Tags
Aritzia, backpacks, canada, designers, fashion, Herschel Backpacks, Herschel Supply CO, hipsters, lifestyle, Lifestyle Fashion, local brands, Lululemon, no fashion, Obakki, trendy, Vancouver Style, Vancouver worst dressed city, yoga pants
I lived in Vancouver since 1997. It’s a great place to be, rated one of the best cities to live in the world, Vancouver certainly has a lot to offer. Each to their own. I find that it is a great place to be if you like outdoors, anything to do with nature and recreation. I am the kind of person who wants it all, I often say it’s all or nothing, I want the same from the city I live in. I want more than just the stunning mountain and ocean views, endless hiking trails and yoga studios with organic shops sprouting around all over town.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-3rd-in-worst-dressed-city-list-1.1110022
I, my self love the nature with a good balance of city life, night life, cultural events, art galleries, museums, hipster eateries and of course good selection of fashion stores. I have been working in the fashion industry for many years and often found it very difficult to find a good places to shop in Vancouver, or for that matter even stylish people sometimes are far and few in between. It was after all named third worst dressed city in world in 2011, due to yoga pants trend that we owe to a world-famous yoga company founded in Vancouver and that isLululemon.
But not all is lots for this beautiful city. This city does have some cool and trendy companies coming out here. Of course everyone in Vancouver will know about Aritzia. I have worked for Aritzia for over three years. It was a great experience and a pleasure to work for a local company with so many like-minded and stylish people. Started out in 1984 by Brian Hill, who is by far the coolest boss I have ever worked for. What I like about Aritzia is that they cater to different age groups. They have in-house designers working very hard to come up with the latest fashion styles, the only problem with Aritzia is that everyone shops there, so in a small city like Vancouver, you are often one of many girls wearing the same shirt or a pair of pants.
Another local brand is Obakki. I have also worked for them. They make high-end luxury clothing, evening dresses. Very fine quality indeed, just need to find that special occasion to wear it for. Obakki was founded in 2005 by Treana Peake. Treena is an amazing woman, pleasure to work with, she also donates a lot of her profit to many different organizations. The Obakki Foundation, Obakki’s philanthropic counterpart, is a registered charity that focuses on providing clean water and education in Africa.
And of course least but not last is Herschel Supply Co, Vancouver very own hipster company making backpacks, bags and travel accessories. To tell you the truth I had no idea Herschel was from Vancouver. It took me to move to London to find out about them first ,way back in 2012. I use to shop in Mercantile boutique in East London and they carried Herschel backpacks there. Never thought backpacks would be so trendy, but they caught my eye and now I have three backpacks and a wallet and I am sure I will keep buying more with each season. I barely ever leave my house without my Herschel backpack, they are stylish and you can fit so many things, perfect for on the go lifestyle.
I will mention Lululemon, who are massively big all over the world. Founded in 1998 by Chip Wilson. Although I don’t shop there, I am still proud to see the company do well on the international market.
My conclusion is, don’t come to Vancouver for it’s fashion or shopping. Do come here if you love nature, want to experience a young, modern and multicultural city, but if you want style, definitely go to NY instead, if you so happen to be in North America. As for me, I do most of my shopping online.
http://www.lululemon.com/maint/maintenance.html
aritzia.cocm/on/demandware.store/Sites-Aritzia_CA-Site/default/Home-Show
http://www.herschelsupply.com/