Rosedale's Stretch of Yonge Has Quietly Become a Fashion Street
"It wasn't traditionally a shopping destination," John Seagrave told Streets of Toronto this summer. He was describing Ossington, where his menswear consignment shop spent more than a decade. Then he described Yonge Street between Rosedale and Summerhill stations the same way: "It feels more like a neighbourhood and not just a shopping destination."
He gave that as his reason for coming. In June 2026 he opened Seagrave's at 1066 Yonge, with a cherry red storefront and a dark wood interior. Since then, two more serious fashion retailers have opened on the strip, and a long-standing local boutique has announced plans to grow. Each owner who has spoken publicly about the move gave a version of Seagrave's reasoning. These stores came to Rosedale Main Street because people live here, and they were built for people who will come back often.
The 2026 openings so far, from south to north by street number:
| Shop | Address | Opened | Where it came from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seagrave's | 1066 Yonge St. | June 2026 | Ossington, as I Miss You Man |
| Absolutely Fabrics | 1091 Yonge St. | Gala opening Friday, September 18, 2026 | Queen Street West, opened 2023 |
| Tanya Taylor | The James, 8 Price St., Unit 5 | October 1, 2026 | New York, with stores on the Upper East Side and in Greenwich, Connecticut |
These three opened a year or more after Relevé, the Toronto activewear and loungewear boutique. Retail Insider reported in April 2025 that Relevé had opened its second location at 1 Rowanwood Avenue West.
Each of the new shops had a proven home somewhere else in the city or abroad. None of them needed a new address to find customers. Their owners went looking for a particular kind of street.
Tanya Taylor grew up in Toronto and built her womenswear brand in New York. She described her first store, on Madison Avenue, in terms that fit this strip of Yonge. "Though it seems like such a bustling corner, it really is a neighbourhood," she told Streets of Toronto. "It's where my kids go to school, it's where you see the same person walking their dog every morning." She compared Summerhill to the West Village, where she lives, and said "the stores there make it their job to feel a part of the community."
She told Retail Insider the same thing: "We're always drawn to neighbourhood destinations where there's a strong sense of local character and discovery."
For Absolutely Fabrics, the customers were already here. Retail Insider reported that founder Kaelen Haworth arrived with an established following in the area, including customers who had been travelling to her Queen West store from Rosedale, Forest Hill and nearby neighbourhoods. Seagrave found the same once he opened. Many people who had consigned with I Miss You Man over the years turned out to live nearby. "They've happened upon me here in Summerhill and are like, 'Oh, you're here now!'" he said. "So it's almost like we're bringing it to them."
"I've lived in the neighbourhood all my life. We know the hub that it is. That block already has great retail traffic, and we realized there was something special there."
That is Kelly McDowell, co-founder of Clementine's, speaking to Retail Insider in February about her plans for the strip.
The stores themselves show the same intent, in their size, their interiors and their prices.
Tanya Taylor's Toronto boutique is 750 square feet. It is the brand's third standalone store, and the founder describes it as smaller than the other two. Her stated goal for the store is "to understand the life of the person walking in."
Absolutely Fabrics went the other way on size and the same way on intent. The flagship is 7,000 square feet and carries menswear for the first time. Retail Insider reported that the store was conceived "with the character of a private residence rather than a conventional fashion boutique." It has carpeting, coffered ceilings and dark wood, plus a Red Jasper coffee table and benches by South African designer Lea Colombo. "We want people to stay and linger," Haworth said. "It's about being there. It's not just about shopping."
Seagrave's covers a wide price range for a store this size. The top of it is a 1957 Rolex at $8,995. Streets of Toronto also found plenty under $100, such as a Stussy knit polo or a Universal Works overshirt. The vintage chairs near the change rooms, sourced through Porch Modern, are for sale like everything else in the store.
These are three different formats, and all of them are built for regular visits.
The James explains most of the timing. It is Tricon Residential's 23-storey rental building at Scrivener Square, near Yonge and Price, with access to Summerhill station. It has about 10,500 square feet of ground-floor retail and plans for a pedestrian mews and a public square. Retail Insider describes the project as an extension of the Five Thieves block, where Harvest Wagon, Olliffe Butcher Shop, Pisces Gourmet and Terroni have long been anchors.
Tanya Taylor is open there now. The rest of the roster is mostly announced. Retail Insider's August 2025 report named Mamakas, Dear Grain Bakery, Nutbar, Chocolat de Kat, Bluboho, Gee Beauty and 6 By Gee Beauty as incoming tenants. Treat each of those as coming soon until its doors open.
Clementine's is the change to watch most closely. Christina McDowell, who spent 15 years at Holt Renfrew, opened the shop with her daughter Kelly in December 2014. It sits at 1054 Yonge, in the building where Roots opened its first store in 1973. In February, the McDowells announced a move to a roughly 735-square-foot unit at The James, about half their current 1,526 square feet. They expected it to open around October 2026, in step with the building's residential occupancy. They also said they would keep 1054 Yonge for a new concept under a different name, still unnamed at the time. If both plans go ahead, one family-run boutique will become two stores on the same strip.
The new shops sit within a short stretch of Yonge, so one walk covers them. Going north by street number:
Relevé at 1 Rowanwood Avenue West fits into the same outing.
The Rosedale Main Street BIA's annual Cavalcade of Lights runs along the same blocks, from Woodlawn Avenue to Ramsden Park. The 2026 event is on Saturday, November 14, from 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and the tree lighting starts at 5:30 p.m. at Scrivener Square. Here is the program on the BIA's event page:
Last year's event fell on Saturday, November 15, according to NOW Toronto, so confirm the details on the BIA's page before you go. This year the tree lighting takes place beside The James, on the block where most of the newest shops have opened.
New shops opening on the street you walk every day can change how a home here is seen, and Claire Speedie follows those changes closely. If you're curious what this stretch of Yonge means for your property, New Chapter Homes is happy to talk it through. Start your new chapter with a home valuation.
Claire has a keen interest in investment properties and looks forward to continuing to help her clients build their real estate investment portfolios.