Queen Street West shopping, sorted by what you came for

Black Market began in a car. In the early 1980s John Christmann sold vintage out of the hatchback of a blue Honda Civic at Queen and John, the AM radio on.

The musicians who bought from him wanted broken in clothes from the punk underground; in the shop's own history, "Not costumes but real stuff." The business settled in a basement just down from the MuchMusic building, and it is still there.

The street is worth the trip for what is still made, mended or reworked on it, because a shop that makes or fixes a thing can look after it later. In April 2026 the two business associations pushed back, in NOW Toronto, on talk that the area is in decline; the benches below are the evidence.

Quick facts

• Shops: 34 with checked addresses on Queen Street West
• West Queen West: about 2 km from Bathurst Street to Gladstone Avenue, more than 350 businesses
• At the bench: about 20 of Made You Look's jewellers make their pieces on site
• Made close by: 18 Waits makes its clothes in factories within 34 km of its shop
• Hours: the 12 shops here that print hours are all open noon to 6pm, Tuesday to Saturday
• On within: 1,163 pre owned designer pieces, $50 to $21,000, read 27 September 2026

On 2 October 2026 one shop on Queen West sold through within: Due West, at 431. The Queen West page on within shows it, and how far the other within shelves are.

For second hand and vintage

Black Market trades from two addresses: the Underground, downstairs at 256, and the upstairs store at 347. Every vintage T-shirt in store is $15.99, and the fourth one is free. All sales are final.

Melo and Mahro Anfield, a mother and daughter with 30 years in vintage between them, opened Mama Loves You Vintage in 2012. The racks at 541 run from the early 1900s to the 1990s, and every piece is washed, mended and steamed first. It opens every day, 12 to 6.

Garb, at 1046, is designer consignment for men and women. It asks consignors for Ann Demeulemeester and Rick Owens, then keeps a second list that is all Canadian: Comrags, Marie Saint Pierre, Smythe, Wayne Clark. Closed Mondays from April to December.

For your feet

Upstairs at 323, So Hip (So Hip It Hurts, in full) has sold skate and snowboard gear since 1991. The shoes are Vans, Emerica, Etnies and éS. Book a snowboard tune up while you are there.

Australian Boot Company opened its first store on Queen Street West in 1993, when, in its own words, "Queen West was a little rough and tumble back then." Its shop is at 698.

It conditions any Blundstone or R.M. Williams boot for free, wherever you bought it. Allow 24 to 72 hours.

John Fluevog began in Vancouver in 1970, as a partner in Fox and Fluevog, and the Toronto shop is at 819. Its Angel soles are natural latex, 100% biodegradable. With time they turn white, which the company calls blooming.

gravitypope opened at 1010 in November 2012. Two floors, a 15 foot mohair couch, and a 1930s brass and glass staircase from a Buenos Aires theatre. Look up.

For jewellery and eyewear

Anne Sportun, at 742, has made fine jewellery since 1987, and in 2001 she was chosen for the 65 cent Canadian stamp that honoured goldsmithing. Custom pieces are made by its goldsmiths in the Toronto studio, 6 to 8 weeks after you approve a 3D rendering.

At 752, Spectacle keeps its lens lab in the building. The optician Jag Dhillon founded it in 1999, the flagship opened in 2004, and a frame never leaves the building, not even for a repair. "Everybody's eyes are different," he says on the lab's page.

Made You Look began in 2001 with 12 jewellers, each renting a bench. It now shows over 100 Canadian designers, and about 20 of them make their work on site, in a restored 1898 building at 1338. The studio stays open to its jewellers 24 hours a day.

Buy it where it was made, and you know who to bring it back to.

For clothes

Sydney's, at 682, has been in menswear since 2005. Sydney Mamane began apprenticing with a tailor and costume maker in 2000, and the textile library names Loro Piana, Fox Brothers and Moon, which it marks Est. 1837. Whatever you buy there gets tailoring and footwear care afterward.

At Gaspard, 886, Jennifer and Richard designed their own line, Mercy, for years before opening in 2011; hunting fabric for it led them to the designers they carry. Handwoven fabrics, original screen prints.

Since 2007, FAWN has bought from independent designers around the world. Find it at 967, Tuesday to Saturday only, noon to 6.

18 Waits makes its clothes 100% in Canada, in factories within 34 km of its shop at 990. Waxed cotton has been in every collection since the first, and the wax ages like a leather jacket. Its buyback takes any used 18 Waits piece, from any year.

Getting there, and when

Start at Osgoode station and walk west on Queen, or ride the 501 streetcar; for Australian Boot Company, take the 511 south from Bathurst station. Go Tuesday to Saturday, between noon and 6pm, when all 12 shops here that print hours are open (Spectacle closes Sunday and Monday, Gaspard and Garb close Monday).

Before you pay, know the rules. Black Market's sales are final, and 18 Waits gives 30 days to return or exchange.

For designer floors instead of benches, the Yorkville stores note walks that district. Anywhere in the world, the street worth walking is the one where the shop can still fix what it sold you.

Common questions

What is Queen Street West known for?

Textiles and fashion, punk and graffiti: the Queen Street West association dates the street to 1793, when it was laid out as Lot Street, with independent businesses there by 1860. The West Queen West association, created in 2005, looks after the stretch from Bathurst to Gladstone.

What type of shops are in West Queen West?

Boots, jewellers, opticians, consignment and books: West Queen West runs about 2 km from Bathurst Street to Gladstone Avenue and counts more than 350 businesses. Australian Boot Company at 698, Anne Sportun at 742, Spectacle at 752, gravitypope at 1010 and Garb at 1046 are all in it.

Type Books, independent since 2006, is at 883. The Paper Place, at 887, stocks more than 2,000 papers from Japan, Nepal and Italy, and its chiyogami is silkscreened once for every colour in the pattern.

Is Queen Street good for shopping?

Yes: we count 34 shops with checked addresses on Queen Street West, and the 12 in this note that print hours are all open noon to 6pm, Tuesday to Saturday. For Ossington Avenue, read the Ossington shops guide, and for the rest of the city, Toronto boutiques.

Every business above is independent, was verified open as of August 2026, and nobody paid to be here. If one has closed or moved, tell us at hello@shopwithin.co and we will fix it.

within is open, with boutiques in Toronto and more cities to follow. The quizzes will read your taste and the journal has the rest of the city.