Harry Rosen Gentlemen’s Apparel

Harry Rosen is a great chain. I ended up going three times at two different locations while there. I will get this out of the way first. I walked out of the Harry Rosen store on the Queensway. The lady was literally glued to me the whole time. I am the only person who will talk myself into purchasing something and if left alone, will almost certainly do so. I don’t go shopping to just look. If I’m annoyed, I will leave a store and buy something somewhere else.
My best experience was at Bloor St. Adam at the fragrance counter made my shopping trip fun and in doing so and ended up selling me four bottles of fragrance which I had little use for other than vacation fever and money burning a hole in my pocket. The guy knew what he was talking about and he had salesmanship without being annoying or pushy. He had the sense to know I wasn’t buying anything I didn’t love and gave me space and time to play around and chew on things until I did find some things I loved. If every retail salesperson had his skills, retail box stores wouldn’t even flinch in the face of internet competition. I don’t know how much these are read, but if I were still in Toronto, I probably would have gone back today to grab that Italian Cypress I didn’t think I would like on myself and ended up falling in love with.

Zheng is hands down one of the top 3 sales associates I’ve ever encountered, and I won’t hesitate to come back here to buy from her again.
My boyfriend and I came in earlier today in search of a few t-​shirts. Sometimes I feel like higher end stores would hesitate to help with such a request, but Zheng patiently helped us navigate around the store. She picked a few shirts for him, helped with sizing, and gave us her honest feedback. She was neither pushy nor aggressive. She was attentive to both his needs and mine, which I think says a lot bc SA often times ignore the +1. (It’s not a big deal to me and I don’t mind being ignored when I’m not buying something, but I thought it was worth including in this review.)
Definitely would come back here again to shop, as long as it’s with Zheng. :) can’t say enough great things about her!

This place from what I remember has a good selection of fine clothes for those who can afford it. From denim to dressy, sporty to business casual they offer world class name brands for the elite of Toronto or those visiting that demand the finer things in life.
On the down side I would include pushy and annoying sales associates, I get that they live on commission but sometimes they come off desperate and just irritating. I walked in once wearing a track suit and they looked down at me cause I guess they thought I couldn’t afford anything, the second time I was wearing a suit and they were on me like flies on honey. I just wanted to say the only reason you (sales people) are wearing expensive name brand suits is cause you work there and they are subsidized, that gives you no right to look down at patrons or struggling colleagues.
Also most decisively, there was this awful old witch looking lady with blond frizzy hair that just sneered at the Customer Service Reps in disdain with some sort of self deluded sense of importance. She seemed unpleasant, perhaps mentally unstable, assuredly like a borderline psycopathic individual. She was the literal and proverbial C-​word, embodied and personified in form manner and appearance. The epitome of inept middle management. I hear this place has a high turnover rate. I can only wonder why…
Final verdict good quality products. Exotic labels some of which exclusive to Harry Rosen Inc. However unprofessional staff, SPECIFICALLY that loathsome, disdainful old wretched CSR bossy bitch. There are not enough negative adjectives (read expletives) in the English lexicon at my disposal to communicate my utter contempt for such a foul person.

Yes, this place is expensive. But you get great quality. For everything I bought there, I felt that I got my money’s worth. The sales people are great and knowledgeable, and they work hard to find something that suits you… no pun intended. There’s a large selection of options to try. In a world where money is not an object, this place if 5 stars all the way.
P. S. See my review for Tom’s Place for a reference to Harry Rosen.

I’m a menswear shopper but i rarely buy at Harry Rosen because they have such banal selection and poor service.
Don’t count on them to carry the latest designs or new brands as they are more followers than trend leaders.
on several occassions, sales person gives poor advice on fit of clothes just to make the sales. In reality they know little of menswear or don’t care as long as they get a sale from u.
you need to know what suits you and stand firm when you are there.

I believe his name is Adam in the Tom Ford fragrance section. He is a delight to work with and I would have him be my personal shopper except for the fact that he doesn’t seem to leave that section very often.
Thankfully I love Tom Ford fragrances so he is my go-​to guy.
I guess my continued business with him relies on Mr. Ford continuing to expand on his fragrance offerings.
Check out the Tom Ford section on the upper floors; beautiful product and a wonderful shopping experience.
I will return when I’m in the downtown core.

It’s hard to have a bad experience at this store. The people here have really managed to nail down customer service and offer the best retail experience.
They seem to have picked up the Polo Ralph Lauren line lately which is awesome. You can definitely find what you’re looking for in a wider array of price ranges now, which eliminates the need to go to The Bay, where customer service is virtually non existent.

Went there yesterday. The sales person gave exclusive attention. Had a good experience

The people who complained about service at this store must be living on a different planet as to what their expectations are. I’ve never had better service in my life, nor knew what great service was until I’ve bought a suit here. You don’t just have a sales person available to help you, instead you have a guide through the entire process and whenever you come back, they call over the same person who remembers all your personal details. If you’re used to shopping at regular retail stores you’ll be in for a shock.

The collection is always good. Absolutely dislike walking into this place. The sales staff swoop down on you so fast when they smell a sale but my very well ignore you if they sense you are not buying. The few females they have serving always look over processed to the point of offensive and try to flirt. They don’t give you good advice, they just want to close the sale and you can feel it. Now when I go in, I’m rude so they will leave me alone, I shop for ideas, then I track them down at other stores and buy else where. They do have an excellent return policy (the best around) that I have taken advantage of. Too bad, it has potential.

Great menswear with good quality and selection however two recent visits have convinced me never to return to the Yorkville location. The first time the sales staff was so uninformed about the shaving products but pretended she knew what she was talking about and kept trying to sell us something completely different than what we were asking for… she lost interest in us and started texting. The second visit was just as bad, the guy knew his stuff but was extremely annoying when he found out that we had purchased, in his mind, an inferior product. It’s almost like he wrote us off because we did not buy the most expensive shaving brush… he failed to realize that it was a gift and we were actually trying to upgrade. I couldn’t get out of the store quick enough… Yorkville suffers from a superiority complex and the Rosen store definitely lives up to the reputation. These people have to be told to get real!

My boyfriend was looking for a new Sport Jacket and it pays to begin looking in the most high end place to compare quality and price for later. Harry Rosen had a big sale on, so we thought we’d pop in and check out their selection because of ten times you can find something great on sale.
As soon as we arrived, an old school salesman swooped in on my boyfriend, completely ignoring that I was there. STRIKE ONE, buddy. When a man brings his lady shopping, it’s because he wants her final approval on all items before purchasing to ensure that he has not been talked into buying a clown suit. The trick of the sale (in case any of you dinosaurs are reading this), it to sell to the woman– NOT the man. Ultimately, the woman is making the final decision here.
I went to do some investigating on my own of things in my boyfriend’s size and price range because I suspected he wouldn’t show us these.
When I returned with a few jackets for him to try, the salesman was very rude and started belittling the quality of the ones I had found and making stupid gender biased comments that may have flown with the clientele back in the Mad Men era, but that I found to be tasteless and rude. He also made the assumption that we were married without doing a quick check for wedding rings. STRIKE TWO! Ask your clients personal questions so that you don’t look like an ass later and know that you’re not only selling a suit– you’re selling yourself. If the client (me in this case) doesn’t like you, she will take her man and her business elsewhere.
I figured I’d let Gramps jump through some more hoops before I cut him loose. He continued to put jackets on my boyfriend that were not only way overpriced, but blatantly ugly. My boyfriend would ask «what do you think?» and I would tell him that it looked dated and didn’t suit his personality. Because I’m not letting him be talked into purchasing a Gabe Kotter elbow patch coat that still costs $ 4K. To which the Fossil would reply to my boyfriend, as though I wasn’t present, something to the effect of me being too frugal and having no fashion sense. Frugal– yes– my boyfriend works from home and won’t be wearing this jacket much. He wants something of good quality, but a fair price to match. They did have things like this in stock, but he avoided showing them to us. STRIKE THREE, you geriatric slime. We are leaving.
These old men really need to get with the times and understand that you’re not going to make many quick sales in this economy. Don’t be a dick. Or just retire.

I must say that the customer service and attention given to me by the Harry Rosen staff has been the absolute best! They really go the extra step to make sure your shopping experience is the best one, I normally find shopping to be a task and a chore, however, at this place it is actually quite pleasant. My personal sales person made me a coffee while I waited as he got some items for me to look at and brought me water as we were walking all over the store. I felt well taken care of and in good hands, plus he talk as if he were a tailor so knowledgeable on fabrics, styles, and of course fashion.
I have not enjoyed being in a store as much as this; I have now made this my official clothing store option for formal and semi-​casual wear.

I like the collection here better than the Eaton Centre counterpart. If you know what you want or know what styles fit you then this place has a larger collection and is a great place to shop.
If you have no clue about style and fit then you want someone from the Eaton Centre to assist you as the service there is way better than here.
SUIT UP!!!

When you shop at Harry Rosen, you are ultimately paying for the service and the privilege of getting first dibs on the new arrivals. If you don’t care for any of that, then you can always make a trip to the Harry Rosen Outlet Store in Mississauga and hope to find something nice at a discount. Let’s face it: not everybody is a Harry Rosen customer and I don’t mean that in a condescending way.
You have to ask yourself: are you the type of person that needs some sartorial advice? Do you see the need to have your suits altered or repaired more than once or twice during the lifetime of the suit at no cost, which is not entirely true because the cost is built into the price tag? Does being flattered by a sales person make you feel good about yourself and your purchase, and is that important to you? If so, then a store like Harry Rosen is for you. If, however, you don’t care for advice or a relationship with the store and just want to buy a suit, then you are not Harry Rosen’s ideal customer but they’re more than happy to earn your business.
I purchased a suit at this Harry Rosen store a few years ago and my experience was not the greatest. I had a bad experience with the made-​to-​measure department. I’m a young guy and I was hoping to get a slim suit but what I ended up getting was a classic cut suit, which is something that my dad would wear. I had wrongfully assumed that the template was a slim cut and I wasn’t asked for my preference during the sales process. The salesman clearly didn’t take the time to understand my needs and wants. Fortunately, Harry Rosen was willing to let me do an exchange and I ended up getting a ready-​to-​wear Hugo Boss suit instead, which doesn’t fit me perfectly but it looks a lot better than what the made-​to-​measure salesman sold me.
Personally, I don’t bother buying suits at Harry Rosen. Harry Rosen is now my go-​to place for accessories – when they’re on sale. In fact, I don’t buy my suits in Toronto period. I’ve recently started travelling and now I buy all my suits in Hong Kong or Shanghai – all custom-​made for a fraction of the cost at Harry Rosen. Some will claim that the suits made in Asia are inferior, but it depends on where you shop. Do your homework. Regardless, if you ask anybody, custom made trumps ready-​to-​wear any day.
I’m giving Harry Rosen three stars in spite of my lacklustre experience with their service because the store is one of the better sources of information in Toronto on all things sartorial. Think of it as a learning centre and you’ll get a lot of value without having to spend a cent. Check out the displays and the complimentary «Harry» magazines and the salesmen who follow you around the store like a hawk. Once you learn how to dress, the next step is to learn where to shop.

It is hard to find a department store purely for Men that have a few floors in Toronto. It is located in Yorkville famous shopping district. There is overcoat, shirt, and sweater in the basement. On the ground floor is the shoe department. Up the floor have all kinds of nice dress suits. On the top floor it is for custom tailor suit and tuxedo. As each floor is large and so many floors, you can find suit, tie and shirt everywhere. There are many brand names and good quality clothing.
The salespersons are not pushy and some time cannot be found. I have to ask for help before they call on walkie talkie to have a few sales coming to the department. The size does not fit me. After the inventory is checked, there is no more available in Toronto. There can be options that the cloth can be called in Toronto. Stores are called across Canada and finally Calgary and Vancouver are the only 2 places that the cloth is available. So both of them are called in. I pay a 50% deposit and 3 days later they will arrive for me to try on. If they do not fit, I can have my full refund. What a bravo service!
If you are looking for formal wear, there are lots of choices there. Prepare to spend quite some time going from floor to floor. If you want any bargain, wait for the discount promotion. Otherwise, it may be expensive if you don’t know the market price.
I agree with some of the reviews that the salespersons there are indeed very sales oriented. Whether you put on something fit or not that fit, they will always say it is beautiful cloth with perfect fit. Compared to other brand name stores on Bloor, their professionalism on cloths needs to be improved

I’ve been a loyal Harry Rosen customer as long as I’ve worn suits to work. i still have the first two that I bought there; a pair of beautiful wool suits with a hint of cashmere, in lawyerly navy and grey. I bought them during Harry’s semi-​annual made-​to-​measure event, and have come back most years since.
Harry’s Bloor street store is the company’s flagship. Following extensive renovations, it’s five stories of menswear, everything from jeans to formalweat, plus shoes and accessories. The basement houses the most casual parts of the collection, including a wall of $ 300 jeans. I hope to buy a pair of $ 300 jeans one day, but question-​if I’m in good enough shape to fit into these skinny-​legged contraptions, wouldn’t I look just as good in a less expensive pair? The main floor is mostly casual wear; the upper floors house the designer goods and my favourite-​the made to measure section.
For variety and luxury, there’s no better store in the city. I partifularly love the Tom Ford boutique, even though the fact that I have shoulders (and rent payments to make) would seem to disqualify me from ever owning one of his suits. It’s fun window shopping in any case.
Yet, as great as the goods are, I’m no fan of the service. Harry prides himself on the care shown to customers by his staff. My experience at the Eaton Centre bears this out. The Bloor crew are a different breed. My first experience with Harry Rosen was profoundly negative. It took place here, where as an admittedly shabby-​chic undergrad, I was fobbed off on some sleazy slickster salesman and pointed dismissively to the «short suits in big sizes». I am neither short nor that big.
Sadly, this store has done little to redeem itself since then. Staff are too pushy for comfort, and will try to boost your ego by telling you that clothing fits even when it’s uncomfortable; cajoling you up a size or down two, in order to suit their stock. They’re happy to order merchandise on spec, subject to a pretty hefty deposit. I’d rather stick to my guy at the Eaton Centre. He knows what I like, and understands that shopping is not an adversarial process.

Daily GEMS. — Last night I attended a stellar performance by Dallas Green at this location of Harry Rosen. The reason we went is because of a «Customer Appreciation» invitation having bought a suit form them. I was very impressed with the lower floor where they feature a line of name brand street clothes made by Hugo Boss and others with a very well decorated /​designed layout with a rock and roll and high class combination feel.

Rosen may claim to be all about the customer, but they fell off the wagon a long time ago. Sales, sales, sales is what they are all about. I know, I know, EVERYWHERE is about sales, it’s a fact. The difference here is that it’s so obvious, it’s repulsive and makes me not want to buy anything.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried something on that isn’t my size, or looked terrible, and I’m told it fits fine.
The sales people cannot be trusted to tell you if you look good or bad in something. If you don’t know how to shop for men’s wear BRING A FRIEND. Bring someone who knows a little or at least someone who can give you an honest eye-​ball of what looks good.
If you are a clothing connoisseur then shopping here is a nightmare. It’s constantly in your face that these are trained sales professionals and not experts in men’s clothing. I purchased pants and they hemmed to the bottom of my shoes, it looked like I was standing in a puddle. Since they don’t use a trailer for off the shelf items you need to give VERY VERY specific instructions to the sales people.
The prices at Rosen are also outragous, but sometimes I think I’m the only one who knows this because I shop so frequently in the States that I actually see how insanely marked up they are. I have no problem paying good money for clothing, but I’d say retail vs. retail Rosen is about 25% more expensive AT LEAST on any given item compared to Saks or Nieman’s.
One saving grace is the Tom Ford shop on Bloor which is always a TON of fun to go through and look. However, Tom Ford is the Queen of mark-​up, so get him in bed with the Canadian King of mark-​up and you have one happy couple! Tom Ford is right at home in Rosen. Plent of people in Toronto $ 5,000 to throw at a suit that was made in the same factory as a $ 2,000 suit sold elsewhere in the store. While Tom Ford is indeed a unique cut and does have a tell-​tale style, it’s not worth $ 3,000 extra. If you are going to blow money on TF, at least go to the states and do it right, at least you can say you weren’t TOTALLY ripped off.
Sales at Holts are also always better by about 10%. Stick to Holt’s if you can’t get out of Toronto. Otherwise head south to Saks or Niemans!

This is where you take your boyfriend the first time he buys a suit. It’s also where you sniff around for nice socks and ties for your dad for Christmas.
They have good quality stuff, great sales and it’s not pretentious like a boutique.
It’s the Man version of Holts, you just no that it’s there, whatever you need.
The staff is hit or miss. Truthfully, I find the women more helpful for men’s wear. They are always better at eyeballing a size.