Vogue declares Queen West the second coolest neighbourhood in the world

Queen West is the geographical starlet of the summer: first, the New York Times declared it an area like no other, and now Vogue has ranked it the second hippest neighbourhood in the world. Coming second only to Shimokitazawa in Tokyo (and beating out Brooklyn’s Bushwick and London’s Hackney), the magazine notes that Queen West is enjoying newfound popularity among international tastemakers, and dotes on the area’s “indie patisseries, homegrown labels and hidden-from-view galleries,” with special mention given to The Drake Hotel, Bicyclette Boutique and the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art. Recognition from the world’s style bible has to be the greatest, most validating thing that can happen to any collection of streets. No comment yet from Dundas West, which doesn’t care about awards and barely ever Googles itself.