Absolute worst service I have ever received in a store. I came in with my daughter to find a dress for her bat mitzvah. The minute I said that the two women in the shop completely turned off. They were not helpful at all. The dresses are crammed in and the staff was very snobby. The funny thing is coming from NYC we could find these exact Jovani dresses in the garment district for half the price. Don't waste your money. read more

Amazing Vivienne Westwood collection and Irregular Choice shoes and bags. It's great if you want to buy statement pieces or just have a very maximalist style. Not cheap but worth it for high quality clothing like prom dresses and detailed, high concept bags. The store is PACKED so it's a little intimidating to move around and the owner is a bit prickly but very knowledgeable about the items. The staff is really great and helpful. There's a second floor with a lot of VERY nice dresses that you have to ask about or be offered a tour of so if you want a cool dress definitely use this opportunity. Really cool one of a kind store! read more

Labelled as one of Toronto's "largest and most eccentric fashion collections", FX Boutique is always living up to this reputation. With collections from LA, the European flare of Paris and the bright lights of NYC, this store is bursting with tons of clothes - both new and vintage - to the point that you could get lost for hours while skimming the racks and trying on several party dresses. One thing that is great about FX is the unique and one-of-a-kind pieces they offer to their customers. This means you will never have to worry about showing up to the party and spotting another guest wearing your outfit. Prices do vary at this store. Some of the fashions are on the pricey end, but they always have great sales and amazing prices on their vintage or vintage-type items. read more

Terrible customer service. I came in with the intent on spending hundreds of dollars on their second-hand Vivienne Westwood jewelry, of which they have a huge selection. I must not have looked like I could have afforded it and was not helped while I was at the glass display, even when I asked for assistance. I couldn't believe it. This was the first time I've had a "Pretty Woman" moment, and it was in a cluttered store on Queen West of all places. Don't waste your time at this store - 1 star because they wouldn't let me buy anything, even though I tried. read more

On my recent dress shop tour of Queen West, I stopped by Original to see what it was all about. I hadn't really seen much about it online, but I did know they carried some dresses and most likely some original pieces so I figured I'd check it out. Original is located on Queen street and is sort of oddly placed among non-fashionish stores. This store was the last fashion store heading east on Queen for a few blocks. You really can't miss it with the brightly colored dresses and window displays. In particular, there was a gorgeous dress in the front window (probably what made me think I'd find another beautiful dress inside). I headed inside and there were a few people milling about near the front of the store shopping. They left shortly after I entered so I was the only customer and there were two sales people, one sitting down and the other trying on some weird suit... I would say it looked like a Barney suit but it was blue and very big on him. But I digress... The store is crazy bright with STUFF everywhere. Feather boas, hooker heels and shoes shoes shoes. This really isn't a "fashion" store in terms of clothing. The clothing selection here is incredibly limited and considering that's what I came for (being lead to believe that they had more clothes) it just didn't do it for me. If you're looking for shoes, well then you should probably come here. Overall, this was one of those stores that I walked into, walked halfway through and then turned around and walked back out. I'm sure if I was looking for something kinda crazy that I could have found it here but that wasn't the mission I was on. read more

A friend of mine described Original as a "prom dress shop on ecstasy". I felt like Alice falling down the rabbit hole into a fantastical land where everything is colourful, eccentric, beautiful and in extreme plentitude. My shopping mission: find a bridesmaid dress. I was allowed to choose my own style (that's why the newlywed is my BFF) but the colour had to be navy. I'd spent the summer casually shopping to no avail but after an impromptu trip to Toronto, and then Original, I was successful. Ground floor is for shoes and jewelry and featuring some ensembles. But place the emphasis back on shoes. These are not your regular run-of-the-mill shoes from Aldo. These are heels by Betsy Johnson and the like - with cupcakes and rainbows shooting off of them. Upstairs are the dresses. The room is PACKED and can be daunting upon entry. I wouldn't have been able to navigate the store myself. Every section of the upper floor has a particular theme of dress style and colour. Once giving the (very very) knowledgeable staff a vague idea of what I was looking for they had a wide selection of cocktail-type navy dresses for me to try on. My most memorable part of the visit was having a pair of platform, t-strap, blush coloured shoes fastened to my foot (emphasis on for me). The customer service at Original was impeccable. Everyone, and I mean everyone, in the store helped me. Side note: This makes me sound like a demanding customer but I really am not! I'm the type of shopper that says "nooooo, just browsing". The staff at Original were not pushy but conversational which put me at eeze and helped me find the dress and shoes I was looking for. Original is definitely a special occasion outfit kind of store, be prepared to stay a while and enjoy the experience of having a guided tour of Wonderland. read more

I bought two dresses here as I was Mother of the groom and needed a dress for another event as well. Service was great. Donna knows her stuff and the seamstress rebuilt a dress that was too large. Prices aren't a steal but worth it! My niece bought two prom dresses here a year earlier as well. They were gorgeous. Well with every penny. Store was hit by flooding so call before going. read more

Huge dress selection for bridesmaids and special occasions. From sequins to lace, full length to mini-skirt, classy to trashy, they have it all. There's not much room to navigate through the store as there are endless ends racks of dresses to teh left, right and centre - it looks like a unicorn exploded, leaving sparkles and colour everywhere. I visited on a Saturday with my sister and there was only one girl trying to help four different groups of people. Needless to say, it's more self-serve and if you're looking for help to find a specific style, this is the wrong place. There's no coordination in where each dress is stored - they're all over the place. The price of the dresses were fairly expensive and I quickly realized that this place catered more to individual purchases (e.g. prom, evening gowns, debuts, etc.), rather than group purchases like bridesmaid dresses. Great selection, poor service. read more

Second floor has huge selection of prom dresses. There were assistants who are willing to help but we were assisted by the owner named Simon and even had a chat with him about his family, his business and his financial management views in life - not sure how the conversation got there lol so he really makes you comfortable What my daughter loved was that he was very spot on with his comments and my daughter's style so we were both surprised how he did that. Also, he led us on to find the right dress for her age and her personality A++++ read more

I just stared my prom dress shopping and Original Toronto was the second store I visited. I wanted a dress that was elegant, not to prom-like, and something unique. The first thing you notice about their upstairs dress section is how crowded and hot it is. It was initially very overwhelming, there was very little room to move anywhere and their were more dresses than I could process, but a kind saleslady explained how all the dresses were organized and we were well on our way. It was still hard to see the dresses in their bags on squishy racks, but they were all colour coded and arranged by style so it wasn't too bad. It just took a bit of time. There were a lot of people there trying on dresses so it took a while to get a change room, but once I had mine, they didn't try to rush me out of it and were okay with me trying it one of my dresses three times before I had made a decision. The service there was extremely friendly without being pushy. I had interactions with two women and one man and they were all very nice and very personable. I never once felt pressured to buy. I found the most beautiful, unique dress and it is absolutely breathtaking. The prices here are pretty high, higher than we intended to go, so keep that in mind. My dress was $650, though I did notice a few dresses that were a bit less. If you can fit it in your budget and have the time, I highly, highly recommend this store. It is full of unique and beautiful dresses of all styles and the collection of shoes and accessories in the main floor are wonderful too. read more

My daughter had a few ideas before got there and after trying on a few prom dresses she thought she would like, we met Simon. He brought out a dress he thought would suit her and sure enough it was the one she bought. He knew exactly what would be perfect and the customer experience was excellent. read more

The old blonde lady who works upstairs is terribly rude to customers. I walked out because of how rude she was about me having a cup of coffee in my hand. There is a nice way to instruct customers and then there is a rude way. She chose the rude way and so I decided to leave this review. read more

My friend is size 12 and they told her she should shop at the plus size. So rude towards their customers, their dresses look so cheap. And the store is sooooo clustered you wouldn't even believe it such a dirty store the workers and just overall disgusting. Since your dresses are hundreds of dollars I don't think referring small sized girls should shop "plus size" read more

Simon(the owner) was very charming and nice and actually got me an interview with his wife Donna (manager)about a year or so ago... I arrived on time but Donna was busy and made me wait 2 hours for my interview, then she flat out told me I was "bigger" than most of the girls she hires (I'm a size 10 and 5'8") and never called me when she told me about 3 times that she would call me whether she was interested in hiring me or not. I don't know what's wrong with this woman but she seems to lack anything even close to professionalism. I recently decided to give Original another chance and went dress shopping with my Mom... Donna was there, and was cold and unfriendly, but what really got me was as my mother and I were making our way down the stairs, she jumped over the velvet rope and ran up the stairs, past us, saying nothing while we were forced against the wall... If she new anything about manners or customer service, should would have known to wait for us to get down the stairs, opened the rope for us and then proceeded... Never again will I support this place and I tell everyone about my experience if the name ever comes up in conversation. Appalling. whats worse is I wrote the same exact thing on their facebook page and this was my response from Simon: "From Simon, Owner of Original. Sorry we did not hire you, you were just not the personality we were looking for at the time. You don't have to be nasty, talking crap like a spoiled brat who didn't get a job." Really classy. AVOID AT ALL COSTS. read more

Love that the dresses are organized by colour, and of course the huge selection. Don't go there without recruiting a friend to help you shop. You think I'm joking, but you actually will strain your arm and/or back muscles before you finish looking at all the dresses, because there are so many packed in each rack that you can't look at the front of a particular dress without using a decent amount of strength to push/hold the nearby dresses out of the way. read more

The dresses are SO beautiful to look at. I will agree with another poster here - the older woman who works upstairs has a way of making the atmosphere sour. I wasn't even being served by her, but hearing the way she condescendingly spoke to a daughter and mother pair made me really uncomfortable. So I'm torn on how I feel about this place - but again, beautiful dresses! read more

Excellent service here even though the store was being renovated! So many dresses to choose from and alterations were done quickly. Will definitely be returning to this store the next time I need a dress! read more

There was a good selection of dresses but they were over priced. There staff were helpful but the manager was kind of rude.

I always heard about how great this store was from friends and was really excited to check it out. Right up my alley. Bright bold and beautiful!!! I couldnt wait to max out my cards and have a girls day. Instead to my surprise, the sales associates working were beyond rude. Instead of offering to help me, they ignored my presence. When asked for help, the one girl was shocked at what I wanted to try on. She decided to remind me of how expensive the item was. I got a weird tone off of her and decided to not try it on, and not to continue shopping with her around. Then when I went back downstairs to meet up with my family member, I was shocked to witness how they treated her. Instead of being polite after her purchase, the sales associate was rude and demeaning. She had just bought 200.00 dollars worth of items and decided she wanted to look at a purse. When seeing the price, she realized she would rather spend that amount on something she REALLY wanted. Well, this sales associate decided to say "well what you have now is a good start, maybe one day youll work your way up to this". I was SHOCKED at how rude both sales associates were. I loved some of the stuff in there, but I know you can purchase it at many other places where customer service is great. I refuse to enter this store again, and have talked to many friends about my experience. Only to find out that MANY of them have had the same. read more

Felt disrespected due to the level of classism. Telling me I can't try on a dress just because it was $800-1000. Like how can I know if I like the way it fits if I can't even try it on. read more

I went today to Original to buy a dress for a formal event that I will be heading to in about a week. I went around 7pm with an out-of-town friend and we asked a clerk to go upstairs in order to see the dresses. She said no because the store was closing. Fair enough. However a few moments later we see that three other girls are going upstairs... We return to the same clerk and she says the same thing. We had to leave the store in a huff because we could not believe the impudence of the clerk. Mind you I am Black and my friend was Indian and the girls that were let upstairs as well as the clerk were all white. If someone is going to discriminate me for no good reason...I have to assume that its racism. Terrible terrible customer service, I went in there with a firm mind to buy a dress but they lost a good customer. read more

A friend bought her prom dress at this store and recommended me to it for jewelry to match my own dress. When I walked in, it was disgusting. Dirty, messy, old mcdonalds cups everywhere, and a display of tacky rubber shoes were the first things I saw. I waited 25 minutes to be allowed to go upstairs to where the dresses are, and also where they keep the jewelry. They have a huge selection of dresses. It was amazing really. The staff are incredibly useless and can be rude and do not seem to care about their customers. I asked if they knew whether or not the necklace I was looking at is nickel free, considering I am allergic. The woman rolled her eyes and said that they do not specialize in jewelry and that they are a dress store. I work in retail, we sell children's toys. Just because we specialize in toys does not mean I don't know anything about the other products we sell. Be informed, staff. The biggest irritation is that after spending $110 on jewelry, when I got home, a crystal had fallen off the earrings I bought. I would never recommend this store. EVER. read more

If you're looking for a prom dress.... go here. They have THOUSANDS upstairs. The service is pretty good, only one employee is on the ruder side. They do carry expensive brands, so be prepared to spend upwards of $300. Being on queen street it is kind of hard to find parking, so you'll have to walk a bit to get there. Overall, a pretty good store that I would recommend. read more

We drove over 2 hours to scour Toronto for THE perfect dress for a very important upcoming event. Unfortunately, one of our first stops was to Original. I was overwhelmed by the absolute lack of customer service; and the so called "owner" was the rudest man I ever had the misfortune to cross paths with. The dress area was completely overstocked with non-original dresses, but yes, by designers. You couldn't move, find anything and heaven forbid you try to do up a zipper!... but no one would help. So... we took our our business elsewhere and found the PERFECT dress at another shop for about $200 cheaper than the tag was in Original. Definitely a store not worth visiting! read more

Never waste your money/time here!!! Their are too many things wrong with this place. The dresses are old, over worn, ripped, faded and broken. They are way over priced compared to all the other stores around the block. The service is horrible. Makes me regret going as the workers and owner has no taste in fashion. They push the most random overpriced item at you and they don't let you refuse it easily. They don't dress coordinated themselves, so it is shocking that they think that they can get away with saying that they are designers. They go against what styles you ask them to look for. The fabric quality equivalent can be found at Zellers. One of the most annoying was that they constantly lie about their stock. I tried on a black dress that had aright design but cheap fabric, the owner said that their was only one black in stock as well as a white, nothing else. when I went down stairs on my way out as I was completely insulted by their ridiculousness, I came a cross a full rack of the same dress design but in 6 different colors and at least 15 of each in the display rack. I will never come back to this store. I have shopped all around the world for formal wear and have never come across a mediocre store like this. read more

Is it possible to give 0 stars? The manager/owner basically told us to leave when we asked to see prom dresses. One of the other employee told us that they didn't have the current prom dresses but we could see their old styles which we were happy to do. She asked the manager and he told us to come back in January when they get their dresses even after we told him about our long commute to their store. He disregarded us and even made the comment that where we came from was just "down the street" which it's not. We decided to ask if he knew any other stores that sold prom dresses at this time but he refused to give us any names and even said that none are as "good as theirs." He was so rude that we just left. read more

My daughter & I had an incredible experience at Original! We went to other stores looking for prom dresses, but most had typical small model sizes & not vey helpful. Originals has so many sizes & styles, she found her dream dress & they were all so helpful & easy going. Thank you!! read more

I've never written a Yelp Review before but my awful experience at this store inspired me to spread the word about the poor treatment myself and others received during my first and last visit at this establishment. The older blonde woman, who I can only assume is the owner from the way she was rudely ordering around and berating other staff in front of customers, made an absolutely disgusting and childish display from start to finish during my recent visit to this store with my mom and my aunt. From the moment we walked in she was miserable to us and other customers. It started when she asked her staff to prop the door open -- it was closed because of the rain, but "idiots outside couldn't read the sign" instructing them whether to push/pull the door, so she ordered her staff to open it to make it easier for these "idiots" to get insider. So, just so you know, this woman insults her customers before they even walk into the store. Then, she went on to loudly and aggressively berate her staff about some merchandise or trash not properly stored away. Despite this, we went on to browse for shoes to match my wedding dress -- when I found a pair I liked and went to the counter at the back (where she was eating a sandwich) I asked her nicely for a size 8. She rudely informed me the pair I had in my hand WAS a size 8. I hadn't paid attention to the size (my bad, it wasn't clearly marked and I only had the right-sided shoe). So, I asked her for a size 9 because the size 8 was obviously too small for me and I fluctuate between sizes depending on the shoe style (not uncommon!). She gave me a withering stare and asked me if I was sure about my shoe size. I said yes. My mom then asked if there were sockettes I could try the size 8 on with. The woman said, like we were idiots, that they we located "all over the store" (she didn't bother directing us to a specific location where they could be found). Then, she went to the back looking for the size 8 like she was doing us some kind of favour. I looked for the sockettes and could find ONE box, which I hadn't seen earlier because I'd been browsing the opposite side of the store. I should also mention, I had a tea because it was a rainy and cold day -- it was basically finished. Normally, I don't bring beverages into stores but it slipped my mind to throw it away before entering. She had a problem with this as well, but only bothered to rudely voice it when she realized the shoe I was interested wasn't available in my size so she wasn't going to make a sale (not that I would have bought a thing at this establishment given how we were treated). Just like Heba, who posted about a similar experience, the blonde woman passively aggressively made comments to the other sales staff about how she never brings a coffee into a store and that it's an ignorant thing to do. Fair enough, and I would have gladly rectified that situation, but instead of saying nicely to my face that beverages are not welcome in the shop and asking me to dispose of it, she was disgustingly snide. Perhaps this woman, if she is so perfect, should set an example and not eat her sandwich in front of customers if she doesn't want them to bring food or drink into the store. Also, posting a clearly sign on the door to serve as a reminder would have been nice, but apparently she has "idiot customers who can't read". Definitely not an atmosphere you want to shop in. read more

I recently went to Original with my sister looking for a prom dress for myself. I personally was super excited, ecstatic even because my older sister bought her prom dress from Original's and she always talked about how great the dresses were and how many dresses they had. When I walked upstairs, I was surrounded by a sea of dresses. You can't really even look at all of them because they are all packed together, ordered by colour throughout the store in plastic bags. It was SO difficult to navigate my way through the store but not even ONCE was offered to be helped by the three sales girls on the floor. The older women with blond hair was the one who ended up "Helping" (and I use this term VERY Loosely) was SO RUDE to me. I am about 5'8 and a size 10 which is typical for a girl my age. She constantly abandoned me telling me that "she'd be right back" but left me forever in the change-room. Finally after she brought me some dresses to try on, they were all in rough shape, fraying of seems, pulls in fabric... She also asked me "If I considered loosing weight to make the dresses fit better." I could not BELIEVE that a SALES representative would EVER say that to a customer!! The customer service in this place is APPALLING. She (the older lady) was trying to close a sale with another prom girl next to me, which I understand, working as a Customer Service Representative in a bridal salon in my home town, I understand that its can be busy (Even though I was there on a Monday afternoon) and that everyone has bad days which can effect the quality of work. But the treatment I received here was disgusting. I left in tears feeling guilty about myself because all I wanted to do was follow in my big sisters footsteps and I left feeling horrible about my body and will NEVER be returning. I have told all of my friends about my experience at original and told them to absolutely go elsewhere. They should be so ashamed of what they have done. Prom is supposed to be a time of fun and feeling great about yourself. Not to be ignored and shamed about your body size. read more

After hearing so many wonderful things about this dress shop and having passed by it a few times on my own, I was thrilled to see what they had to offer on my hunt for my prom dress. The store itself is amazing and completely "original", filled with bright, fun colours and wild decorations. The bottom floor is filled with countless pairs of crazy looking shoes and jewelry, while not my style I was still fascinated to take a look. Upstairs is where they keep their dresses. While their dresses in my opinion are beautiful, it's more than difficult to navigate around this floor. There are too many dresses for the small space and they are all in plastic bags making it almost impossible to see what the dress even looks likes, let alone the size or price. Like I said, once the dress is off the rack and you're looking at it, they are beautiful. The selection they have is incredible, and there's really something for everyone but unless there is someone helping you find dresses there is a slim to none chance you'll even know what's there. Now speaking of getting help, the customer service is brutal. This was the deal breaker for me. I was shopping with my mom, sister and best friend and while the employees were in fact all over us at first, they didn't stay that way the whole time. I started off by picking a few things for myself and simply telling the younger brunette lady what I was looking for and she was more than happy to help. I told her and I think it was the owner my price range and for the most part they stuck within it until they handed me a stunning dress way out of my price range and insisted I try it on. I fell in love but like I said, way too expensive. They proceeded to call this older blonde women out and try and sell me on it. I took the dress off and put it out of my mind. After this the brunette lady left me for another customer which I thought was strange. This older blonde lady was the real problem, as after this dress she started pulling things for me that I specifically said I knew wouldn't look good on me, but insisted that "it's not about loving the dress, it's that it's cheaper and still looks okay". I was not about to drop any kind of money on my prom dress that I didn't love. Certain colours don't look good on me and I would ask the opinion of the people I was shopping with, after they said they didn't love it she would say it doesn't matter what they think only what you think, but apparently my opinion doesn't matter either because it's not about loving the dress either. The rest of the experience was brutal, as we were there almost 2 hours and she continued to pick dresses that I didn't like and when I had it on she questioned every reason why I didn't like it and I knew she was getting angry, which makes 2 of us. This lady was flat out rude and that's no way to win over any customer. I understand that this is a business and they are trying to make money. But after reading the other reviews about this store saying the same thing, it seems a lot of people have felt the same way about the customer service. They are either way too pushy or completely ignore you. When they are way too pushy, it involves crossing lines with the customers making them feel bad about themselves. My best friend ended up purchasing her dress from here and it is stunning, but it was my mom who picked up this dress for her not an employee. She agreed that the customer service was brutal but this was her dream dress which was the reason she purchased it. Dresses are great but not worth the agony of the employees. read more

The store makes me feel claustrophobic! There are dresses everywhere you can barely walk around and look at them. It is very hard to find what you're looking for unless you have someone helping you and there usually aren't many people on staff. Being in there can feel extremely overwhelming with the amount of dresses in the space of the store. With this said they do have a great selection and you are guaranteed to find something you like if you are patient and calm but it can get stressful and overwhelming very quickly. The prices are also way more than the average dress costs so if you are looking for nice and cheap dresses this probably isn't the right place for you. The staff isn't very friendly but they do they're best to pull dresses for you that match what you're sort of looking for. It is a good place to go if you have lots of time and money ! read more