Gaspard, the newest boutique to hit the Queen West strip (having just quietly opened their doors a mere two months ago) has everything I want. Sweet, relaxed dresses with a vintage feel, dainty chain jewelry, slouchy knits, and simple, upscale handbags and boots. The clean, modern space has a large front window overlooking Trinity Bellwoods Park, sits directly next to White Squirrel Coffee Shop and is kiddy corner to macaron heaven-on-earth, Nadège Patisserie. Give me a bookstore and an LCBO nearby and I will never leave.

Stepping into Gaspard is to step into the kind of intimate shop you would find on a cobblestone street in the Marais neighborhood of Paris. Its decor, the lines it carries, everything about the petite, impeccably-edited space has that special feel of European elegance that you rarely get in vast, skyscraper-filled Toronto. And that isn’t a coincidence. Gaspard owners, Jennifer Halchuk and Richard Lyle, designers of the long-standing, successful Canadian line Mercy, travel extensively and wanted, in opening the boutique, to give their customers a different kind of shopping experience, the kind you never get from large chain stores. You know, like a good one. “In our travels we’re always finding labels that Toronto doesn’t have; small, independent lines that pay attention to detail, quality, fabric and fit,” says Jennifer. “We have a history with these designers and the same aesthetic and quality. All the fashion and accessories that we carry complement what we try to do with Mercy. By bringing in pieces from other places we’re trying to introduce something new to the average consumer. The Parisian silhouette is very different from the North American one. Our challenge is in introducing new silhouettes and ways of putting pieces together.”

In addition to Mercy, a Japanese-European style blend of beautiful lines in eclectic prints, garment-dyed to give them a vintage quality, Gaspard carries an impressive lineup of labels. The selection includes Les Prairie de Paris, Indress, Peter Ascher print scarves, Roberto Collina knits, Jamin Puech accessories and bags, boots from Les Botte Gardiane, and a mix of bold and fine jewelry by Jane Hollinger, Gillian Steinhardt and Iosseliani. All have the same feel as Halchuk and Lyle’s collection, similarly tasteful and well-cut with a touch of that French je ne sais quoi.

Even the name is French. And clever. Gaspard is a nod to the 1974 French film, Les Gaspards, directed by Pierre Tchernia, about independent Left Bank boutique owners disgruntled with Paris’s changing urban development. It’s a cheeky comment on how the continuing growth of cheap mass fashion squashes independent labels and, well, proper quality and taste. And while the price point ($180 – $900) will likely turn off the frequenters of mass fashion chains, I get the feeling that’s not really their target audience. “We want to give people the opportunity to come in and see some really pretty things and maybe buy an item that wasn’t mass-produced for a bargain price.”

When asked who she’d love to dress in pieces from Gaspard, Halchuk names two: “Sylvia, who is a City of Toronto treeplanter and reminds me of Tilda Swinton. I would love for her to come in, take her uniform off and let me dress her. And Michelle Williams.”

“It’s always been a dream of ours to open a retail store and we think it was a good decision,” she continues. “We really love being a part of the community and the location is perfect. We get a variety of ages, anywhere from 25 to 80 years old and it’s a strong, steady traffic flow. A really great mix of artistic, well traveled, well educated people who appreciate what we’re trying to offer. Owning a store and traveling gives you the opportunity to meet some really great people. It sounds cheesy, but it really feeds your soul.”

And going into Gaspard feeds mine, even if it’s just to look around. I left feeling inspired and energized and dreaming of France. With my eye on a few Must-Buys, of course. 

gaspardshop.com
913 Queen West

~ Lindsay Tapscott