Toronto’s Bayview strip
Trendsetter Julia Grieve shops her block.Julia Grieve starts and ends most days on Bayview Avenue, between Millwood and Eglinton, in Toronto’s midtown. This upscale strip, with its old-school butchers, hip eateries and whimsical boutiques, offers everything the owner of Preloved – Canada’s leading vintage-fusion fashion line – craves. We meet at Write Impressions, a gift shop full of delicate items in pinks, whites and silvers, at the strip’s south end. Julia admires the tiny silver bird placeholders and, true to her green credo, picks up an artsy Ecojot journal. “I love the retro colors and the recycled paper,” she says. Next we pop into Rahier, a skinny French pâtisserie across the road. Inside, its mint-green and chocolate-brown wood walls bear glass cases full of mini mousses, tarts and macaroons. The sweet aroma wafting into the street often has Julia joining the morning crowd for an extra-hot latte. But we need more retail therapy today, so we resist. Stepping into Dew is like walking into your most fashionable friend’s closet. Local fashion grad Darci MacPhee stocks her boutique with designer jeans by the likes of Domino from Montréal, graphic Ts by Lauren Moshi and affordable and funky artwork and jewelry by local ladies. Julia admires a long Lady J. Republic necklace. “The mix of gold and silver charms works, and it would be so easy to layer.” We finish up at Vero Trattoria, where jazz music warms up the modern interior. Over an antipasto platter for two, with fluffy bocconcini cheese, fat, juicy olives and rich, salty prosciutto, Julia tells me about her other Bayview rituals, such as Friday manicures at Kim’s Nail Salon with her four-year-old daughter Mimi. “She’s been going with me since she was two... they put little flowers on her nails.” Such service comes as no surprise on this friendly strip for sophisticated tastes. Getting hereSee our two great package deals for Toronto city stays: Toronto - The Ultimate City Experience starting at US $309 Toronto - Third Night Free at Fairmont Royal York Hotel starting at US $294 Write Impressions, 1515 Bayview Ave., 416 322-5834, write-impressions.ca Crystal Luxmore is a freelance journalist based in Toronto, Ontario.
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