If, like me, you’re sick of seeing every other person you pass by wearing your latest pair of Converses or the t-shirt you’ve been eying for weeks, maybe it’s about time you stopped by Stolen Riches. The boutique is located on Toronto’s stylish Queen Street West (just a bit west of Bathurst) and offers an impressive, carefully selected assortment of sneakers and street wear labels. For anyone with a sneaker fetish, Stolen Riches houses dozens of unique-looking (but totally wearable) sneakers from popular brands including Nike, Reebok, Vans, and Adidas. The best part? You can grab most of these kicks for around $100.

When I stopped by a couple weeks ago with my boyfriend, we fell in love with the store almost instantly. We were helped by a friendly sales associate who made our shopping environment completely pressure-free, allowing us to peruse undisturbed through the store (my favourite kind of shopping). My boyfriend got a very cool, graphically-enhanced pair of Adidas shoes for just $90, while I picked up a fuschia graphic t-shirt by the brand HellzBellz featuring Kate Moss for $45. Though the shirt was a bit pricey for my liking, I have yet to see another girl sporting the tee, and frankly, Kate Moss is worth it.

Store location: 734 Queen Street West. See www.stolenriches.ca for more information.

> image courtesy of stolenriches.ca

“But I was told it was $7.50.”

“Well it’s $7.95. It’s not that much of a difference,” the drycleaner retorted.

“It adds up – when you dry clean a lot.”

“Well, life is getting expensive,” the foreign lady said woefully.

Clothes are expensive enough, but maintaining them is becoming a nightmare. Thoughts?

Vena Cava is my recent find – I’m loving the strangely European infused, fun-loving line. Why can’t more brands encompass fashions that boast quality and originality all in the same?

Straight from harnessing talent at Parsons, The New School, for fashion, Lisa Mayock and Sophie Buhai have refined their Californian tastes into New York Sophistication. The brand was born in 2003, and is inspired heavily by fine art, culture, and Retro flavour. Their line has received attention from international press, and is sure to be a growing force in affordable, great fashion.

The only retailer that I can find it sold in Canada by right now, is Aritzia.

Take a look at some of their looks here.

Hopefully by now you’ve noticed some changes to UrbaneBloc.com -

a much desired redesign has come about, just in time for the summer.

Don’t get too comfortable – there will be more changes. I’m going back to the roots, to do what I desired from the beginning with this blog – coolhunting, original posts, and pure visual goodness. PS – I would love to hear your feedback on the new look.

Stick around – you’ll be rewarded.

Word. Nothing like cackling over some ludicrous fashion trend line, where every piece in the line is a mash-up of confusion and pattern, and appropriated obscure and not-so-obscure urban phrases / references.

Official Tourist brings a whole new meaning to cheesy – with a website enhanced by silver chains and gold lettering, the old school graphic car with its trunk popped open is only an afterthought.

Dressed as a gangster’s haven, the Official Tourist website displays prominently each of their “hoodie” products (they’re literally just…hoods). With favourites like “Brown Bunny” and “Big Purp”, they really can’t go wrong with delighting their viewers.

Clickety click.

> image courtesy of isthatot.com