Rediscovering South Granville & more March finds!

Tuesday I took a chunk of my work day to re-explore the vibrant South Granville district (8th Avenue to 16th Avenue) and introduce myself to yet more of the CRAVE Guide entreprenesses in the city, while looking for a few new Spring pair of pants (easing my way into a vegan diet forced me down two sizes and had me saying goodbye to three pairs!).

I was blown away at how much this street has grown, retail-wise. Seriously, watch out Robson! The only thing I was missing that day was my mom! And I say that not because she would have paid for my stuff, but because S. Granville is an excellent place to shop for both young adults and older women and men. There’s a great range of boutiques, home decor shops, cafes, restaurants, and beauty bars to make it worth a day trip. Just don’t pay too much for your metre parking!

First stop: Babs Studio Boutique (babs.ca), owned by the one and only Babs Lucas. The storefront says mostly Canadian designed, but I was wowed to see the range of colours and fabrics this store had. Definitely more of an older demographic and an Eastern flair, but some great outerwear pieces for the upcoming colourful summer trends. Babs also has plus sizes available.

Neighbour to Babs is the passionate Julia Manitius of Urbanity (urbanity.ca). You may have recognized this shop when it was in Gastown, but Urbanity has a new home. What’s interesting about Urbanity is that it is the ONLY Canadian retailer (and agent) for the OLEANA line from Norway. What is OLEANA you ask? Only the most incredible, traditional yet vibrant line of sweaters and other items that I’ve ever seen. Let’s see if I can find just ONE picture to do the line justice!

Though I imagined more of an older demographic wearing these sweaters, all of the models in the catalogue are young. Which means that young European women are sporting these. According to the catalogue, Oleana knits and sews everything in their own factory in Norway (Espeland) and uses ONLY natural fibres (yes, animals are used in these) but I would imagine if they are putting that much care into how the clothes made, the animals must be treated ethically. These sweaters aren’t cheap, but you can bet they’re worth the investment. It’s worth a trip just to visit Urbanity and check out all the colours that are available.

James Perse of LA has a shop on Granville & 11th (jamesperse.com). Consider this the high end of surf and beach wear. But the fabrics are soooo nice. Get your high quality staples here when you want an escape from the 1993-esque oranges and fuschias that are to come this summer. The store very much reflects the minimalist nature of the brand too, so it’s got a nice calming effect right when you walk in.

Maureen Welton‘s 18 KARAT (eighteenkarat.com) is out of this world. Seriously, if you own a home and like to put stuff in it but don’t like to spend… don’t come in! Some absolutely beautiful pieces, and there’s more downstairs. Bonus: they sell online.

Leighann Boquist‘s Oliver & Lilly’s Clothing & Accessories (oliverandlillys.com) is on 1520 West 13th Avenue off the bustle of Granville. A nice, tranquil atmosphere, and lots of S/S stuff is in already. Greys and blacks begone! (Though I did see a super cute black & white striped short sweater…) O&L’s stuff hails from NYC and France among other places, so if you don’t want your friend to be seen wearing the same stuff as you, go it alone. Already looking forward to my next trip here.

Clothing of the People (copstyle.com) is instantly one of my new favourite stores on the street. I’m not sure how long they’ve been open, but they’re stuff is so fresh it seems new. Paige seems to be their denim of choice, and they have some really nice transition pieces (LA/NYC style) that work for Vancouver weather – think grey, black, beige and white. Cue rocker jacket with the super cute LBDs. Also on my list of places to visit when I’m back.

Misch (misch.ca) has been around for a while but I feel that now I’m in my late 2o’s, I can shop here. Pops of colour are among the minimalist pieces, and I spotted some well known designer brands in there too.

Diplomatic Immunity (diplomatic-immunity.ca) is one of the most interesting names for a store I’ve heard in a long time. They’ve got a long space that would make for a very nice catwalk, and a lot of their Spring stuff is now in. Very high quality fabrics and also some lines that you would recognize from the USA. The score is their sale rack though, which has finds 30+% off, if you are one of the lucky few that are extra small or a little bit bigger than everyone else.

Violet Boutique (violetboutique.ca) had the most impressive array of Spring dresses. Barefoot Contessa officially has competition in my book. The closest thing they had to a pair of pants was a thin patterned pant that looked like something I would have worn to sleep. Honestly though, this place is girly to the max and smells like a woman’s home should (scented candles). Check out this look they’re going to get in:

I know, stop drooling already!

Purr (2928 Granville St & 13th Avenue) was an interesting stop, as there were so many pink sale signs, I almost thought it was closing down. But they are trying to get rid of the last of their F/W stock (seriously, stuff from $10 up) and make way for S/S that’s probably already starting to come in now as I write this. I didn’t find their items of very high quality (made in China?) but they had some really nice scarves on sale for $16 from $40. And they have a big space, so head on down to take advantage of that sale while you still can.

My one score was at Zoe Boutiques (zoeboutiques.com) where I spotted a cute pair of turquoise & purple chandelier earrings for $22. The designer is from California and all her stuff was so reasonably priced I nearly snatched an extra two pairs. If anyone from Zoe is reading, please comment on who the designer was!

Zoe Boutiques also has a location in North Van on Lonsdale.

Now, I only have $45 in the budget for pants this month, but my birthday is coming up in April so that will help with more of the Spring wardrobe.

Next stops on the hunt for pants: Lushuz, Motherland, Forsya.

On another unrelated note, here are my last two finds from The Archetype on Main:

Unlabelled hoody – $46

Pol striped cardigan – $49

I know what you’re thinking. Why did I buy two Fall-ish sweaters when we’re days away from Spring?! For one, I don’t follow trends, I buy practical. Two, I tried on some ill-fitting pants and even a dress. Three, these sweaters can be worn even in summer since Vancouver never really stays warm at night. Plus, my search would have been too easy if I had found two pairs of pants here and didn’t have to search elsewhere in the city!

I have to say, I’m getting more and more disappointed at The Archetype, which is still using its Ark branding on the clothing tags and on their awning outside. What was once a hip, 90′s vinyl bag carrying DJ married to a bohemian flower girl shop is now a hodge podge of really nice quality lines mixed with overdue Fall sale items and vintage pieces. The purple hoody smelled like it was used, and the washing label has already faded away in the laundry. Not a good sign.

So unless The Archetype can get it together pretty soon with paring down its selection, cleaning up a bit of both the outside and inside, and for god’s sake updating the non-holiday hours of operation on their website, I’ll definitely be saving my Main Street trips for elsewhere.