Gold Winner and Hall of Fame inductee Duggers
Silver Winner Biscuit General Store
Bronze Winner Pro Skateboards & Snowboards
Editor's note: With its 2017 Best Men's Clothing Store win marking at least 10 golds in a row, Duggers rises to the Best of Halifax Hall of Fame.
In fashion as in most things, Halifax is evolving from a boring old hidebound town to a place that’s more progressive and dynamic. “We’re not fully there,” says Duggers owner Ross McNeil, “but we’re a lot further than we were.” McNeil’s worked a long time at the business his father started in 1972—the late, legendary hockey player and politician Doug McNeil is indeed the Dugger of the name—and he lead the store’s 1994 move from a mall on the outskirts to its proper downtown home. Now Duggers is Atlantic Canada’s pre-eminent menswear destination, such a consistent winner of Halifax’s Best Men’s Clothing Store gold that its number is going to the rafters as it joins the Best of Halifax Hall of Fame. The amazing selection of lines (like Armani, Boss and Canali), styles and casual options at today’s Duggers would make the dark-suited Halifax of yore feel out of place, which is kind of the point. “A lot of our customers travel, so our competition is Toronto, New York, Montreal,” McNeil says. “We do a lot of innovative buying. It’s not just navy blue.”