Best of the City
Shopping
Where to get the best vintage, denim, barbecues and more
Kid Stuff
Polka Dot Kids
917 Queen St. W., 416-306-2279
The dollhouse-size Trinity Bellwoods tot mart is cute enough to kick-start the rustiest biological clock. With a mix of practical but refined infant gear—graphic-print Zebi bibs and burp cloths (from $20); classic Petit Bateau newborn onesies (from $13)—and indulgent toddler outfits (an exquisite white and cobalt floral-print smock dress from Makié is $136), this shoplet is a destination for both the anti–Babies “R” Us parent and the gift-seeking baby shower guest. The toys are awww-inspiring and recherché: Lilliputian kitchen playsets, impossibly soft Trousselier teddy bears ($17–$48), quirky hand puppets from Fürnis ($17–$19), and wooden tea sets, cars and trucks sourced from such German companies as Haba and PlanToys.
Vintage clothing
I Miss You
63 Ossington Ave., 416-916-7021
Vintage clothing can tend toward the costumey and patchouli-perfumed, but I Miss You’s selection of belts, handbags, clutches and clothing—always enticingly arranged by colour—is more Queen West hipster than Halloween. Dresses abound—equal parts ’50s flounce, fluffy pink formal and ’70s slink—as do true designer finds: Pucci scarves, a multicoloured Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche blouse for $149, a Missoni knit cardigan and skirt set for $250, and a drop-waist Bill Blass LBD with glass beading for $395. The shoe selection runs to pointy-toed Chanel heels ($125) and Ferragamo pumps ($40). Owner Julie Yoo, who sources from estate sales and private collectors, restores every piece by hand. Aside from a display case of vintage Hermès ties ($95), the collection is for ladies only.
Summer Centrepiece
Emblem Flowers
390 Dupont St., 416-972-9878
“I don’t like flowers in bondage,” declares florist Jan Ortved, who prefers loose, natural and winsome arrangements to tightly parcelled bouquets. Lush flowers, she says, are like comfort food during a time when people are staying home more. Her clients often include Bay Street elite, famous entertainers and—pre-prison—Conrad Black. This season’s it blooms: hot-coloured Ontario dahlias the size of dinner plates and brilliant blue and pink hydrangeas.
Denim
Lileo
55 Mill St., Bldg. 35, 416-413-1410
Over the Rainbow may sell a broader selection of blues, but Lileo, an airy fashion lab in the Distillery District, is the destination for denim purists. The loft-like store carries all manner of debt-inducing, mostly Japanese-made jeans, including the Hank-Dyed Naked and Famous men’s pant made from the rarest and most expensive raw selvage denim in the world: only 37 pairs are hand-dyed by a single artisan in Shikoku each year and then stitched together in Montreal ($777). Not nearly as brag worthy, pairs by Current/Elliott include a pinstriped jean ($304) and the “skinny easy” ($322), a hybrid of boyfriend jean and skinny jean.
Hip Kitchenware
Good Egg
267 Augusta Ave., 416-593-4663
Owner Mika Bareket, once the buyer at the indie bookstore Type and now an expert in all things cute and culinary, has filled her Kensington Market outpost with stuff to soup up every kitchen. A large and literary cookbook collection is the main draw, but serious home chefs gravitate to the retro sets of cast iron Le Creuset pots and pans (at a 20 per cent discount). Lunch boxes from Shinzi Katoh ($26) and Marimekko tea towels (package of two, $25) provide designer cachet. Count the cartoonish café au lait bowls from Barbapapa and kids’ toy ovens from French company Vilac (think Babar) among the more whimsical gastronomica.
Weekender Bag
Yaya and Friends
744 Queen St. W., 416-703-5922
This slender boutique, an offshoot of Queen West’s recently departed Kama Kazi, carries its own line of wallet-conscious casualwear and accessories, in addition to refined street fashion from Supertrash, Part Two, and Mike and Chris. Such clothes are most at home in the ultimate weekender bag, a race car red collaboration between Adidas and Yohji Yamamoto ($420). With wheels, a hard-cased shoe compartment and hidden shoulder straps (it morphs into a knapsack), it easily out-sasses any Vuitton valise. Also available in black for the flash-averse.
Gift options
Teatro Verde
100 Yorkville Ave., 416-966-2227
Among the offerings at this grand two-storey Yorkville emporium of chic esoterica: Fresh soaps, perfumes and potions for decadent ablutions (in such scents as lemon sugar and pomegranate-anise); such handsome, limited edition books as The Proust Questionnaire ($44) from luxury publisher Assouline; and an assortment of feminine table settings from New York designer and tastemaker Kate Spade. Her crystalware—miniature peony bowls ($85) and the etched Larabee Dot creamer and sugar bowl ($110)—makes for better-than-a-fondue-set wedding presents.
Bookstore
McNally Robinson
1090 Don Mills Rd., 416-384-0084
This massive (20,000 square feet) independent bookstore opened in April at the alfresco Shops at Don Mills. With hundreds of magazines on display and a full-service restaurant, it’s a store made for lingering. The robust event program includes local and international author readings nearly every night, Canadian author brunches on weekends and live concerts on Friday and Saturday nights.
Maternity shop
Belly
615 Mount Pleasant Rd., 416-440-1734
Eva Salem carries the most coveted maternity collections for the fertile and fashionable: dresses from Diane Von Furstenberg, cocktail-ready wear from New York designer Liz Lange, and cheerfully coloured maxi sundresses from Olian, a Miami line. The low-waisted boot-cut Paige maternity jean, a celebrity favourite, manages to render stylish the all-important cotton and elastic pregnancy panel ($265).
barbecue
Sobie’s Barbecues
162 Willowdale Ave., 416-224-2526
The city’s ’cue capital, Sobie’s carries 300 North American models of charcoal, gas and electric grills. The TEC gas barbie is the Cadillac of grills (a top-of-the-line, gawk-worthy G4000 with a kitchen module set-up is $11,999). The hot-selling Big Green Egg ($1,599–$2,399, delivery and set-up included) is the ultimate in charcoal kettles: the hard ceramic retains heat well, and it functions as an oven, grill and smoker. Should you not wish to commit, Sobie’s also rents, and staff will even make house calls for repairs or cleaning.
Bespoke suit
Sr Bespoke Francesco
89 Bloor St. W., 416-324-9777
Francesco Pecoraro, a Milanese master tailor with an atelier on Bloor Street, has been in the business for 62 years (he’s used the same pair of scissors for the past half-century). The studio—strewn with silk ties and decorated with comfortable couches and Old World Italian paintings—spoils customers with fragrant espressos and a well-stocked bar. Pecoraro uses only the finest European fabrics, and his suits, which start at $5,000, are all hand-stitched, beautifully lined labours of amore.
Party Frock
Shop Nyla
1011 Yonge St., 416-924-3562
A visit to this petite boutique will instantly solve that what-to-wear-to-the-zillionth-wedding dilemma. Summer styles include the maxi and mini, the ruffled and romantic, the Miami-inspired and the Rosedale garden party–ready, with many a braided neckline and rope-strap dress. The season’s must-have outfit is a structured, modish dupioni silk minidress from Calypso St. Barth in butter yellow or royal purple, with intricate pintuck stitching and geometric tailoring on the bodice ($350).
winners for luxury labels
Bloor-Yorkville
110 Bloor St. W., 416-920-0193
The Bloor Street location can be overrun with bargain shoppers, but they’re there for a reason: two floors of designer finds. Recent examples: Coach snakeskin pumps at half-price ($249) and gold Michael Kors platform wedges for $119. Designer white pants—$79 for a pair from Theory, $99 for a pair from Pink Tartan—shout summer. For men, there was a table of $25 Calvin Klein ties in handy gift boxes, Chip and Pepper jeans ($99), Ralph Lauren suits ($200), Italian cashmere sweaters and a white linen Kenneth Cole button-down ($32). Separately marked designer-only racks cater to those who don’t want to dig (go ahead and ogle the $1,500 Ermenegildo Zegna men’s suits marked down to $899). We’re told deliveries usually arrive on Thursdays.
Outdoor furniture
Kiosk
99 Jarvis St., 416-601-1661
The right furniture, preferably by Spanish it designer Patricia Urquiola, makes the most of that too-brief window when the backyard becomes a living room. Kiosk carries her Canasta collection of dramatically oversized polyethylene seating in an obsessively precise woven pattern that would please the most uptight geometry major. One armchair lounger has extra-deep cushions made for summer naps and a 10-grand price tag that sets it apart from the neighbour’s rickety Muskoka chairs.
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