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Outer Layer
Categories: Event Planning & Services Cards & Stationery Shopping Arts & Crafts Cards & Stationery Shopping Flowers & Gifts Cards & Stationery Shopping Books, Mags, Music and Video Cards & Stationery, Books, Mags, Music and Video [Edit]
577 Queen St WToronto, ON M5V 2B6
Neighbourhoods: Alexandra Park, Queen Street West
(416) 869-9889
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 11 am - 7 pm
Sat 10:30 am - 6:30 pm
Sun 12 pm - 6 pm
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street, Private Lot
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
28 reviews for Outer Layer
Review Highlights
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"...beautiful, narutal bath products, notebooks, jewellery and..." In 3 reviews -
"They have quirky postcards." In 6 reviews -
"Some fun books, mugs, soaps, jewelery and other knickknacks." In 5 reviews
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28 reviews in English
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Review from Ashleigh Max W.
Toronto, ON
4/18/2012
Sometimes I go in just to browse.
I know that seems like a really banal comment. But I promise you it is not.
I hate shopping. I hate everything about having to go get new things. I hate buying people presents (because I hate shopping, I love giving things to people). I dislike most stores.
But it's all painless here:
Every time I need a new wallet or some Burt's Bees or a quirky apron or a new necklace... they are the birthday card near the post office when I have to mail one TODAY or it won't get there in time. Things for my little nephews, things for my best friends (both very different)... I could go on and on about all the times I've been here and found something wonderful, unique and WELL PRICED.
I've even had help sourcing things for my work place from these ladies.
In short, a nice shopping experience in a low pressure (but helpful) environment at a fair price.
They carry a lot of products made by Canadians (cards, jewelry, bath and body).
They are nice people.
Sometimes I go in just to browse. -
Review from Eleanor V.
North York, ON
2/12/2012
I LOVE this store. I love boutique stores that has tons of knick knacks. I found a perfume here that I fell in love with made by Sula.
This store has tons of variety of gifts (for yourself ;P) and just ideas for that person that is difficult to get for.
Prices are reasonable. and it's hard not to buy anything. They have another location in the Annex but not as big as the one in Queen St. West. It's a must browse store. -
Review from Rachel S.
10/24/2011
This is the best store ever. It's the fun, unique, quirky gift and toy store in your home-town, times 1,000. It has all of those items in that store, and tons TONS more.
It was hard to pull myself out of this store. I walked around thinking, "Ooh I love that, ooh I like that, ooh that's awesome, hahahha!, ooh I love that..." then realized I had been positively affirmed by all that was going on in my head, so I grabbed a shopping basket and loaded up. Calendars, mugs, decorated I.D. cases, jewelry, cards, notecard sets, candles, lotions and perfume, key caps, etcetera etcetera etcetera. Well I didn't buy all of that, but it was all very tempting.
I thought everything was very moderately priced as well, compared to many other places on Queen St. that seemed exorbitantly expensive. Women as well as men will enjoy spending time in Outer Layer. I just wish there was a location in the outer layers that is the United States... :( -
Review from Mary D.
9/13/2011
If you are stuck for ideas and need a last-minute gift, this is the place to go! They have something gadgety/knick-knacky/quirky or useful for everyone on your shopping list! Tons of bath products, t-shirts, bags, mugs and travel mugs, books, notepads and stationery, trinkety toys, jewellery, watches, buttons, wallets, etc. etc. etc.
I've relied on the Outer Layer for many odd gift-buying scenarios, and usually the gifts end up being pretty crowd-pleasing. The "pass it around the table" kind of gifts!
And you can also pick up a card and wrap while you're there too. Better yet, have them wrap it for you - it's free! -
Review from shyni y.
8/7/2011
There is a few of these stores around Toronto - but this one seems to be the best among all. It is the one store I must always stop and take a look in, no matter where I am on queen street.
They have quirky postcards...solar powered night lamps...and character tea bags...your ultimate guide to making cute Japanese bentos and books on forbidden knowledge. I recently bought my cat owner's manual there, which turned out to be more helpful and fun to read then other books on being a new cat owner.
What I like most - is that the staff here, is friendlier than the other 2 stores I've been to. They actually engage and chat it up with you, offer you suggestions and information about products.
Whereas, at the one in the Annex you're just a ghost - whether you're standing in front of them with a question (in which case they always answer with " I'm only talking to you because I have to" tone ) or at the register to pay; fantastic felling.
Dangerous spot to go in with a willingness to spend attitude, but a great spot to get quirky gift ideas, read something funny and to feast your eyes. -
Review from Patty L.
North York, ON
4/22/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Whenever I'm shopping on Queen West I always have a look around the Outer Layer to see what's new because they have so many different and quirky items.
They have a great selection of gift cards, books, and unique gift ideas that are funny, useful and reasonably priced. Many times I see things from some of my online stores that I put in my mental "hmm I love this but don't want to pay $10 shipping for one item" list and I scoop them up!
Recent awesome purchases: multi-bladed scissors to shred personal info and documents (since I don't own a shredder), water-based nail polish by Sula Beauty (a gift for a pregnant friend), a heart-shaped audio jack splitter!
The staff are friendly and helpful and they provide gift wrapping for items purchased in the store. -
Review from Jennifer K.
Markham, ON
2/13/2011 1 photo
I usually go to the Outer Layer Location in the Annex.. which carries identical merchandises as this Queen Street West location.
I enjoy browsing through the jewelleries, natural body products and a lot of things that are neat but you don't really need...
Great store to get some cute little gifts to surprise your friends or your love ones.
This location is a lot more spacious. A lot more space for me to browse around even with my yoga mat, I do not bump into shelves, things or other customers.
Oh and I did not stalk Karl R or bump into him either!Listed in: Shopping! Shopping! Let's Go…, A Day in Queen Street…
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Review from Jen C.
1/1/2012 8 Check-ins Here
Covering knick-knacks, stationary, purses, bath goods, and perfumes, this is a great place to pick up quirky gifts for people you do, and even do not, know. Thankfully, prices are moderate, so it's gentle on your wallet. Thus, you can pick out some gifts for your friends AND yourself without breaking the bank! Win-win situation, no?
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Review from Laura C.
Toronto, ON
6/1/2011
For some reason I also thought this was a Soap and Bath store + some gifts. Maybe that was my visit about 5 years ago, but it's definitely not.
Yes there are soaps and bath products (notable a huge collection of Burt's Bees - I bought the hard to find Blemish Stick roll out), but also tons and tons of random gifts, gags, toys, books, and a whole section of greeting cards.
The BF hates when I walk into a store like this because I get distracted by all the cool stuff and never want to leave - but guess who I had to drag out this time!!
We were looking for a jewelery tree as a gift and was disappointed that Blue Banana Market didn't have a single thing. They were super friendly when I called and asked, and they said they had tons.
And they sure did! Trees, butterflies, flowers. All for hanging your trinkets and things.
Another one of those stores I need someone to buy the whole inventory for me. -
Review from jocelyn l.
5/30/2011
This store is misleading. I've walked by it dozens of times and never bothered to venture inside until today, when someone in front of me opened the door and it looked nothing like the outside
The name...makes it sound like a clothing store specializing in winter coats.
The storefront makes it look like a cheap tabacco store. The windows are dusty and crammed with weird stuff.
The inside, however, has cute cards, a big range of expensive lotions, candles and unique gifts. i bought an edgy Tokyomilk body lotion for my friend.
They really should think about doing something with the storefront. I'd never have bothered to walk in if the person walking in front of me didn't venture in. -
Review from Jennifer L.
Toronto, ON
12/2/2009 ROTD 1/7/2010
So uh I go in here at least 3 times a week to touch things, smell things, buy things. It's a good place if you're looking for a gift for somebody you don't really know so well, or kinda know and don't like too much but have to buy something for them or someone you love dearly, or even something for yourself!! In here, there's something for everyone! Napkins! Fun books! T-shirts! Soaps! a Candle! Foot scrubs! Nice cards! Key chains! Jewels! Baby stuff! Bandages that look like bacon! Magnets that look like chewed up gum! Cool looking USB extension thingies! I can go on and on and on and on and on and on.
The staff even gift wrap up your shit for you, for free!!!! People are nice here and I like nice people. -
Review from Cisi Z.
Toronto, ON
7/22/2010
I loooooooooove this place. It's utterly fantastic! I found and bought a bright yellow pin here couple years ago with: "Nosy little fucker, aren't you?" (teehee~) And it has since entered the repertoire of shops I go to for gifts and unique cards.
I enjoy the variety that they include here and often save up to splurge (the things aren't cheap! :C). -
Review from angela k.
Toronto, ON
4/12/2010
I love browsing in this little shop, the only bad thing about the Outer Layer is that browsing almost always leads to purchasing!
This place has great bags, novelty books, beauty products (including a huge selection of Burt Bees if that's your thing), a large card collection, and really fun knick-knack type objects.
Want to find a sarcastic onesie? A wide selection of patterned, fun, and high quality reusable bags? A strangely shaped piggy bank? A comedic book for new fathers or the special environmentalist in your life? This is the place.
As an aside, this is the BEST selection of gay/lesbian/same-sex wedding cards I've ever seen (including San Francisco's Castro district) - not in terms of volume maybe, but in terms of the ones I'd actually purchase/want to receive.
As an aside: recent awesome finds at Outer Layer:
- A black toque with cat ears and skull (you'd be surprised how many more people smiled at me or struck up conversations when I wore that hat!)
- A birthday card for a loved one that said, "Remember when we were young and gay?" and on the inside "Well, at least we're still gay."
-Amazing and delicious lip balm that I can't remember the name of!Listed in: For lesbionic folks and their…
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Review from Karl R.
1/30/2010 7 photos
If you ever want to stalk me, here's a weekend routine. Many times I like to jump on the Queen street car, ride it past that store with the half naked hipster ladies doing a suggestive skiffle dancing in the shop window, ogle them from the street car, and then get off at the stop right after. I make my way BACK, again casually ogling the dancing half naked hipsters. I stop at the condo furniture places along that strip to "get ideas". I forget whatever ideas I got two seconds later and then pop into Outer Layer to see what's what. It's just a darn fun store to browse through. Clever tshirts and pins for your backpack or hipster hat. Service is always friendly, once you produce ready money.
I rarely laugh at anything on a tshirt or a gay wedding card but there's always something here that actually makes me LOL internally. -
Review from Todd V.
Toronto, ON
10/3/2008
On Queen West, there's no end to the number of nick-knack and card shops that can be found. The Outer Layer is one of the ones that I like to stop in on whenever I'm in the need to ship out a card for a birthday, going away, or look for a goofy book, fridge magnet, or pin.
The run of cards available are fantastic and usually have most of my relatives asking me "Where on God's green Earth did you find this?" after they open them. I typically buy about a dozen at a time when I'm there and ship them out as necessary. They also sport a small assortment of novelty books, as well as fun and funky cosmetics. Not for me, per se, but the women there seem to like them.
It's a fun, eclectic place to go that is easy to fritter away time in. Heck, even the background music they play is fun. -
Review from Lynda W.
Toronto, ON
9/8/2008 2 photos
Cutest little store ever! A great great great gift store if you want to buy something quirky and funny for someone! I think this is going on my fave all time stores in the city. This place is a mess of pretty much anything gifty, from printed t's, journals, cards, calendars, books, baby clothes, soaps etc, Just really creative great gifts.
The printed t-shirts are a ball, they are like bumper stickers on a shirt! There are a lot of baby clothes, just really adorable pieces (I kick myself for not finding this store a few months ago when I was scrambling to find good quality baby clothes).
Rare gem of a find! I love it! -
Review from Abby R.
Toronto, ON
6/7/2009
Every Saturday when I'm feeling all refreshed and renewed and poked full of holes from my weekly acupuncture appointment, I swing by here. I find this store absolutely darling. I want (but don't need) pretty much everything in here. In case you wanted to buy me a gift here's what I want:
1) "What would Suzuki do?" T-shirt
2) Wrought-iron mouse
3) Fancy lip balm ($20 a tin!!!!!!!)
4) Giant peace sign magnet for the car I dont have
5) Random funny books (is it weird that someone already got me "Porn fo Women"?)
6) $10 bars of soap (it'll be the cleanest I've ever been at that price!)
Let me know if you need more ideas for gifts for me. Oh, and I think the customer service here is pretty darn terrific - they also do free gift wrapping!!! -
Review from Mike S.
Toronto, ON
10/3/2008 1 photo
I will admit that I am not the right gender to honestly review this store. I have rarely felt so out of place (based solely on my gender) than in Outer Layer. I'm even not really sure how to classify the store however but my best bet is Alt Girl-Post Feminism Feminist store. It is a store for the modern ironic girl, there are mock PMS pills and therapy flash cards. I personally was not a big fan of the store but that shouldn't be very surprising. I do think that this is good store to go to if you are throwing a bacherlorette party for a unique girl. It has the sort of things that if I were I girl I would find amusing and might want to buy, but if you are a member of the hairier sex then I wouldn't recommend it.
Like the review? Check out the link to my blog on my profile. -
Review from Melissa J.
Toronto, ON
11/6/2008
This store is absolutely adorable and a GREAT place to buy gifts. They have all sorts of knick-knacks you would usually find in these kind of stores -- the whole Knock-Knock line of sarcastic post-its, those cute little dolls dressed in kimonos, tiny voo-doo dolls, yummy-smelling candles and lotions, a decent selection of ironic books and hilarious greeting cards... I could go on for hours.
The thing that I love about this store is the glass display case in front -- it's full of jewelry from local and Canadian designers and offers a bunch of one-of-a-kind pieces that are great for gifts (or for yourself!). I've bought a couple pairs of earrings and necklaces from there that range from $10-$50, totally cheap for a hand-crafted original piece.
Anyone with an addiction to all things cute will fall in love with this store. And for any boys who need to buy a gift for a girl who loves cuteness, go here and ask the staff for help! They're super nice and will probably have pity on you and help you find a great gift. -
Review from Connie T.
Toronto, ON
12/18/2008 1 photo
If my Christmas recipient list included hip yummy mummies, this store would probably be a little more interesting. I consider it an older person's version of the It Store, stocked full of decorative note pads and cards, and a lot of mummy gear, including patterned diaper bags, baby bottles and cute onesies with cheeky slogans on the chest.
This is definitely one of those last-minute gift stores, where you can find something to fill that "what the hell should I get her?" need, especially for people you don't know, or those with cutesy style or a sense of humour. I've done this twice myself, en route to a birthday party, grabbing whatever kitschy stickers, buttons, or magnets I could to make a blah gift seem a lot less blah. I think I succeeded. -
Review from Yvonne K.
1/30/2009
Yes! What a fun place, they always have great quotes outside like "if you arent suppose to eat animals why are they made of meat?"
ha ha ha.. Some fun books, mugs, soaps, jewelery and other knickknacks. Good for housewarming gifts, friends and gift exchanges.Listed in: Fashion Spy
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Review from Chris P.
8/13/2009 1 photo
Beautiful irony is how I would describe this place. They have many of the feminist items that so many stores carry now but there is a lot more. about a third of the store is dedicated to beauty products (i.e. Burt's Bees), another third to stationary, and the last third to knick-knaks of all sorts. This is a fun place to swing by every once-in-a-while just to check out what's new.
Listed in: Queen West (around Bathurst)
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Review from Kelly O.
9/1/2009 3 Check-ins Here
This is the best place to go for hilarious cards and gifts. They also stock beautiful, narutal bath products, notebooks, jewellery and other fabulous items. I can never spend less than an hour here with all the fantastic items to look at!
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Review from yyz a.
Toronto, ON
10/20/2010
The perfect place to spoil yourself with a present... or presents.
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Review from Amanda L.
Toronto, ON
8/27/2010
A fun store with lots of unusual gift items. Unique items include: chinese magnetic poetry for kids, funky post it notes, lots of magnets and buttons (inlcuding subway themed ones), journals and notebooks (including a fun journal with magnetic animals to play with), lava lamp night lights, bags, and lots of cosmetics. I recently spent a ton of money here buying a gift for a teen. Lots of fun....don't go in if you don't have lots of time as there is a ton of stuff to look at!
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Review from Anna V.
Toronto, ON
11/4/2008
I'm assuming it started as a soap and body cream shop, hence the name, but now it's all about quirky books and trinkets and ironic cards. It's one of those everything stores where you can find a great present for a friend, or a unique bag. I swear this it where my mom is getting all those funny-feminist magnets and cards that she seems to have by the hundreds. And it's totally the kind of place you just hang out in on a rainy day.
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Review from Marla S.
Calgary, AB
6/15/2009
The bath goods in this store are exquisite and vary in price. ($5-$50) There is also a variety of quaint nick nacks. I was lured in to purchasing some soaps and to die for perfume. The staff was friendly, and even helped me to decide where else in the city to shop. I'll certainly be returning here on my next visit to Toronto.
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Review from L.M. S.
Toronto, ON
8/15/2010
I like this store, but when I tried to return a product that didn't work with my type of cell phone, they wouldn't give me a refund or store credit, despite the fact that I had the receipt and had just bought the product a few days earlier. The return policy is outlined on the bottom of the receipt, but the staff wouldn't follow their own policy. The product was in no way damaged by me.
I was given a number of excuses as to why they couldn't take it back, including because the "packaging" was missing -- the packaging consisted of a single piece of paper that wrapped around one part of the product. When I pointed out that the return policy said nothing about the product needing to be in its original packaging, I was very patronizingly told that it was "implied."
For a $7.00 product, they have lost a customer for a good. Hope it was worth it for them!
ETA: I emailed the manager with my complaint and she got back to me about it quickly and was very professional about everything. I really appreciated that. She said they are going to make their return policy clearer.
