'At Church and Maitland, you just don't get straight guys shopping," says Jim Smith, the designer at Envelop, the menswear label and store. "What are they going to do, have a shop and then head off to Woody's for a drink?"
Mr. Smith moved his store recently from Church Street to Bellair Street in Yorkville, where he could find a wider range of bods to dress up but still remain close enough to the village to retain his gay clientele. He specializes in shirts that are "not too casual, not too dressy. Sexy." Shirts that "go with" jeans, charcoal or black pants. And to tuck or not to tuck? That is a question Mr. Smith is prepared to delve into exhaustively with customers.
This has been a year of media frenzy regarding men fussing with their appearance and spending money on various preening activities. Queer Eye for the Straight Guy has got macho men everywhere worried about their images.
Here in Toronto, Mr. Smith is one of a few designers who have jumped on the trend and moved beyond the gay ghetto, bringing their brands of polish and body consciousness to Toronto men.
The international label Body Body Wear -- which started out at Church and Wellesley 10 years ago -- has long grown beyond a gay clientele around the world, but has just this year moved into mainstream locations in this city.
"It's cool to look gay right now," says Wendy Natale, a stylist who does image and wardrobe consulting for her company, On Your Behalf. "Confidence breeds sexiness. Taking pride in your body, feeling good about the way you look, the whole sleek package. Straight men are learning now what the gay community has known all along."
"On Church Street, about 10, maybe 20 per cent of my customers were straight," Mr. Smith says. "After four years, I realized I'd tapped out the market: It's a small world there. I can do runs of special pieces, maybe six of a party shirt. Then on Monday morning, a guy would come into the shop and say, 'Oh, I went out Saturday and so-and-so was wearing the same shirt.'
"In Yorkville, it's maybe 60 per cent straight. Which means the shirts are being spread to broader social circles."
The only difference? "On Church Street [where the boys like a snug fit] we were doing more extra smalls up to large. On Bellair, we do a lot more extra larges."
Mr. Smith has tapped into the dressy casual zone, a look men of all persuasions find a challenge. "One night, you are going to Art With Heart, the next to something at Toronto Dance Theatre or Fashion Cares, then maybe dinner at Il Fornello."
Stephen Sandler designs, runs and shoots the campaigns for Body Body Wear. His expansion in Toronto has been "really slow, very considered." From his first shop at Church and Wellesley, he moved his flagship down the street to Church and Alexander. The Yonge Street store, just below Bloor, opened this past summer, then another followed in October, on Queen West at Peter Street.
Mr. Sandler knows about being "flavour of the moment," and wants to stay in the fashion game long-term. About five years ago, Body Body Wear was launched with a flourish in the United States at Barneys New York and Saks Fifth Avenue, and became a cult brand. His clothing has appeared on five GQ covers. He dressed the late INXS front man Michael Hutchence, J.Lo reportedly wears his stuff, as does Jason Priestley, Jackie Chan, Wayne Gretzky and Steven Tyler of Aerosmith.
He has since moved his U.S. business to smaller boutiques and maintains his own Body Body Wear shops in San Francisco, Montreal and Chicago. His biggest location is in South Beach. The line is also carried in department stores across Europe.
Mr. Sandler manufactures everything in Toronto from Canadian fabrics, which means he can react with flexibility to orders and trends. At the same time, he can produce things quickly and thus "keep edgy" and "stay close to the street" in terms of design, shipping new stuff to the stores nearly every week to see what flies out (limited quantities, here today, gone tomorrow, keeping the most loyal customers coming back).
"Most straight guys have a problem showing off their bodies. They think looking sexy is a contrast to a macho image," Mr. Sandler says. "They are concerned with not looking feminine."
But customers at the Yonge Street and Queen Street stores are getting hooked on the line's sexy basics: tight, ribbed athletic T's and tanks made of thick cotton and Lycra that cling to the core. From about $49 a pop, they stay crisp a remarkably long time. The rest of the line is dressier, but still meant to be paired with jeans. "We have a big party-scene clientele" that comes for the lace-up ultra suede tops and sheer flocked shirts, Mr. Sandler says.
Dave Lackie, who is events and public-relations manager at the Harry Rosen menswear chain, says men are indeed becoming more vain. "As the baby-boomer generation ages, you find men wanting to look younger. Not necessarily trendy. But hipper, because these men feel young inside."
Shops like Envelop and Body Body Wear are catering to that desire. John Cardillo is CEO of Premier Fitness Clubs. He was introduced to Body Body Wear by his wife, and has since become such a good customer he has asked Mr. Sandler to do the uniforms for his staff. "It's a very sleek, racy, athletic look that accentuates the body. Our employees should be an example of what our clientele aspires to be."
Now that his stores are positioned in more mainstream locations, Mr. Sandler says a women's wear line and a higher-end guys' line are imminent. Since women do a lot of shopping for men, he has already got them coming into the stores. And the underwear boxes, shot and designed by Mr. Sandler, are pretty much universally appealing. Buff, headless male bodies in pouch boxers and strappy jock straps.
As Mr. Sandler says, "Gay men buy their own underwear. Straight men just don't."