69 Vintage

69 Vintage –  
A Place for High End Vintage Fashion

This week I visited a place called 69 Vintage. The store is located at 921 Queen Street West and is across from Trinity Bellwoods Park. 69 Vintage is yet another vintage store which I stumbled upon that focuses on women’s retro clothing. Whereas, Penny Arcade Vintage had both men’s and women’s clothing, 69 Vintage only carries vintage clothing for women. Some of their selection includes women’s designer clothes, shoes and accessories such as hats and jewellery. I thought the clothes in the store unique as expected. 69 Vintage has their selection of different themed clothing ranging from the 1950’s to the late 90’s. 

The store has a wide variety of fur and cheetah print coats, along with having many coloured shades of jeans from different decades. When I actually went into the store I was really impressed with the layout of the store. It had bright lighting which brought out the look of the store better in my opinion and the furniture went well with how the overall store looked. 

The merchandise of the store is kept organized and clean which helps customers find what they are looking for when shopping. Moreover, 69 Vintage is a good urban retro place where women can shop and find what they are looking for, but the price range for their clothes at this particular vintage store is pretty high. I would definitely recommend 69 Vintage as a place to shop for those women who are interested in high quality designer vintage clothes. You should come by and visit 69 Vintage because you will not be disappointed.  

Penny Arcade Vintage

Penny Arcade Vintage –   
Where Can You Be a Vintage Fashionista?  

This week I visited a shop called the Penny Arcade Vintage. The shop is located at 1177 Dundas Street West. The store is on the north side of Queen Street West. The inside of the store is cleanly kept and organized of the vintage clothes they sell. The store has nice shiny floors with well-designed small carpets. In comparison to the last three vintage shops I visited, the other stores had a variety of selection of both men’s and women’s clothing.

 This store’s demographics mainly targets women’s clothing and they have a portion for men’s clothing. The shop’s clothing has an urban retro feel to it with a variety of clothes ranging from the 80’s to 90’s. It was pretty interesting to see some of the retro fads and looks from back in the day. The shop also has handmade and painted pottery cups and bowls for customers to purchase. Penny Arcade also sells women’s handmade lingerie that is branded Bully Boy, and of course they have a wide selection of unique shoes as well.

 After checking the entire shop out I asked for their business card. The Penny Arcade Vintage business card has the owner’s old family pictures on the front and HANDWRITTEN information on the back, which is pretty different for a business card. The owner of Penny Arcade definitely shows their dedication towards the shop, as it definitely gives off a very personalized and custom feel. Finally, for those ladies who want some personalized and unique vintage clothing for their closet, or any other vintage fashionista, check this place out.  

House of Vintage

House of Vintage -  

 Where Can I Find a Wide Range of Different Vintage Clothing At The House of Vintage?

Welcome back to all you vintage fanatics this week I am going to be covering yet again another vintage store in Downtown Toronto. This new place I discovered is called House of Vintage and the store is located at 1239 Queen Street West and Dufferin Street West. The shop is on the left hand side of Queen Street West. When I first got to the store I was amazed at how big their front display was in comparison to the last two vintage stores I visited. Their sign for the store was pretty interesting and unique in my opinion. 

The House of Vintage has a wide selection of clothing from different eras and onward. The store has many designer antique clothing, shoes and jewelry for both men and women. When I entered the store it did not have a particular theme to the shop compared to the last two stores I went to. The place had its own unique theme by having a few of everything from different decades from a range of deadstock clothes, retro clothes, antique apparel and even a couple of sports clothes. Moreover, the layout of the store is neat and organized so customers are able to find what they are looking for easily. Near the fitting room and women’s section there is a green coloured sofa.  

This is good for customers who want to relax while waiting for their friend in the fitting room or either waiting to use the fitting room themselves. Overall, I think it is a great edition to the shop which makes it kind of different from other vintage stores. When visiting the House of Vintage I found out that all their clothes they sold were hand restored and dry cleaned. The price ranges for the vintage clothing are pretty cheap, and the store has many discount deals that happen each week. Furthermore, the House of Vintage not only has a store in Downtown Toronto, but also opened one in London, England in October 2010.

 The address for the London location is 4 Cheshire Street. I think it is pretty cool that a North American vintage store has expanded to the United Kingdom. Finally, for those who are interested in antique clothes or just the regular vintage clothes, you guys should definitely check this place out. For all those who are in London try going and seeing what the House of Vintage offers because you guys will not regret it. 

Black Market Vintage Clothing

Black Market Vintage Clothing- 

There's Vintage Rock Too and It Is Called The Black Market 

This week I am going be covering another vintage store in Downtown Toronto which is called the Black Market Vintage Clothing. The store is located at 256 Queen Street West. Black Market is on the right hand side of Queen and John Street and it is beside a place called House of Bistro. For those who are shopping at the Eaton Centre one can easily get there by walking up Yonge Street. The Black Market is different a type of vintage store apart from F as in Frank where it mostly has vintage hip hop clothing. 

At the Black Market it has a more rock/heavy mental theme for the store. When actually visiting the store myself I was really surprised on how the entrance of the store was. Where the stairs are the colours they use are a simple black and white scheme. At the top one will get to see two manikins dressed in different eras, and have flashing lights going around the stairs. The store has carries clothes from different eras such as 1960’s, 1970’s, 1980’s and 1990’s. It has a couple of things that are deadstock which are their hats or a couple of t – shirts and it also has old music albums where customers can try finding an album they need or want to add to their collection, but pretty much it is retro clothing from those decades. The layout of the store is simple with having sections for male and females and on the far side the store has mini barber shop where customers can get their haircuts before or after shopping which in my opinion is pretty cool.

 Moreover, the store also has loud music which is generally rock or heavy mental and for any of you who enjoy listening or dressing like that for the particular genre of music, then this is a super place to come check out. Furthermore, the price range of the store is pretty amazing which majority of the time everything in the store costs like $10.00 and if they have any sale then it’s even cheaper. So for those who are on budget, but still want to look fabulous for cheap should come check this place out because you never know what you will find. 

F as in Frank

F as in Frank – 
Vintage Retro Clothing

F as in Frank is a store located in Downtown Toronto on 418 Queen Street West. The store sells vintage retro clothing from the 1980’s – 1990’s era. It specializes in hip hop and other clothing trends from back in the day. The store has deadstock vintage snapbacks, basketball jerseys, starter jackets, sunglasses, streetwear and t – shirts which are all from those two eras. The shop has both male and female clothing, so both genders have a variety of merchandise to choose from while visiting. As a customer who has often visited F as in Frank, I feel as if I am transported back to the 80’s and 90’s when entering the store which makes me feel really excited. 

The layout of the store is unique for a vintage place because it has an upstairs and that is not often seen in many retro vintage stores. The bottom floor of the store has its deadstock hats, jerseys, hoodies, t –shirts and sunglasses. The upper floor has their retro jackets, shirts and shoes. The overall outlook of the store is nice looking with clothes displayed in a different way, whereas what you would see in a regular store display. 

The stores employees are really nice and helpful, and they stay authentic to how the store is by dressing like they are from the 80’s and 90’s. The store opens around 11:00 am and closes at 8:00 pm. Therefore, during those timings customers who want to check out what vintage retro clothing the store has can come by either at their lunch break or after work and if those who are in school can come by when it finishes.