Your tyke’s room can work without cramping your style or extending your credit line. Here, a kid-approved collection of cheap thrills
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Good Stuff Cheap: four standout dinner dates for penny pinchers
(Image: Lorne Bridgman)
FOR A CINQ À SEPT Read the rest of this entry »
Devoted locavores should head to Beast after work Wednesday through Friday, when former Jamie Kennedy chefs Scott and Rachelle Vivian serve up nose-to-tail small plates—including pig’s head pappardelle for only $4. Lovely Quebec and Ontario beers for pairing are also just $4; a number of wines are $5 a glass. 96 Tecumseth St., 647-352-6000.
Good Stuff Cheap: three great wines for recession hangovers
SPARKLING
Langa Hermanos Reyes De Aragón 2007 Brut Reserva Cava $13.95
This classic Spanish cava, with a complex nose of almond, green olive, cedar and chalk minerality, is priced to make cork-popping a daily habit.
Vintages. LCBO 194803
WHITETrapiche 2007 Astica Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon $7.45
It’s rare to find this quality for under $8. The full, bright Argentine blend highlights the best of both grapes: sauvignon’s zestiness and sémillon’s savoury green-olive flavours.
LCBO 359083
REDCastaño 2007 La Casona Monastrell $8.70
Superb value from the monastrell grape grown in southeast Spain near Valencia. For oenophiles who like soft, juicy reds brimming with blueberry flavours, this is the real deal.
LCBO 143743
Good Stuff Cheap: how to make your own soda water
(Image: John Burgoyne)
How to kick that case-a-week San Pellegrino habit
Since fizzy water is little more than H2O and air, the smartest decision you’ll ever make is to stop paying so damn much for it. Buy an Isi Soda Siphon ($89) instead, tally the savings over time (it comes with a charger that makes 32 ounces of sparkling water; 10 refills are $12), and marvel at your custom creations. Whip up boozy spritzers and serve the kids less-sugary soda. Then there’s your near-empty blue box, a reason to lord eco-snobbery over your neighbours.
The Cook’s Place, 501 Danforth Ave., 416-461-5211. Read the rest of this entry »
Good Stuff Cheap: a massive mirror for a modest cost
(Image: John Burgoyne)
Mirrors as tall as people are leaning chicly on every kind of wall (traditional, contemporary, lofty, you name it), bouncing light where windows are scarce. The oversized Beverly is a beauty, measures 30 by 70 inches, and hails from the hugest of all big box stores. It’s just the thing for an entranceway or bedroom and, at $135, fabulously priced; some home decor shops charge as much for delivery alone.
The Home Depot, 101 Wicksteed Ave., 416-467-2300, plus several other GTA locations.
Good Stuff Cheap: nine of the city’s best foods for under $6
A few bucks won’t fulfill your caviar dreams—if it does, you need to dream bigger—but it’s possible to taste the best of the city’s food for next to nothing
Inventively flavoured macaroons are perfectly pillowy treats worthy of a patisserie in Saint-Germain-des-Près. $2.10 each. Nadege, 780 Queen St. W., 416-368-2009.
Coleslaw delivers creamy crunch with a kick (even better as a topping on the pulled pork sandwich). $4. The Stockyards, 699 St. Clair Ave. W., 416-658-9666.Read the rest of this entry »
Good Stuff Cheap: how to glam up a parlour on a not-so-huge budget
Maureen Peng and her partner, Tim Johnstone, both 30, jumped into home ownership in 2008 when they bought a down-at-the-heels, six-bedroom rooming house in Corktown, vowing to fix it up—way up. They were suited to the task. Johnstone is a visual thinker (he’s a 3-D animation instructor at Humber College) and a weekend tool master. Peng is a project manager for an interior-design firm and a master at co-ordinating make-overs. Consummate party people, their priority was this front room—a venue for entertaining—distinguished with oversized crown mouldings and a ceiling medallion. Peng calls this the “clear-liquids-only” room. Read the rest of this entry »
Good Stuff Cheap: hit the fashion zeitgeist with this fuzzy, furry trio
Rabbit-fur hat, $49
Danier, 218 Yonge St., 416-598-1159.
Danier, 218 Yonge St., 416-598-1159.
Leopard-print leggings, $45
Durumi Apparel, 639 Queen St. W., 416‑939-2580.
Durumi Apparel, 639 Queen St. W., 416‑939-2580.
Sherpa shoes, $60
Chocolate Shoes, 639 Queen St. W., 647‑588-3947.
Chocolate Shoes, 639 Queen St. W., 647‑588-3947.
(Images: John Burgoyne)
Good Stuff Cheap: Toronto’s five best vintage stores (no rummaging required)
For Luxury Labels
Venture a few blocks north of Yorkville to Haute Classics for immaculate second-hand pieces sourced from very tony closets. Chanel, Chloé, Dior and Christian Louboutin (patent sapphire pumps for $270 instead of $700-plus) are priced in the hundreds, rather than the thousands.
946 Yonge St., 416-922-7900.
For Menswear Read the rest of this entry »
Parkdale’s House of Vintage has outstanding men’s garb—a rarity on the old-is-new circuit. Dudes can put together a Michael Caine Alfie look with ankle boots ($60) and a Pierre Cardin blazer ($50).
1239 Queen St. W., 416-535-2142.
Good Stuff Cheap: ladies and gentlemen, here’s how to put together a party outfit for under $200
We challenged two style bloggers, Ryan Michael Cheung (of four1sixfive1four.tumblr.com) and Afiya Francisco (of thestylehouse.ca), to put together a party outfit for $200. They did it, shoes and all
Good Stuff Cheap: three genuine refuges where guys can get their groom on—cheaply
(Image: Lorne Bridgman)
HAIRCUT
Blood and Bandages, $22
This two-chair shop is a dude sanctuary with nary a Vogue to be found (reading material tends to be of The World’s Most Powerful Handguns and Rifles variety). Owner Roger Janes snips lids by moving between clippers and scissors—he’s never done a full clipper cut, saying, “It’s kind of a lazy way to cut hair.” Fellas get inspiration from the wall of old-timey hair-model portraits or just straight-up ask for the Don Draper style that’s ubiquitous these days.
932 College St., 416-357-9178.
Good Stuff Cheap: six designer sample sales that make lining up seem entirely sane
(Images: Jeremy Laing by Thomas Kletecka/Collective Edit; high heel courtesy of Alexander McQueen; bow tie courtesy of Band of Outsiders; jeans courtesy of Nudie Jeans Co.; zip-up courtesy of Puma; kids’ boot courtesy of Geox; )
For Straight-from-SoHo Fashion
Crowds huddled in Ossington’s doorways are a familiar sight, but nothing compares to the sidewalk jams that form when Jonathan and Olivia owner Jackie O’Brien holds her biannual sales (starting on Boxing Day and again in June or July). Cool kids, designers, ad execs and artsy-leaning scions flock here for deconstructed hipster wear from Manhattan, Sweden and the U.K., by the likes of Alexander Wang, Rag and Bone, Band of Outsiders, Engineered Garments, and Wings and Horns. All up to 50 per cent off. E-mail info@jonathanandolivia.com to get on the list.
FOR Big European Labels Read the rest of this entry »
Toronto retail veteran Elsa Reia was hosting sample sales long before they were in vogue, which explains her all-star roster of designer brands: apparel, accessories and footwear from Alexander McQueen, Rick Owens, Dries Van Noten, Miu Miu, Martin Margiela, Lanvin, Isabel Marant and more. The blowout runs over two days in April and October. Expect a variety of sizes and inventory, from recent and past seasons, marked down by 70 per cent or more. E-mail info@reiastudio.com to sign up.
Good Stuff Cheap: Want an iPhone? Here’s how to make one (sort of)
Anyone who thinks gadget prices are bonkers will be delighted to upgrade their old iPod Touch to a quasi-iPhone with the Yosion Apple Peel 520 (about $89, with free shipping). The device slips over the Touch and adds phone and text messaging capabilities (via a SIM card slot) and an additional battery. It’s like souping up a Mazda with a Porsche engine. peel520.net.
Good Stuff Cheap: three cameras that hit the mark for under $500
Read the rest of this entry »
BEST STARTER POINT-AND-SHOOT
The gum pack–sized Canon SD1300 is perfect for teenagers to slip into their backpacks. Of better quality than a phone camera, it has a sizable (almost 7 cm) LCD viewer, a 28 mm-equivalent wide-angle lens and an auto mode that beats competitors at adjusting for the environment. Plus, it comes in a girly blue. $200. Henry’s, 119 Church St., 416-868-0872.
