the really good stuff is not over here, but on the west side. The west side has all Toronto fashion retail greats like Sydney's and Jonathan + Olivia, and infamous art collectible stores like Magic Pony.

But that's for another time, because I had to travel east on the day I went down there so I could make my way down to the free NXNE concert going on at Yonge & Dundas Square. The retail experience you'd find in this area is closer to what you'd expect at a large Canadian mall, with some moderately interesting boutiques and eateries thrown in the mix.

One of my favourites in the area is Get Outside. It's essentially the best place, in my opinion, to pick up your original footwear classics. All those original, classic heritage series selections from G.H. Bass, Clark's, Sperry, Red Wing, Doc Marten's, Frye, Converse, Vans, and Keds.

Last year I bought my Red Wing 9012's from here, and this year the same very nice sales girl sold me a pair of the Ransom x Adidas Bluff shoe.

Another store that I never noticed last time is an interesting little boutique called "Nextdoor." It has a lot of awesome labels stocked there with friendly staff.

You can find a decent selection of John Varvatos, Rogues Gallery, Filippa K, Jack Spade accesories, Acne, Ksubi, Moncler, Woolrich, Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair, J Brand, and apparently Puma x Alexander McQueen stuff too.

A lot of the stuff was decently discounted as well, definitely worth a stop by.

I'll continue my little Queen St recap next post. There's a lot more interesting thrift stores, music boutiques, and skateshops I never have the time to cover during my visits there. But if you're ever in Toronto, Queen Street West is an important shopping stop and there's a lot more to see there than what I put down in my blog posts here.

The United Front Building - Toronto

So if you're Canadian, you already know this. United Front pretty much runs streetwear up here. Matt George and company are doing huge things, not only for Canada, but for streetwear itself.

This is the United Front building, as I like to call it. It's four boutiques under one roof. The top left corner is Toronto's Stussy store. To the right of it is Ransom Holding Co, mostly known as just Ransom. Below Ransom, is (was) the infamous sneaker boutique Goodfoot. And to the left of it is the one and only Nomad. This building is still probably one of my very favourite shopping destinations in Toronto.

All these stores are cornerstone Canadian retail experiences. Let's start with Ransom. They were one of the first to change the face of streetwear. Phasing out the vitality of loud branding, in substitute for more neutral and classic cut and sew items with a greater attention to quality and detail. They're still leading the front of today's streetwear scene. They were like a fully two seasons ahead of everyone. If anyone out there is RUNNING IT right now, it's Ransom.

Nomad, they were the ones that introduced me to true style. Matured, classic, creative style. Way before everyone running their little hypeblogs were trying to get their "grown-man" on, Nomad was in the business of providing some of the finest youthful labels to Toronto. I think they were the first to carry A.P.C. They carry all your other favourites too, Acne, Rag & Bone, Our Legacy, Comme Des Garcons, and even Malin + Goetz grooming products. They always have stuff on sale, and they carry affordable things like Supreme and Alternative Apparel as well as an interesting selection of locally curated jewelery, vintage books, and magazines.

I have some unfortunate news however. Goodfoot, has officially closed down. They were Toronto's OG sneaker spot. Way before all this hype stuff blew up, Matt George was bringing over some of the rarest kicks to Japan to sell to the hungry market over there, which allowed him to start Goodfoot. He also had a Goodfoot location where only a handful of people knew the location to. They used to be the only place where you could find Bape, and later on Visvims in North America. The Stussy store in Toronto was the very first one to open in Canada.
But anyways, when I visited, Goodfoot was being completely renovated. They are apparently turning it into a bar. "Goodnight Bar." Still under the Mat George umbrella. Life goes on. And Ransom, had JUST closed the day I went there to begin renovations as well. I was so bummed. Stussy had those Doc Martens collab's in as well as the Bape ones, and Nomad had a nice 30% off rack.

And yeah, that was the United Front building. Matt George is getting his hands in a lot of different things. Check out Hazelton 36 if you haven't already. Sales are beginning this summer. Don't even try and measure how huge these cats are doing it right now. It'll blow your mind.

Livestock & Adrift

Visiting Livestock for their annual summer sale has been a tradition for me ever since Grade 10. Waiting in a street wear line definitely feels lame at times, but I guess it's a part of the "experience." Finding very few products I was really interested in buying two years in a row, I guess gives an indication of how far my tastes have changed over the years. But streetwear is where it all began for me, and it will always be a part of my creative outlook.

I think this feeling of changing tastes has been shared by a lot of other people as well, especially this year more than last. The lines outside the Livestock sale seem to get smaller every year, and the prices keep getting lower. I find that strange since I see a lot more people wearing labels like The Hundreds and Stussy. But I guess a boutique like Livestock still gets left under the radar, as it is a cultural hub for like-minded people, and I guess the popularity of streetwear labels has been able to reach beyond those like-minded people via the internet. All that comes at a cost I guess.

The shoes were extremely well priced bottoming out at like $40. There were a rack of $10 and $20 tees. IdeaLL, Maharishi, Mishka, and UNDFTD were all sitting at that $10 rack, but there was nothing in my size that I liked. A bunch of shorts were $30 or $35 including stuff from The Hundreds, Reigning Champ, and Stussy. A lot of hoodies were $50 I think. The BBC and Icecream shoes were going for like $70 or $80, and the Nom De Guerre x Adidas collab was selling for around the same price too. I was considering buying Alife's spin-off of the Common Projects tennis shoe, but decided not to. I think it was like 10% off, b/c it's still like a new arrival or something. I ended up just getting a wool Alife New Era fitted. I don't wear fitteds much, or hats a lot anymore for that matter, but I guess black hats are easier to pull off whenever I do need a hat. Anyways, a lot of the sale prices continue on throughout the summer. You might want to stop by now if you need anything.

What would a trip to Livestock be without a visit to its friendly neighbour Adrift. I always love visiting their store. It's so spacious, it carries the raddest skate shoes, an interesting collection of deadstock snapbacks, the randomest sample sales, and owner is like the nicest lady ever. They were really working in the more hipster-friendly pieces into their clothing sections. Naked & Famous chambray shirts, maturely blended v-necks from all over the skateboarding map, Cheap Monday bottoms, and their normal staple of WeSC jeans.

This might be the last time I see these places in a while as I'm moving away for university, but they will be missed dearly. They were definitely an important part of my adolescence and Livestock was the one that introduced me to The Hundreds, which would eventually lead me into the fascinating world of creative culture. I have nothing but gratitude for these two truly Canadian retail build-outs.

Anyways, continuing on with the Toronto Chapter, a post on the United Front Building will be arriving on this little web space next.

The Toronto Chapter

This series of posts will chronicle my first and second visits to Downtown Toronto this summer. I wanted to use this "Toronto Chapter" to share a variety of interesting places Toronto has to offer. Everything from fashion retail spaces to art galleries to vintage record shops. Think of these posts as a poorly executed yet personally heart-felt shopping and lifestyle guide to Toronto's busy streets. I hope they can enhance your enjoyment of this beautiful city. Thanks for stopping by.

TABLE OF CONTENTS / Livestock & Adrift / The United Front Building / Queen Street West (East Side) Part One / Queen Street West (East Side) Part Two / Yonge Street / NXNE Yonge & Dundas Concert / Holt Renfrew & Yorkville / upc Boutique / Hazelton Lanes (TNT) / Jonathan+Olivia / Queen Street West (West Side) Art Galleries / Magic Pony / Queen Street West (West Side) Music & Book Shops / Queen Street West (West Side) Part One / Queen Street West (West Side) Part Two / Queen Street West (West Side) Part Three

Welcome to the Summer 2010 Blog Run

Over the course the past few months, I've began using this web space as a medium to post my own original content. Photos, personally taken by me and later edited by me again. Words, though rather shallow and meaningless, written by me as well. All this to say that I've wanted to turn this blog into a project which enables me to develop my own "editorial media" skills if you will. Product shots, documentary photos of creative culture and retail store fronts, words presented in minimalistic prose, and my own personal take on the fragments of creative culture I am privileged to experience first hand. I've had the chance to collect a decent amount of experiences and photographs that I would really love to share with anyone through a medium such as this blog. So for the months of July and August, I will do my best to update this space numerous times a week with my own personal content.

Once again, I do really appreciate you guys stopping by and taking an interest in the banal things I personally enjoy doing. Have a great summer!

Love you all,
Johannes