Downtown Toronto is rich in street-wear boutiques, but with so many, how do you pick the best ones?

In my small school located miles away from the city, people dressed the exact same way. My fellow school mates would buy clothes for the same brand names, expecting themselves to be unique even though everyone else had the same clothes on. Hollister, Aeropostale, Abercombie and H&M. The four apocalyptic disasters that were sent down to this earth to prevent people from having a unique and personal style. I always thought the people with the most up-to-date styles and the newest clothes were always the coolest people.  I wanted to be apart of that group, one of the cool kids who were known for their sense of style and trend-setting abilities. The one trip to downtown Toronto’s fashion district changed my life, every store there was so unique, so fresh and so hip. If I could name all of the stores I would, but out of all of them, five stores stick out:

Over The Rainbow:

Opened in 1975 as a premium denim retailer, Over the Rainbow sold jeans and apparel  from many different countries. As time passed,  Over The Rainbow increased it’s reputation and by 2007, the store was known as one of the go-to denim stores of the Country.

Over The Rainbow now sells over 250 styles of denim (largest selection in Canada) and carries over 100 different brands like 1921 and PRPS.

http://rainbowjeans.com/home.htm

Due West/Next Door:

Roughed up and edgy are the thoughts that come to my mind when I think of the ambiance of the store. Established in 1973, Due West is a mid-end retailer that has a very relaxed and chilled out vibe. When I first entered this store, I saw brands like Dom Rebel and G-Star, (which I personally don’t wear) and a lot of more street-ish and more urban styles of clothing. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is into the more graphic aspect of design.

www.duewestclothing.com

Next Door:

Next Door is probably my favourite stores out of the five. Located right beside Due West, Next Door sells higher end brands such as D&G, McQ by Alexander McQueen, DSquared and J.Lindeberg. You definitely get a more up-scale feel when entering this retail store, along with the simple and straight forward design of the interior. There is also a great contrast between the exposed plywood walls and the simple yet noticeable clothing showcase.

http://nextdoorclothing.posterous.com/

Show Room:

The first time I went into Show Room was during the 2009 boxing day sale. At first I thought it was going to be impossible to find something that I would actually like but I was surprised to see such a wide variety of clothes to choose from. After 20 minutes in the store, I had over $350 worth of clothes in my arms and I was walking towards the cash register. This two-floor store is filled with higher priced garments on the second floor and plenty of hip and up and coming brands on the first floor. From brands and labels that would get anyone spending every penny they have, including: Diesel, Cheap Monday, Miss Sixty,  Naked and Famous, Levis, True Religion and Lucky 7.

http://www.theshow-room.com/

Got Style Menswear:

Voted as the top menswear store by in Toronto by Now Magazine, Got Style is the leading menswear store when it comes to casual or business attire. The aesthetics of the store is what every man would want to see while shopping; flat-screen TVs, comfortable furnishings and a sleek interior. Got Style also has it’s very own male only spa which provides haircuts and hot-towel shaves.

http://www.gsmen.com/

After the video I made which showed me washing my selvage jeans after over 18 months of not a single wash people always provide helpful feedback such as “that’s disgusting!” and “gross”!

(It’s got over 6000 views in less than 6 months!)

That was the issue I had with the jeans too. It did not have a fresh smell but if you want great fades that’s the only way. The smell took over the closet and even my room once when I leave the closet door open. But a very effective solution I found was to use Fabreeze. Just spray it once every few weeks and you are good. Kills the smell and bacteria.

Another solution is to throw it in the freezer. I have not tried this before, but if you have please let me know how it is.

To many denim aficionados, raw denim is considered an art form. Raw denim is essentially jeans in its natural state, protected from the intervention of mankind. As such, it is a reflection of the wearer’s body and possesses the unique ability to tell the story the denim has imprinted over the course of time.

Jing Liu has embarked on a journey with his Naked and Famous denim for the last 18 months, which coincidentally enough is roughly the same time Juzd was created. One could argue the very same pair of jeans he has worn every single day has chronicled the journey Juzd has taken.

To many denim aficionados, raw denim is considered an art form. Raw denim is essentially a pair of jeans in its natural state, protected from the intervention of human hands. It is a reflection of the wearer’s body and possesses the unique ability to tell the story the denim has imprinted through the test of time.

Jing Liu has embarked on a journey with his Naked and Famous denim for the last 18 months, which coincidentally is roughly the same time Juzd has been around. One could argue these jeans has chronicled the journey Juzd has taken.

Below you will find the video documentary to how to wash your jeans the proper way while minimizing the loss of indigo. Washing raw denim allows you to remove the dirt, grime, sweat, and stains that have accumulated which will preserve the life of the denim.

Part 1

Part 2

Washing Instructions:

1. Fill tub with lukewarm water.
2. Add a small amount of laundry detergent. I recommend Woolite Dark for minimizing indigo loss.
3. Place jeans into bath tub turned inside out if you prefer. Move around in water to loosen up any dirt and grime.
4. Rinse jeans with clean water until soap is gone.
5. Hang to air dry.

Before The Wash

After The Wash