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| - So Hip it Hurts belongs to a group of stores that I have no business reviewing, having aged out of the intended demographic...yet I love to merchandise, the vibe, the service, and the fact that they offer free booze with purchases.
I wonder about the store's future-along with others in a swiftly-gentrifying neighbourhood. A plague of condos has sprung up, and the seedy head shops and sex shops and used record stores are being replaced by international chains. Pop down to Queen and Bathurst, and a block is taken up by a concrete fortress housing a Winners and Loblaws. It's been a long time coming, but the graffiti was on the wall. Speaker's Corner closed up shop; Moses Znaimer became an advocate for oppressed baby boomers in their quest to die by their own hands (seriously. look it up.); soon PBR will be replaced by David's Tea.
I'm probably not helping. I haven't purchased anything there since I went to work for one of their loosely-styled competitors (that's back when I was in undergrad. almost 20 years ago. Jiminy Cricket we're all old); but I always felt a bit jealous-it's a labyrinth of a store, populated by people who are so much cooler than I'll ever be (same today as they were back then), but who are polite and well-informed and eager to help.
There's a tremendous selection of shoes and clothes and skate decks and Nixon watches; prices are on the high side of average, but ambiance and service make it worthwhile.
I'm old enough that I can buy my own alcohol without fear of getting carded, but there's still something to be said for feeling a little transgressive.
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