The World’s Best Brands Keep Finding Their Way to Rittenhouse & UK Lifestyle Brand Toast Is the Latest
Inside one of Locust Street’s most storied brownstones, a beloved British lifestyle brand has found its new home.
It’s not every day a UK lifestyle brand opens its doors in Philly — but when they do, Rittenhouse tends to be where they land. The latest? Locust Street.
That beautiful, tree-lined stretch between the Square and Broad has always been more than the sum of its parts — home to beloved restaurants (Tequilas, Via Locusta, P.S. & Co, and Kissho House, to name a few), elegant brownstones, bustling apartments, a historic church with beautiful gardens. What Locust Street hasn’t had, until now, is a lifestyle boutique. Toast, tucked into the former Usona showroom at 1631 Locust Street just changed that — and given that it’s been a very long time since a UK-based brand came to in the neighborhood (cough, Jack Wills, cough) , this particular arrival feels like kind of a big deal.
From Wales to Rittenhouse
The New York Times devoted an entire feature to asking “What Is So Irresistible About Wearing Toast?” — and after one visit to the new boutique, the answer starts to feel obvious. Established in West Wales in 1997 by two archaeologists, Jessica and Jamie Seaton, the brand began as a mail-order nightwear and loungewear business out of a farmhouse and grew quietly into something much harder to categorize.
Today, Toast creates and curates simple, functional clothing, homeware, and editorial — and remains one of the very few UK clothing brands with its own full pattern room, meaning every silhouette is developed entirely in-house, with genuine intention behind every cut.
The brand draws its inspiration from rural landscapes and traditional craftsmanship, resulting in pieces designed to be worn and enjoyed for years — softly structured dresses, artisanal knitwear, and understated shirts defined by texture, subtle detailing, and a rich, earthy color palette. Per the NYT:
Collections heavily feature hand embroidery, shibori, tie-dye, indigo and hand-printed fabrics, such as ikats and block printing. Toast also began to spotlight local artisans. The brand now resells creatively repaired pieces and vintage and newly returned secondhand items, donating a portion of the sales revenue.
Walking into the boutique feels like stepping into a beautifully styled home where you might find the perfect linen dress hanging next to handmade pottery, woven baskets, and ceramics in earthy, nature-inspired tones. Every display feels intentional. Nothing feels rushed.
On the homeware side, kitchenware, lighting, and blankets are sourced from makers across the globe, and the brand goes further than most: resident menders darn, patch, and appliqué garments to give worn items extra life. In a retail landscape still dominated by fast fashion’s churn-and-burn model, that’s not just a nice touch, it’s a statement.
Right at Home on Locust Street
While most of Rittenhouse’s retail action runs along Walnut and Chestnut (with some Sansom Street love), Toast’s Locust Street location feels absolutely right for the brand. The address puts them thisclose to the main shopping action but keeps that slightly tucked-away, residential vibe that Toast does so well — the retail equivalent of finding a great record in a bin you almost didn’t flip through.
The former Usona showroom, which once celebrated European modern furniture and design, has been transformed into something that feels like British countryside meets urban sophistication. As Toast’s CEO Suzie de Rohan Willner told the Times, the goal for every store is that you should be “able to identify a brand from a distance, just by the colors and the silhouettes.”
The historic building’s exposed brick and generous proportions are a near-perfect backdrop for Toast’s earth-toned world — basalt, scarab, seaweed green — all anchored by natural light that makes everything look like it belongs in a particularly good magazine shoot. This is a brand that appreciates good bones.
What You’ll Find Inside
Toast’s Philadelphia store gives you their full lifestyle experience: clothing for men and women, shoes, bags, housewares, pottery, linens, and curated accessories from select brands — all with those editorial styling touches that make browsing feel less like shopping and more like flipping through a really good magazine.
The menswear leans into Toast’s relaxed-but-refined approach — perfectly lived-in linens, soft cotton knits, and those pajama-style sets that somehow look sophisticated instead of sleepy. The women’s pieces focus on easy shapes with beautiful draping and natural fabrics that move with you.
The housewares make a strong case for lingering. From handmade ceramics to woven textiles, Toast has assembled a home collection that feels globally inspired and timelessly grounded. There’s even a working sewing machine on display — a quiet nod to the craftsmanship running through everything on the floor.
Do NOT Skip The Archives
Here’s a detail that makes the Locust Street location genuinely special: while the front of the store carries Toast’s current collection — clothing, home goods, textiles, and curated accessories — the back room is something else entirely, called The Archives: pieces from previous Toast collections, still very much worth your browsing time.
For a brand built around the idea that great design doesn’t expire, it’s a fitting touch. For the shopper who values a find over a transaction, it might be the whole point of making the trip.
Why Toast and Rittenhouse Were Always Going to Find Each Other
Here’s the thing about Toast: its philosophy centers on creating timeless and versatile pieces that prioritize quality and sustainability, embracing a slower, more conscious approach to fashion and home living, encouraging customers to invest in items that resonate with their own lifestyle.
So a British lifestyle brand that started in a Welsh farmhouse and grew into something The New York Times can’t stop writing about feels less like a surprise arrival, and more like a long-overdue neighbor.
The Philly boutique also joins Toast’s growing US roster — Brooklyn, NoLita, the Upper East Side, the West Village, Boston, San Francisco, and West Hollywood — with Chicago and Washington DC also opening this spring. Each store keeps the brand’s DNA intact while working with its local space. At 1631 Locust, the fit is particularly good, but we’ll be the first to admit we’re a wee bit biased.
A Boutique Ready to Explore
Toast Philadelphia is now open at 1631 Locust Street — comfortable seating included, because Toast understands that the best shopping feels less like buying stuff and more like visiting a friend’s really well-decorated house. Any customer can also bring in their Toast pieces for mending, which is either very British or very Rittenhouse. Honestly, both.
Whether you’re a longtime fan finally getting your local fix or a curious newcomer who just wandered off Walnut Street, it’s worth the walk. Pop in, take your time, and don’t be surprised if you leave with a linen shirt, a ceramic bowl, and a throw you didn’t know you needed.
