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Toronto prides itself on having some of the finest shopping in North America. Indeed, most of the world's name boutiques have branches here, especially in the Yorkville area, where you can find such luxury labels as Chanel, Prada, and Cartier. For those a little leaner of wallet, you can join in one of Torontonians' favorite pastimes: bargain hunting. Locals wear discount threads like badges of honor and stretch their dollar at Winners—where overstocked and liquidated designer pieces and last-season fashions are slashed to a fraction of their original retail prices.
Toronto has a large arts-and-crafts community, with numerous art galleries, custom jewelers, clothing designers, and artisans. Sophisticated glass sculpture and Inuit art are ideal as gifts or for your own home. A few record stores are still going strong despite the dominance of digital music. The survivors’ trump card has been focused inventory and knowledgeable staff—head to Rotate This for alterative and indie music or Atelier Grigorian for classical and jazz. Bookstores such as Indigo have lounge areas where you can sip a coffee from the in-store café while perusing books by Canadian authors such as Alice Munro, Ann-Marie MacDonald, and Rohinton Mistry; don’t miss favorite independent Book City.
When it comes to department stores, all roads lead to Holt Renfrew on Bloor Street West, the epicenter of Toronto's designer shopping. A mere block east is the more mid-price department store The Bay. A second Bay can be found across from Eaton Centre, a sprawling shopping complex with multilevel parking in the heart of the city.
This hushed secondhand bookshop has a tempting selection of coffee table--sized art and photography books, along with more luggage-friendly novels and plays—all denoted with Scrabble-tile signs. You may even spot some rare out-of-print treasures.
Dramatic wide-brimmed hats, extravagant fascinators, and practical straw hats that pack flat in your carry-on—all these can be found at Lilliput Hats. For men there are trilbies, wide-brimmed fedoras, and pork pies. Owner and milliner Karyn Ruiz has a devoted local following; notably, Ruiz made the hats Canadian rock star Gord Downie wore during his final Canadian tour.
Go crate-digging at this basement record store where new releases sit beside jazz, punk, and reggae oddities. Their buy-and-sell program accepts cassettes, CDs, DVDs, and even vintage studio gear—so if you're looking for something obscure, you just might stumble upon it here.
Need a stylish gift for someone back home? You'll likely find something suitable at this cute boutique, where the shelves are lined with greeting cards, puzzles, kids' books, and locally designed wares like tea towels and jewelry.
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