Toronto: A gadabout’s guide to vintage
With one of the most comprehensive selections of vintage purses in the city, Gadabout (1300 Queen St. E., 416-463-1254, gadabout.ca) is a household name among friends who I am convinced are members of Purseoholics Anonymous.
With handbags arranged like neat shelves of books, scouting for the perfect one couldn’t be any easier—even if the tightly-packed shop is a claustrophobic’s nightmare. Flooding the entrance is everything from teapots to teddy bears, books to bowling pins (all in top condition with barely a speck of dust visible). Adjacent to the clustered entrance is “the manly man’s corner,” a designated area for robots, military patches, piggy banks, playing cards and fishing gear, among other Boy Scout must-haves. (This means the boys will beg to be shopping tagalongs.)
Between racks of clothes and shoes, you will also discover wooden apothecary cabinets with small drawers, each filled with a library of vintage buttons, brooches, postcards and other exciting gems! This treasure trove is among the very few in Toronto that retails authentic vintage dating back as far as the 1800s. With new arrivals each week, surprises await your every visit.
The prestige exclusivity of being separate from the rest is the allure to all things odd. This aspiring style geek is on a quirk hunt for odd gems around the city. Join me as I venture into an alternative fashion metropolis hidden within Toronto.
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