Pop-Up Holiday Miracles in Gastown!

With just 11 more days until Christmas, I know everyone’s feeling the pressure. Me? I’ve got only two presents to go so I’m on the home stretch. If you’ve been keeping up with this blog, you’ll know that I only shop locally. So when I stopped by the Local-E pop-up shop in Gastown to see what they had in store, I discovered within the same block that there was The Found and the Freed. So now I get to blog twice! It’s a holiday miracle!

Local-E features ONLY local designers, which is so awesome. There’s lots to see, but I’d say it’s heavier on the women’s side of things. Lots of accessories, apparel, and jewellery. If I was Santa, picks for myself might include the following:

Shibang Textiles Clutch – $70
More colours and sizes available!
Does anyone else think of William Hung from American Idol when you see this name? 

Bianca Barr Design Earrings $58

Bianca Barr Designs Necklace – $88

Baby Hoodie by Superfly Lullabies – $38

Local Grain wooden ornaments – $5

Little Houses coat – $90 (also available in purple, grey, brown, and grey)

Little Houses is an amazing designer line I’d never heard of. This photo doesn’t do the brand justice, so you’ll just have to check them out online or go to Local-E yourself.

Amanda of Mara Gottler showed me a few of the pieces in the collection, a few of which she was sporting herself in-store:

Triple-Pleated top (Black wool gauze) $125
Harem Pant (Black vintage silk crepe) – $175

Two panelled top (Knit jersey with black wool gauze) – $75
Harem Pant (Black vintage silk crepe) – $175

Mara Gottler shirt $125
Bianca Barr Designs necklace $58

Show-stopper outfits! There is much much more to see including show favourites like Jola V. Designs recycled leather bags, and Daub & Design. So check out Local-E before they close doors on Sunday December 18!

The Found and the Freed‘s third pop-up shop in Gastown is on until December 17, 11am-7pm daily. The shop specializes in found vintage objects and antiques similar to what you’d see at Stepback in Kits. Definitely not the items you want to grab and go for that Secret Santa gift you forgot about; more for the wise collector. Some of the cool items I liked:

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Ready, set, vintage! @ Community Thrift & Vintage

The day before I even attended Myriam Laroche’s Eco Fashion Week seminar on How and Why to Re-use in Fashion, I was already walking my talk.

My sister held a clothing swap party for her birthday in the summer, and was left with an IKEA bag-full of clothes, which we donated to Vancouver’s latest addition to the vintage shopping world: Community Thrift & Vintage.

Located in Gastown, Community Thrift & Vintage is just steps away from some of Vancouver’s most hip boutiques. However, unlike some of the vintage shops I’ve been to, it won’t cost you $50 per item – stuff here ranges from $5 for shoes and up. I think the average price was $15 per item. It makes SO much sense that the prices are reasonable, because 100% of proceeds go to the Women’s Centre downtown. So the more you shop, the more you are helping people! You just  can’t go wrong with that.

Having bought some new scarves just the day before, I wasn’t shopping for myself – but was able to pick up two super cute items for my one-year old niece.

Animal print denim dress – $5; Cowichan sweater – $16

Cowichan sweater – back

Christmas shopping done.

Community Thrift and Vintage
41 West Cordova St. (& Carrall) Vancouver BC V6C 3N8
To donate clothing, email jennidorothylee@gmail.com
communitythriftandvintage.ca
Twitter @CommunityThrft
Facebook.com/CommunityThriftandVintage

Hours:

Monday – Closed
T-W – 10am-6pm
Th-Sat – 11am-7pm
Sunday – 12-5pm

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Loco 4 Local Fashion 1-year challenge DONE!

My one-year local shopping challenge is now over, but the challenge has just begun.

Over this past year, I’ve seen and met some incredible locally-owned boutiques and their owners, many of which I hadn’t been able to shop at purely for budgetary reasons. My shopping willpower was definitely tested on many an occasion!

Items on my shopping list throughout the year:

- Red clutch
- Blazers
- Hooded waterproof raincoat
- Faux leather jacket
- Skinny black pant
- 3/4 length shirts
- New wallet
- Purple toque
- Silver chandelier earrings
- Spring dress
- Jeans (just can’t have enough)
- New workout tank and leggings
- Scarves: Orange, turquoise, purple & grey

It’s interesting how our needs and desires change over the year, especially with the change in climate. I was able to get 7 of 13 of the items on this list at locally-owned shops or as hand-me downs. The rest I removed, changed slightly, or haven’t been able to find yet.

The great thing is, now that Fall is here I feel that I’m well stocked with pants and a nice hooded jacket, and have my sights set on a new faux leather jacket and some scarves to complete my wardrobe.

I recently broke the rules twice on my last vacation to Honolulu, where I got two accessories at the Forever 21 and Macy’s on the Waikiki Strip. I felt a bit guilty, but I did try before my trip to search out local boutiques or local designers, to no avail, and I thought I may as well have spent the American money I had with me where I could.

What this challenge has taught me is that it is absolutely possible to shop locally-owned only without sacrificing style. If anything, you will increase your sense of style as you find items that not many others are wearing (I’ve seen someone in the H&M dress I bought last summer, and it’s not cool) and the sense of accomplishment when you find that coveted item somewhere local – when you could have easily bought it at the mall – is indescribable. Definitely worth treating yourself to a cupcake.

You’ll also find that some of your favourite American or international brands can be found at locally-owned shops, where you can support local entrepreneurs while still sporting brands of a trusted quality. At my last trip to Lusso Baby in North Vancouver, they had an amazing array of high-end designer children’s items by Burberry, Louis Vuitton, and UGG.

Depending on where you live in the Lower Mainland, getting to some places than others may be a trek. I’ve still only be able to go to the central areas of Vancouver and North Van, but I plan to keep venturing further and further out to see what the suburbs have in store.

In conclusion, I am happy to never set foot in a mall again and shop locally only – for good! In addition, I will challenge myself further by trying to shop eco-friendly and locally-designed when possible, and shopping at more vintage and consignment stores. I know that there is an untapped group of them in Vancouver, and if I can find a once-loved item – that likely no one else has – at a fraction of the original price, it makes me feel better knowing that I have saved money (which I can use for more shopping!) and that my carbon footprint on the retail manufacturing industry is even lower than just choosing to shop locally-owned.

Good luck to you and your local shopping challenges – and if you are looking for suggestions on where to shop for certain things, comment here!