So Hip It Hurts

This store is awesome. I could stop the review right there but it wouldn’t do it justice, so I think I’ll wax poetic a bit more about this place.
Let’s start with the shoes. Good God there’s a lot of shoes in this joint. Good shoes too, not some random selection of shoes that you wouldn’t want regardless of price. And speaking of prices, they’re also pretty damn good. The shoe wall is what greets you upon walking into the store and extends to a cozy shoe room which faces Queen St. This also happens to be were they keep their watch cabinet which brings me to…
…their awesome selection of Nixon watches. For those of you who haven’t heard of this tour de force in the urban style industry, they’re awesome, high quality and here to stay. Started as a skateboard accessory company years back, they have morphed into something that is sought after by more than just the skate community. They can be worn to work, a gala event or well, when you’re out skating! The selection is better than at Watch It! or boathouse, which are 2^nd and 3^rd, with the tie going to The Accessory Bar. But So Hip It Hurts wins. Now…
…let’s move on to the clothing. Holy selection Batman. From RCVA to Chocolate to Fourstar and Volcom, this place has it all. They also carry specialty Levis and Burton… plus a bunch of other cool skate or snowboard related brands. Which brings me to…
…their skate section. Like old school and think the kids these days don’t appreciate the way things used to be? They sell vintage Powell and Vision decks, along with some Santa Cruz too. Those go for about $ 150 a deck, totally reasonable considering where else can you get them anymore? As far as new product goes, they’ve got you covered there too. Complete pro set ups are $ 180, tax in. If you want a middle ground option, it’s $ 150. And if you’re on a tight budget, they have blank options with lower tier parts for $ 120. And they have all the brands you want. Three walls of decks, discount boards that have been in the pound a bit too long, and about three shelves of trucks including a healthy selection of Independant trucks which are what you want anyhow. But it’s winter, you say? Well…
…they have lots of snowboard stuff too. I don’t board, but you’ll find what you want here and prices are totally cool as well.
Lastly but not leastly, the staff here rock. They’re actually friendly without so much as a faint trace of douchiness to them. The manager especially was a real peach everytime I’ve been there even though all I was buying most of the time was stickers.
That’s it. I’m done. If you don’t go here after this review, I don’t know what to say to make you! It is so hip it hurts. The pain is real, and it is hip.

Reeally, really, really cool place.
I bought my first boyfriend’s first gift on our first Christmas, on our first night downtown. My first last-​minute gift too. It’s such an awesome place!
They have SOME snowboard jackets and pants, a few snowboards and accessories (wax, boots, etc.)… but their main stuff are skateboards and cool clothing. I found this really awesome Burton t-​shirt for my guy for $ 30. As of today (3 years later), this shirt is still the coolest t-​shirt in his collection. In my honest opinion. Also because I chose it, therefore it gets more cool points.
We’ve visited a few times since. We don’t buy a lot of things, but it’s a place we check out every time we’re in the area. The women’s section here is only a small little room… I did buy myself a Neff neck warmer that I’ll be wearing on my next ski trip (hopefully it’d cold and snowing).
Great staff here! And as somebody mentioned, it is true: a free shot of whatever you want when you buy $ 50+

Friendly and knowledgable staff along with the freshest and newest gear makes this spot a required visit.

can i say amazing service?
great space with great selection of street wear, nixon watches, board gears, sneakers. unfortunately i am not a skater so can’t comment on that
department but needless to say this place clearly still rocks after 20 years of biz…

A great variety of street wear and boards. They carry street boards old– and newschool, longboards. Unfortunately the level of prices is high. There are no bargains. The staff is friendly and well informed. No highlight, but good everage.

This is my go-​to store for everything that Nixon makes, especially watches. If I’m trolling Nixon’s website and see a watch that I like (which let’s face it is a probability of 100%), I can stop by So Hip… and they’re guaranteed to either have the watch in stock or be able to custom order it for me. I recently put in a «no obligation» order for the ever-​elusive black leather Nixon Chalet watch, which is impossible to find anywhere (even eBay) and the store called me a few weeks later to tell me that it was ready to be picked up if I still wanted it.
BTW, the entryway reeks of bamboo at all times. The smell is really, really strong and you will either tolerate or loathe it. I’ve come to accept that that’s just the way So Hip smells when you first enter.
They also have a decent selection of shoes, jeans and other accessories like belts and hats, but I mostly go for the watches and jeans as the other stuff tends to be too expensive for my tastes.
And yes, there IS a fully stocked bar at the front cash, and it’s there because for every $ 50 you spend you get a free shot of whatever you want! I’ve purchased stuff here at 12pm and they still offer you a shot (or they have pop or juice if you don’t want anything alcoholic).
Let me tell you it’s QUITE bizarre to go back to the office and have your deskmate comment on your Jäger breath.

This store is great for dudes and bros who are SO STOKED about BOARDING and THRASHING and GRINDING. A-​hem. Sorry. Just a bit of acid reflux after those words came out of my fingers.
Those kind of guys love this place. They have all sorts of overpriced skate gear, and all the fashions to make sure you look cool when you’re at the skatepark, or on the slopes, or whatever. They also have all sorts of t-​shirts, as Ken K. illustrated, with swear words on them to, you know, be rebellious and make a statement about the power of words! Or just to get you sent to the principal’s office, since the majority of their clientele are still in high school.
Beyond the teenage years, when you no longer have access to parental funds and you can’t write a Christmas list anymore, it’s not cheap. They sell the typical «skate» brands, with a selection that is far more diverse than West 49 or Boathouse, so they do have that going for them. But everything is ridiculously overpriced. So if you’re looking for a skateboard uniform or a $ 150 hoodie to impress all the kids in your English class, this is your place!

Talk about a hole in the wall, this is one of the coolest places to shop on queen street. They cater more to the skater, boarder, rocker crowd (and they have a TON OF CLOTHES) but holy crap they did a cool job setting this place up. To get to the store you have to climb a set of stairs and are greeted and immediately see a bar (yes a bar — although I’m not sure if they actually serve anything or not) and right in front of you is their ‘shoe’ room filled with couches where you’ll find people just chilling and talking and then you go through a hidden passage and walk through a maze of clothes after clothes until you get to the boards, boots, bindings, etc. On a side note, I’m amazing at explaining the layout of stores aren’t I?
But if you’re walking through Queen street, you DEFINITELY have to check this place out, even if you don’t buy anything from their self-​proclaimed «Dirt Fuckin’ Cheap Section»

Disclaimer: this store is owned by a friend’s sister.
Really cool and hip sports clothing and accessories shop on the even hipper Queen street of Toronto.
Four stars for this green cool t-​shirt given to me 5 years ago (yes pre-​Yelp Canada, and not a bribe) that was from the store.
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/​|so hip it hurts| \
/​/​| we dont just | \ \
| hop on the |
| bandwagon |
| we f**kin |
| drive it! |
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