Fashion Stores
I Miss You
I Miss You is one of those stores that I tend to avoid for fear of dropping mad cash, as the sheer girth of the wad I'm usually tempted to blow in this higher-end vintage shop is directly proportionate to the many covetable one-of-a-kind treasures on offer.
After slinging vintage privately for more than a dozen years, Julie Yoo decided to open this for-reals shop on the newly hip strip of Ossington Avenue. I Miss You--located just north of Queen Street West--houses a more upscale selection of vintage than most shops in town.
Instead of the usual reams of seventies and eighties synthetic day-dresses crammed in higgledy-piggledy, the emphasis here is on a smaller and more selective collection of vintage frocks that also includes high-end brand names from Yves St. Laurent to Christian Dior.
Browsers beware, however: the more elegant feel of the store means a little bit less relaxed customer service. Many vintage-slingers in Toronto and elsewhere are laidback, friendly, and willing to haggle or shoot the shit. That's not really the impression you get here.
It's a little off-putting, but I guess it comes with the territory when your vintage wares are so fancy-schmancy and in such wonderful condition, with none of the stains or rips that can often be found at your run-of-the-mill vintage store. Yoo drycleans and touches up all her pieces before sending them out on the floor. "You never find them in this condition!" she laughs.
The brand names and the higher-quality pieces she ferrets out are what drives up the price-point (think way more than thrift stores or most independent vintage boutiques, but, generally, less than The Paperbag Princess or Cabaret).
The clothes tend to be in colour-coded sections, with the exception of a few theme areas (fifties party dresses, bright sixties maxi-dresses). The standouts are the swathes of cocktail and party dresses from the forties, fifties, and sixties, including plenty of black beaded numbers, a drop-dead gorgeous fifties cream silk party dress with a bubble skirt and beaded bodice ($349), a floor-length lilac prom-style dress complete with crinoline and netting ($175), and a sixties dark navy brocade shift with thick straps trimmed in white fur and jewels ($125).
(I never really bother browsing the aforementioned synthetic day dresses, however--they're often overpriced, and the same pieces could be gotten at a thrift store or your standard vintage store for much less, albeit maybe in a slightly less better condition.)
There's a smaller selection of blazers, skirts, blouses, and jackets, too. I dug the eighties Thierry Mugler nipped-in black blazer ($225), the uber-cute pink tweed Holt Renfrew jacket trimmed with pink fox fur ($295) from the sixties, and the handful of white beaded sweaters.
A rack of shoes carries a variety of high-heels, from emerald green pumps to a pair of gold lame pin-up heels from the forties ($149), and there often are a variety of designer scarves on offer from Hermes and Pucci...but they go quickly!
The store's an accessory hound's dream--tonnes of colourful, often eighties vintage bags line the walls, like the big red purse with the black snakeskin toucan ($45), a gray snakeskin clutch ($45), and a shiny red eelskin shoulder-bag ($85). In the past I've picked up a small turquoise leather purse with snakeskin detailing, and a big brown leather tote with a chunky metal dragon decal, each of which were under $70. For those who like their purses of an older vintage, there are scads of older brown snakeskin numbers--often from the forties or so--that run a little more.
Those looking for older jewelry are in luck, too: Yoo stocks a small selection of Bakelite pins, along with a display case full of sparkly costume jewelry from all different eras. Like everything in the store, they might set you back a wad, but what a wonderful way to go.
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I have never been more hurt and insulted in a retail experience. I won't be going back to this store, and I suggest that they have a close look at the way they offer customer "service." If they keep talking to women this way, they won't be in business much longer.
The reason they make you measure and make sure you are sure is because if you rip, tear, or damage the dress in any way the damage is sometimes irreparable! They give those measurements for a reason and stick by them because the merchandise is irreplaceable! Those store owners see women walking in and out of those stores day and evening and have a good idea about how many inches a girls waist size is. They have likely sat back in the past and let someone with a 27 or 28 inch waist try on a 26 inch waist dress and have seen the struggle and strain they put the dress through (or worse off... even tear the fabric or bust a seam! Always try on dresses that are an inch bigger than your waist size for the best fit.
If they don't talk to women this way, they won't have any merchandise to sell to their customers! At MOST a 26 means at MOST a 26... They know the dresses better than you do. Yes all vintage fits different, but take the advice from the seasoned store clerks.
I don't dig their customer service either, but it's definitely a fun store to take a look around. I much prefer Gadabout. Similar in prices, but with a more curated collection (and a lovely staff! Janine and Victoria are just fabulous kittens!)
Add my facebook page: Winsome Vintage
I will have my website up and running soon with excellent vintage dresses to boot. Pictures up in early February.
I will NEVER shop at this store again. I know they won't be around much longer, surely they will be too cool to care.
I am a student at Ryerson University studying Fashion Communication. For my final Thesis I am doing a book on people who love and are obsessed with Vintage. I was wondering if I could interview you. It would be an email interview. I would need a few photos from your store that you could send me, and photos of your life that make up who you are as a person who loves vintage. If you are interested, please email me and let me know! This would be greatly appreciated! Thank you for your time.
Kimberley