SHOPGIRLS, 1342 Queen West, 416-534-SHOP (7467), www.shopgirls.ca. Rating: NNNNN
There are model-slash-actresses and salon-slash-spas, and because we’re such a hybrid-happy city, Toronto has its fair share of slashy shops. The newest is Parkdale’s Shopgirls, open since December on the leading edge of Queen West’s gentrification wave at Brock.
Owner Michelle Germain has merged clothing and accessories with art and furniture in her gallery boutique focusing on all things local and undiscovered. Her art picks include Abigail F. Bedwell’s Klimtesque paintings and Erin Vincent’s shadow boxes containing sewing-machine-stitched vintage photographs.
Vincent also creates photo-transfer scarves and T-shirts, which hang on racks made from rusty pipes next to Babu et Moi’s sleek winter coats. Recycled leather fringe hangs from Deedee Bird’s metallic hoop earrings, while Mirjana Scepanovic accents vintage-shaped handbags with giant resin clasps. A Prototype Design Lab backlit mirror is sandblasted with a botanical print.
Shopgirls picks: A blond and a redhead are bathed in bubbles in Bedwell’s Dreams work, $1,600 M.O.T.H. Metier’s sterling silver necklace and earring set is daintily bejewelled with black Swarovski crystals, $250 Babu et Moi’s coat has a wavy hem and a high peaked hood, $599.
Look for: The Workroom (1340 Queen West, 416-534-5305, www.theworkroom.ca), offering sewing classes and by-the-hour machine rental, has moved into the space next door.
Hours: Tuesday to Friday 11 am to 7 pm, Saturday 11 am to 6 pm, Sunday noon to 5 pm.
