Store Guide: Parloque, a new Queen West boutique stocked with hard-to-find international labels

By Jean Grant

| June 3, 2014

Store Guide: Parloque, a new Queen West boutique stocked with hard-to-find international labels — Click to view gallery

Name: Parloque Sells: Designer labels and street wear for men and women Contact Info: 1093 Queen St. W., 647-341-5540, parloque.com
Hours: M-F 12-9, Sa 11-8, Su 11-5

Parloque may be the most directional new fashion boutique in Toronto. The studio-like space at Queen and Dovercourt is a treasure trove of international cult labels, most of which are impossible to find elsewhere in the city. (For example, it’s the only boutique in Toronto to stock New Zealand menswear brand I Love Ugly). Owner Amrita Gill, who holds a fashion marketing degree from Parsons in New York, says she wanted to fill a gap in Toronto’s shopping scene by peddling exciting styles from places like Copenhagen and Seoul while also promoting up-and-coming local labels, like nearby store

Untitled and Co.

The space showcases a mix of pricey high-fashion pieces alongside more affordable street wear, which means shoppers might find $40 cropped tees from Toronto upstart Daily News Project hanging alongside $500 jackets from Parisian label Valentine Gauthier. And while most items resemble the kind of thing you’d see on a London catwalk—like South Korean line S=Yz’s wildly futuristic looks—there are also pretty pieces that Amrita describes as “stuff you’d see at Anthropologie” for shoppers who aren’t inclined to grab themselves rainbow-hued muumuus or translucent ponchos. Our favourite looks are a pair of two-piece designs: a leaf-print structured moto jacket ($380) and matching mini ($210) from South Korean designer label Arche, and for guys, a paint-splattered shirt ($130) and trousers ($160) combo from Copenhagen street wear brand Rascals.