Store Guide: Frank and Oak, the online menswear retailer’s first Toronto flagship
By Jean Grant |
By Jean Grant |

Name: Frank and Oak
Sells: Menswear
Contact Info: 735 Queen St. W., 647-930-8711, frankandoak.com
Hours: M-W, Sa 10-7, Th-Fr 10-8, Su 11-6
Toronto guys may already know Montreal-based retailer Frank and Oak from its popular online shopping site, which has been selling monthly collections of menswear basics (button-downs, parkas, wool cardigans) for the past three years. Now, the brand has opened its first physical shop in Toronto at the corner of Queen and Palmerston, giving shoppers a chance to browse the relatively affordable apparel in person.
The label’s co-founder, Ethan Song, says the new retail space was designed to replicate the experience shoppers have on the site. “We wanted to bring aspects of the online experience, like talking to our style advisors, to the physical shop,” he says. Instead of live chats, customers can make appointments with in-person advisors, who will preselect clothes and accessories for them to try on when they show up in the space. Those who’d like to linger in the store can sip a cappuccino at the posh café by the entrance (which is one of the only places in Toronto to sell Portland-based Stumptown coffee), browse the selection of coffee-table books (or Frank and Oak’s own quarterly magazine, Oak Street), or even get a cool haircut at the beautifully designed barber shop in the back.
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- A curated selection of hard-to-find magazines (like <em>Fantastic Man</em>) are on display in the café, along with the label's self-published title <a href="http://www.oakstreetmag.com/" target="_blank"><em>Oak Street.</em></a> $12
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- Store Guide: Frank and Oak
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- The café gets its bread from <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/new-reviews/2014/06/23/review-blackbird-baking-co/" target="_blank"<strong>Blackbird Baking Company</a> in Kensington and makes almond milk in-house. The whole milk, however, is from <strong>Société-Original</strong>, one of the last independent dairy farms in Québec, and contains zero preservatives.
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- It's also one of the only places in the city where you can buy Portland-based <strong>Stumptown Coffee</strong>.
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- The company recently branched into footwear with a small collection of sleek, simple shoes like these white leather sneakers. (They're made in Portugal.) $135
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- Stacks of hard-cover books are displayed next to accessories, like this cozy, two-tone woolen scarf. $75
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- The barber shop in the back has plenty of natural light and room for three customers at a time. Cuts are $33.
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- Hair products for guys include pomade from <strong>Baxter of California</strong>. $20
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- The brand's leather bags, including this briefcase, are all handmade in Montreal. $265
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- There's a lounge area in the rear of the store (presumably for bored girlfriends). Most of the couches and chairs are reupholstered vintage pieces.
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- Though ninety per cent of the store contains the company's own label, the exception is the apothecary section, which includes essentials like shave kits, facial scrubs and shampoos from great brands like <strong>Baxter</strong>, <strong>Buckler's</strong>, <strong>Earnest Supplies</strong> and <strong>Port Products</strong>.
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- In keeping with the label's interest in culture and community, coffee-table books on topics like food and music are artfully placed throughout the store. <em>Edible Selby</em> (top left), $40
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- This campfire-scented candle almost sold out when the store had its “soft” opening this past weekend. $16
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- The company creates 12 collections of clothing a year. At any given time, the store's inventory will consist of the current and previous month's apparel.
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- An extremely cozy hoodie. $65
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- A view from the front of the store. The shelving and racks were made by local design firm <strong>JM & Sons</strong>.
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- Though the brand specializes in casual basics, it also stocks affordable suit jackets ($145–195) and formal pants ($65–$105).
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- Outerwear, like the tan toggle coat, is chic and relatively affordable, too. $225
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- Frank and Oak is probably best known for its $45 button-downs. (They resemble Club Monaco shirts, but for about half the price.)
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- What would a modern menswear store be without polka-dot pocket squares? $26
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- These cozy woolen socks make it tough to walk away from the store without buying at least <em>something</em>. $16
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- The lights in the café-bar were custom-made by Portland-based lighting company <strong>Schoolhouse Electric</strong>.
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- The shop was originally home to a sports bar. (The brand found the space when it hosted a pop-up just down the street last year.) Needless to say, it took months of renos to get it in retail shape.
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