UPDATE: On March 16, David Cho was charged in connection with two violent sexual assaults, one in Richmond Hill in 2014 and one in Mississauga in 2013. Cho is being charged with two counts of kidnapping, two counts of sexual assault with a weapon, sexual assault causing bodily harm, two counts of uttering threats to cause death, two counts of disguise with intent, two counts of robbery and two counts of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. He was charged on March 11, and appeared in Newmarket court on March 17.
David Cho remembers folding clothes at his father’s store when he was in grade four or five, sometimes even going behind the register to cash some customers out. At the time, Cho, the owner of Final Touch Vintage, might have thought of these tasks as meaningless chores to help out a family member, but he ended up laying the foundation for what would become his career.
Final Touch Vintage launched in 2018 at 1269 Bloor St. W., and the vintage clothing selection is more highly curated than other secondhand shops out there. You likely won’t have to spend hours sorting through endless racks and piles of clothes to find the perfect pair of jeans or a unique new dress to add to your collection – and you also won’t have to spend an arm and a leg either. Final Touch recently expanded to a Bloor St. W. location, and Cho has plans for much more. The shop found its footing after Cho developed a friendship with a fellow vintage seller.
After his pro-golf dreams were cut short by a hand injury, Cho had to re-imagine his life beyond sport. While working for his father, he was buying from smaller online retailers when he met Sam Kauffman, another vintage seller. “I just [messaged] him, or I think he [messaged] me,” Cho explains, and, as they say, the rest is history. They had worked together a few times when they realized they got along really well, not only from a business perspective but also as friends, prompting them to open Final Touch Vintage three years ago.
Kauffman departed during the pandemic, leaving Cho as the sole owner. Cho says not much has changed since ownership changed, saying that he prefers to get a lot of input from his staff when making any business decisions. The same goes for the selection of the merchandise, as he confers with employees and stylists to be up-to-date on trends.
The store, which its clean and bright interior and colour-coded racks, prices its clothes competitively so that patrons don’t feel like their wallets are being gouged. Items range between around $15 to $40, with special deals for two items with the same colour tag. On sunny days, the massive front window illuminates the interior and a cool breeze enters through the open door, past the hand sanitizer and table full of cozy knits. The deliberate simplicity of the store, in its design and in its curation, is exactly what Cho wanted to accomplish. Having seen both the good and bad in the industry while working with his father, he didn’t feel the need to reinvent the wheel, as he already understood his customer base.
“Most of my clothing is black,” he says of his own personal style. “I do not wear bright colours, but I do appreciate fashion.” Cho may not be a “niche fashionista” himself – he sees himself as more of a “entrepreneur-slash-capitalist” – but he does have a sixth sense for what would look good on other people. Speaking of doing final quality checks of the store’s potential merchandise, Cho says, “I could, in a split second, maybe a nanosecond, picture someone wearing it.”
Since it’s opening three years ago, Final Touch Vintage has spent almost two-thirds of that time in a pandemic, but that hasn’t slowed Cho’s vision down at all. They opened a second location at 687 Bloor St. W. only a month ago, beating out some larger corporations to the highly-coveted Bloor West lease since the landlord was partial to local small business owners. Cho is planning for another store in 2022. “I’m going to take it one store at a time, but, you know, eventually, I want to open 10 to 15 stores.”
Here are three stellar picks from Final Touch Vintage to spruce up your fall outfits:
Blue cashmere
This ultra-soft baby blue sweater can be paired with a pastel knit beret for a great monochrome look.
70s style
Looking for something more retro? This gold-accented look might fit the bill, paired with some flared red pants and patterned vest.
Colour-blocking
Who said purple and red don’t match? This outfit definitely proves otherwise with a semi-sheer patterned blouse and loose red trousers.
The perfect spot on the water for cocktails with sunset views.
