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Deadpool

F/X Enters the Deadpool

Posted by Corina / October 29, 2008

26 Comments

fx torontoFor as long as I've been shopping on Queen West, F/X has been a fashion fixture. First at the giant location on the south corner of Spadina, and then moving to its current space at 515 Queen St. West. Well, its run has ended. The whimsical alt-trendy boutique has now officially entered the Deadpool.

When I was about 15, F/X was simply the most amazing store on Queen. Amongst so many tiny cramped stores in what was once a hot alternative fashion area, the pink F/X building used to shine like a beacon at Spadina's edge. It was the first place I ever found blue nail polish and ice cream for purchase at the same counter.

Not to mention the thousands of gowns, wigs and 'pride-oriented' fashions - F/X was a one-stop diva central. Betsey Johnson was among one of the store's featured designers and, although prices tended to be steep, it was fun to splurge on that one unique item to make the perfect statement.

Snapping the above photo earlier this week, I tried in vain to peer into the dark confines of the F/X store. With chains on the doors, no answer on the phones, and a large "for lease" sign out front, it appears this long-standing fashion haunt has closed for good.

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Jacob / October 29, 2008 at 11:14 am
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These "Deadpool" headlines always confuse me. Isn't a Dead Pool a gambling pool based on when people/things will die? Not a list of things that have already died?
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Tim / October 29, 2008 at 11:31 am
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Well, in our case it's when things die.
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rotenblog / October 29, 2008 at 11:34 am
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i like the theme name. a collection of dead things. the title makes sense to me.
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Corina / October 29, 2008 at 11:36 am
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Jacob... lol... was it really that cryptic? hehe

It makes the post sound more Halloweeny too :P
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David / October 29, 2008 at 12:23 pm
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Damn.. each time one of these staples of Queen West goes down, it bothers me more than any other neighborhood. All through High School my friends and I would hike down from Scarborough, go to the Eaton Centre (later skipping this step completely and starting at Osgoode) and shops like Penguin Records and F/X were a must-stop.

Old haunts like Fez Batik and Gypsy Co-op were very missed as well; this recent loss of F/X is sad news indeed.
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Sheryl / October 29, 2008 at 12:43 pm
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I'm old. I remember when F/X was on Yonge Street. I used to buy Patricia Field stuff there.

Frankly, I'm surprised they lasted as long as they did in that location. They seldom marked anything down and the reason Betsy Johnson was a "featured designer" was that they still had Betsy Johnson dresses from the early 90s at full price, even just a few years ago.

Rents on Queen, west of Spadina, continue to rise. Expect to see more little indie shops closing their doors as the economy stagnates.
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graham / October 29, 2008 at 12:46 pm
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hadn't they focused more on the cheap(ish) party dresses in recent years, and dropped a lot of the miscellanea? no idea if that's what killed them, but i found the move perplexing.
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Corina / October 29, 2008 at 12:55 pm
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I noticed a change in quality after the move further down Queen... definitely agree that the stock seemed to stagnate. Probably just a sign of things to come.

@Sheryl - I think I actually remember that Yonge store, good call.
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Jason / October 29, 2008 at 12:59 pm
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Aww that's sad. The woman who owned it was nuts though. I used to be the counsellor on her kids' camp bus... Couldn't go one day without one of them crying all the way home. She answered the door once in a towel. Also saw her a lot at my Hebrew school, with her adorable tutus and kneesocks. Not hating, but those kids drove me nuts.
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brokenengine / October 29, 2008 at 01:34 pm
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I remember that the female guitar player from The Pursuit Of Happiness used to work there, and I used to go in and pick her brain on music biz stuff. Beyond that, i got nothing.
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t.f. / October 29, 2008 at 01:40 pm
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About a week or two I walked in because I saw the "for lease" sign out front. The store was pretty empty aside from some sale racks. I asked the woman at the counter if the store was closing. She said no, it's just moving, but they don't know where yet. Hope might not be lost!
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john / October 29, 2008 at 01:59 pm
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Seems like they are just relocating because they can't afford the recent rent hikes. The space is now available for more than $22,000 a month according to the brokerage site. The landlords think they can charge higher rents now that Urban Outfitters is on the same street.
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magda / October 29, 2008 at 02:36 pm
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Good to know they are just re-locating and not going under..
gotta keep up on the facts Corina. =)
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Corina / October 29, 2008 at 03:01 pm
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No one was around to ask once I saw it was closed... wish they had something prominent out front to explain!

Will keep this post as is until I find out more... t.f.?
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wb / October 30, 2008 at 01:39 am
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Hopefully they'll take all that crap down off the front of the building. There was a lot of people freaking out when they put the pink F/X stuff up. There's a beautiful building under there.

I'd love to see it sit empty and show the landlord a lesson, but you just know there's an Adidas/Old Navy/Abercrombie/Nike/American Eagle waiting to get in there.
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Johnjohn / October 31, 2008 at 08:27 am
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once again Toronto does not support the independent stores, before long Toronto will get what it deserved -boring large American chains so everyone can look the same with their sheep mentality
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Glen / November 1, 2008 at 10:38 pm
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Gone the way of Sam's . . . sad.
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julie / November 2, 2008 at 11:19 pm
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the people that owned that place were super crooked...
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vox / November 6, 2008 at 09:52 pm
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It was the stupid new owners. I doubt the store will reopen anytime soon. The story i heard from a good friend who worked there was that they didn't pay suppliers and didn't pay rent. They also lied to their employees and gave them a hard time getting their pay. F/X was a great store in the 90's and was truly a unique establishment. The recent staff were friendly and great except the asian bitch who I was told by the manager was the owner. The store did very well but my source told me that the money was "invested" in other ways so the store could have never succeeded, despite the fact that the sales, staff and manager were all great.
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johnr / November 10, 2008 at 12:40 pm
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Did F/X change ownership during the last few years? The store is temporarily open again. Maybe they are clearing inventory.
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Corina / November 10, 2008 at 12:46 pm
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Update coming soon including and interview with the store's original and just now current owner... the store is NOT temporarily open, but will open for one day only.

Will post the scoop tonight!
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Corina / November 10, 2008 at 10:22 pm
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Actually I lied... I'll post it tomorrow after I get some pics of the huge surprise that original F/X owner Donna has in store :)
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johnr / November 11, 2008 at 04:55 pm
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hey we are still waiting for the big surprise... :)
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Zee / March 23, 2009 at 04:28 pm
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Is F/X reopening? :(
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lili / November 27, 2009 at 09:44 am
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i went on a job interview there several years ago and didn't even bother to return their calls because the manager who interviewed was SUCH a douchebag and even suggested the owner wouldn't like my nose piercing, which seemed absolutely crazy to me considering it was queen west. sounds like they were maybe the ones trying to be something other than what they were and that was the reason it went down?
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