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)