How CD friendly is Toronto?

[Erin Campbell]

Hi ladies,

I will be visiting Toronto the first week of February, and as always, I'm looking forward to my trip to have a few nights of dressing time. I'm trying to determine how friendly Toronto is towards us. I know there is the Walk on the Wildside which obviously seems like it would be a great place to go, but are there some other cd friendly places I can look into? I'm really not set on going any place in particular, but if there is some friendly shopping or a wig shop, or a restaurant/bar I need to check out, please let me know. I've done a Google search and a search on these boards and am struggling to find the right resources. I'd appreciate any help you can provide!

[StevieTV]

Church Street is fine. Be sure to stop by Wildside first.

[Karren H]

Probably a lot more friendly than main street Ohio... imho...

[Toni_Lynn]

Toronto is the BEST! It is incredibly safe and fun. Wildside is okay. My wife and I went there about a year ago and it was fun, and she thought it great to be in a place where we could openly try on stuff together. Don't get me wrong, it a super place, but I've been to better ... oh how I miss our fairy godmother Lee Brewster!

Anyway -- if you plan to be out dressed for shopping, I you must go to Eaton Centre on Yonge Street. This is the most fantastic place.

Oh -- and Toronto has a great mass transit system, so you can take the TTC subway all over the place. Be sure to get a day pass and save $$$$.

Be prepared for long delays at the border.

The Canadian dollar (the loonie) is at 79 cents US, so you may get some bargains!

Oh -- for the best hamburgers -- go to Harveys! And of course -- for coffee -- its Tim Hortons!

Huggles

Toni-Lynn

[MJ]

for a fun evening try zelders on church street great food

[Erin Campbell]

Thanks for the good info Toni, I have noticed a lot of mixed reviews for the Wildside. I'll have to think long and hard about heading there because there seem to be a variety of opinions about how good it is.

[Leslie Langford]

Is Toronto CD-Friendly, Erin? A better question might be, is the Pope Catholic?

Absolutely!

Toronto has one of the most ethnically diverse populations on the planet, and between the people wearing turbans, saris, hijabs, and burquas etc. as well as the punkers, Goths, rappers, harajuku girls etc., every possible sartorial style is represented in abundance. Short of walking around buck naked (and even that can't be ruled out), no one - and I mean NO ONE will give a CDer a second glance. We're just part of the scenery like everyone else.

How CD/Transgender-friendy is Toronto? Pull up a chair and I'll gladly expand on the topic:

- Our annual Gay Pride parade (held at the end of June every year) is one of the largest in the world and typically draws over 1,000,000 spectators.

- Transformation service "Walk on the Wildside” has been around since the 1980's i.e. back when cross-dressing was still considered to be a serious aberration, if not a mental illness.

- We have a night club called "Goodhandy's” which features wall-to-wall ******* performers and is openly advertised in the local media.

- One of our alternative weeklies (“eye”) typically runs 2-3 pages of ads by ******* escorts offering their services. Not exactly my cup of tea, but interesting from the standpoint of number of ads and the matter-of-fact way in which they are presented.

- A few years back we had an out-in-the open cross-dresser (“Enza Supermodel”) run for mayor. S/he came in at a respectable 3rd place.

- We have an upscale bra boutique for GG’s (“Secrets from Your Sister”) which happily does bra fittings for men as well, and openly advertises that fact on its website.

- Where do you think the MAC cosmetics empire was founded? Yup – in Toronto.

- Where was the hip comedy TV series with a strong cross-dressing component produced
and filmed? Again, in Toronto.

- A stage version of “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” is in the works with a target Toronto premiere date of November 2009 (only the 3rd in the world so far). Auditions for the key roles are being held as we speak. Interested?

- Internationally acclaimed annual charity event in support of AIDS research “Fashion Cares” has been around for years, and during that time has featured the superstars of the drag world as participants/MC’s, including at one time, RuPaul.

Need I say more?

I can also personally vouch for what Toni Lynn said about the Eaton Centre. About a year ago, I decided to go on a shopping excursion there to take advantage of the post- Christmas Day sales. I hadn’t been out en femme very much prior to that time, and going downtown to that massive mall was a huge stretch for me back then. I thought I’d go there for a couple of hours or so, test the waters, and then retreat back to my cave.

Well, the fact is, I had an incredible time there and was treated as a welcome and valued customer in every ladies’ wear and shoe store that I entered. In some cases, the SA’s were so friendly and eager to serve me that they practically dragged me into the fitting rooms with my tentative selections. I ended up spending almost the entire day there and just about melted my credit card from overuse, what with the all great deals and super service I experienced.

I even received a few compliments on my selections from GG’s lined up at the cash while I was waiting to pay for them, and one in particular was so taken by a pair of shoes she had seen me try on earlier that I ended up having a most delightful conversation with her about them. Don’t know if she ever “read” me during that exchange, but for me it was all about being treated like one of the girls and I just loved it.

So, long story short – come to Toronto and enjoy what it has to offer with respect to our alternative lifestyle. I promise you, you won’t regret it .

[Erin Campbell]

Thank you for all of the incredible information Leslie. I am super excited about my trip now. I always enjoy going out of town because I feel more at ease about going out dressed; however, I am always scared I am going to end up in the wrong place I'm glad to hear Toronto is a good place to be, and I am staying a couple of blocks from the Eaton Centre so I will definitely check that place out! Thanks again for the information, now the next two weeks can't go fast enough.

[amy canada]

I've lived in the Toronto area for most of my life so far, but believe it or not, I've never gone to Wildside yet. Still no wig and very little makeup too. I'm still very much a closeted CD who mostly just buys clothes and tries them on in the bedroom, but I'm slowly coming out, and just last year, I started trying on clothes in the store. I've done that in the past, but I guess gaining so much weight made me want to just run and hide. Hopefully, I can lose some weight so I can try on regular women's sizes.

[Leslie Langford]

You're most welcome, Erin.

Just make sure that you let us all know how the trip went once you get back, and if your experiences at the Eaton Centre mirrored mine :-).

A couple of things I inadvertantly left out of my original post...

- the Toronto-produced television show I was referring to was "Kids in the Hall".

- York University (located in the northwestern part of Toronto) has a transgendered professor on faculty (philosophy, I believe) named Michael Gilbert who openly cross-dresses and teaches courses on gender awareness under his female persona Miqqi. S/he is tenured, so no fears about losing her job and is therefore able to pursue her gender journey/agenda without fear of a negative backlash.

- as for wigs, check out the "First Lady" boutique in the Bay department store in the Eaton Centre. Very CD -friendly, but a bit pricey.

- ditto for the "Truly Yours" wig salon located in the suburb of Mississauga, and not too far from the airport.

Have fun!

[Sally2005]

Don't forget to visit the CN tower when you are visiting. For being a large city, I'd say Toronto is still a very freindly place and there is a huge CDing community there.

[Erin Campbell]

Thanks again for the info Leslie. If the people in Toronto are half as sweet and helpful as you have been, then I don't think I will have too many problems. I will definitely check out some of the places you mentioned. The idea of a bra fitting is very intriguing! I am getting more and more excited!!

[black leotards]

Being a former Toronto person myself, I have to admit that i never ventured out (just shy I guess ). I have stayed at Wildside once for a night and found it fine - a real treat for the inner self if you will. I didn't go out, but it was great to be dressed and made up even if I didn't. I have also shopped there as well and while many of the things perhaps aren't my style, it was still a great experience.

If you look at my profile, you should be able to see one of my Wildside photos.

[NancyTO]

Don't forget to visit the CN tower when you are visiting. For being a large city, I'd say Toronto is still a very freindly place and there is a huge CDing community there.

Yeah, but the CN Tower has a glass floor section in the main observation level. If you go wearing a dress or skirt, beware of peaking Toms with binoculars 1400 feet below. :D

Any club or restaurant in the Church & Weslley area is CD friendly. Somebody already mention Zelda's, whose owner is a drag queen. I really like Cafe California right next door. Better class of food.

Goodhandy's can be interesting. A lot of 'pro' girls work out of there.

If your looking for a drag show, Zelda's has one on Saturday night. George's Play on Church is a good place too.

Something out of the way of the 'Gayborhood' is you want to go dancing is El Convento Rico. A latin club with a great mix of straight, gay and TG. They have a Saturday night midnight drag show.

And I agree with everyone that the shops at the Eaton Center are happy to take your money. Especially American money.

[Erin Campbell]

Thank you for the additional info Nancy. I'll have to remember to pack my own binoculars for the trip I'll definitely check some of those places out because I would enjoy going out for a drink or two while I am in town. It sounds like Toronto is a great place to visit, so I think I'll have a great time!

[Maryanntv]

Lots of Torontonian girls in here
I just want to add to all the above that there's usually a lot of us girls at Wildside on friday and saturday nights ,if you want to team up with them to go out.

[Susan4]

Everything said above is true ... about Church Street, Eaton Centre ... etc.

But ... a simple answer to your question is that you can go practically anywhere ... not just the big malls, downtown ... and places known to be CD friendly.

For example ... I recently walked in off the street (Danforth near Pape) in the middle of our 'Greek Town' and bought a wig at a small place I just happened to see. Great prices ... I may (or may not) have been their first CD customer - but if I was you'd never know it.

You'll find that most small businesses ... all over the city ... are a lot more interested in your money than how you dress. Everyone is trying very hard to be almost blaise about it ... part of Toronto's self-image as the most diverse city on the planet.

It's like they're saying ... "O her? Yes, probably a guy. So what? Happens all the time. Go see how you can help."

Come on up ... and have a great trip.

Hugs ... Susan

[Margot]

Moved from Toronto a year ago and what people have said is true. But before Karren says it. If you want to see a great comedy show go to a Leafs game.
I can't believe I just said that about my favourite team,AHHHHG!
Have a great time!
Margot

[Aaron Zwidling]

As a Toronto native and long time crossdresser I have been to Wildside a number of times. I suspect the reason you are getting mixed reactions is because the store part of Wildside is relatively small compared to many other stores. Last time I was there they had a good selection of shoes and wigs, however for some of the other things like bras, panties and dresses the selection is much more limited than you would get at your typical GG lingerie or dress store. The other part of Wildside is the 'stay overnight' part, which I've never used so can't comment on.

I second Leslie's suggestion of going to to "Secrets from your Sister", having gone there myself recently. If you're interested I briefly outlined my experience in my "Another bra fitting story" post on the Clothing, Accessories and Shopping talk part of the forum. They have two locations, one at Bloor/Bathurst and the other at Yonge/Eglinton. The Bloor/Bathurst store is the bigger more established store and has a greater selection, but both stores are equally friendly in my experience. So it doesn't come as a surpise you are looking at $50-$150 for a bra unless you find something in their clearance rack, in which case it could be $10-$20.

She didn't mention it in your post, but in reply to my post Leslie had also suggested "Maximum Woman" for other clothes. I've never been and it is a little ways away from downtown, but you may also want to consider that store if you have the time.

[Toni_Lynn]

Oh -- and forgot to mention -- nothin' beats cruisin' along Yonge Street (or the 401 or Queen E) with the radio tuned to the greatest radio station anywhere -- 1050 CHUM!

Huggles

Toni-Lynn

[Nicki B]

Short of walking around buck naked (and even that can't be ruled out),

Errr... What's the temperature likely to be there, in early Feb?

[Leslie Langford]

Figure of speech, actually, Nikki, and not something I would recommend in the dead of winter, although we do have some hardy souls here who participate in a Polar Bear Swim on January 1st of each year to celebrate the arrival of the New Year.

But come the summertime, we can easily get into the 30+ degree C range with lots of humidity, so throwing off one's clothes can be a viable option.

I was only partially facetious in my original comment, however. For a few years now, we Torontonians have caught up with you Europeans in not being so uptight about public nudity. Our municipal bylaws have been changed to allow public toplessness by females, albeit with some restrictions such as uncovered sunbathing permitted in city parks or the lakeside as opposed to just walking down the street that way.

Not too many takers yet, though. Old habits die hard, and once upon a time - before all of the massive immigration of the last 30 years with the associated embracing of diversity - our city was known as "Toronto the Good" because of its Anglo-Saxon puritanical/Calvinistic roots.

For the most part, this has been relegated to the dustbin of history, and pretty much anything goes now.

[JoAnne Wheeler]

Toronto sounds wonderful if it wasn't for the winters

JoAnne Wheeler

[Erin Campbell]

Thanks for the helpful information Aaron. I figured the bras would be expensive at the bra fitting place because they don't list any prices on their site. However, every girl should have a couple of bras that fit well in their drawer, so I will likely check them out. A week away now from my trip, I can't wait, and I plan on shopping a bit this week to get ready for it.

[Vivian Chen]

Oh great, now I want to visit Toronto!
After reading all that, it seems like a great place to visit.