Six male style archetypes inspired by Toronto shop owners’ disdain for heritage dressing and fun socks

There are few manners of dress among men in Toronto, because so few are popular enough for independent retailers to endorse. We learned from Christopher Parker’s final “Dapper Gent” column in The Grid that Toronto shop owners want to see more colour and investment pieces (and therefore, put a nail in the coffin of fast fashion) and less “heritage” dressing, fun socks and raw denim. In other words, the same thing people in fashion say every year. So instead, we decided to look at it from the perspective of what the men on Toronto’s streets really want. There’s no better way to do that than to observe the world around us, and we’ve deduced that while city gents certainly play it safe, they seem perfectly happy filling a few classic archetypes. An informal list of those archetypes (there are six of them, by the by), what they like, what they don’t like and where they shop, after the jump.

The Wealthy Statesman
Likes: suits, Barney Stinson, Brooks Brothers ties, money, the idea of money
Dislikes: poverty (or people who find out he is living below the poverty line)
Shops: Brooks Brothers, Stollery’s, Harry Rosen, Holt Renfrew

The Cavalier Prep
Likes: people to know he went to a private school (or people to believe he went to a private school), bow ties (he likes bow ties a lot), madras
Dislikes: uncomfortable footwear, the public education system
Shops: Abercrombie and Fitch, Tommy Bahama, J. Crew, Tommy, Harry Rosen

The Heritage Ponce
Likes: a backstory, craftsmanship, grit, bourbon, fair trade coffee
Dislikes: factory-made anything, bad seam work, $10 haircuts
Shops: Klaxon Howl, Woodlawn, Uncle Otis

The Dandy
Likes: refinement, low-slung and knotted scarves, well-fitted blazers, bespoke tailoring, custom fragrances, boisterous colours and unconventional shapes
Dislikes: anything boxy, hats that muss up perfectly coiffed hair, bow ties (which are, by the dandy’s standard, so over)
Shops: Sydney’s, Philip Sparks

The Sporto
Likes: baseball caps, varsity jackets, new designer kicks, designer collaborations, sweatshirts, sweatpants
Dislikes: mainstream sporting goods
Shops: Nike store, Roots, Nomad, Uncle Otis, The Bay’s West End Shop

The Dirtbag
Likes: everything that anyone else hates
Dislikes: everything that anyone else likes
Shops: vintage

(Images: The Wealthy Statesman, Brooks Brothers fall/winter 2011; The Cavalier Prep, J.Crew fall/winter 2011; The Heritage Ponce, Woolrich Woolen Mills fall/winter 2011; The Dandy, Fine and Dandy Shop 2011; The Sporto, Human Made fall/winter 2011; The Dirtbag, Labrat fall/winter 2011)