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missykillion asked: Hi Hez! I'm in Vancouver for January and I want to spend some money on clothes. I want lots of clothes for my money. Where can I get a maximum return for my dollar?

Hi Missy! 

I just typed a huuuge, link filled response to this question and promptly lost it because of some connection bullshit, so I’m going to just take a deep breath and try and reconstruct it.

I’ve broken this down into 3 categories - 1) vintage/thrifting, 2) local designer and 3) wardrobe basics.

1) Vintage/thrifting: a good place to start is Main Street - begin just around Broadway at F as in Frank, head up to 16th to Burcu’s Angels, and then over to C’est La Vie between 17th and 18th, before making your way up towards Front & Company (they have great window displays kind of reminiscent of Bergdorf’s), make sure to check out Barefoot Contessa for all the pretty stuff she has in there, and up near 28th there’s also a cheapie YWCA thrift store that occasionally has some scores. Lots of good vintage found among the yuppies’ cast-offs in Kitsilano, Gastown and East Vancouver, especially Mintage on Commercial, all the locations of Value Village and some of the hospital/community/charity run thrift shops, including My Sister’s Closet, where proceeds benefit Battered Women’s Support Services.

2) Also on Main, you’ll find some great local designer stuff, especially at Twigg and Hottie, who also have a good website. Another fave of mine for affordable, locally designed clothing and accessories is Dream in Gastown, and they also have another location called Little Dream on Granville Island. Gentille Allouette is another local designer shop in Gastown, as is Lynn Steven, but they’re both a bit pricier. Plenty more in this category if you need more recommendations!

3) For inexpensive wardrobe basics, you can’t do much better than Joe Fresh, which is owned by The Real Canadian Superstore and does a good job of cheap casual separates (if you’re tired of the usual Gap/Old Navy/Urban Outfitters stuff.) We’ve also got a new H&M on Granville Street in Pacific Centre, and a new (but apparently unimpressive) capsule boutique from TopShop located within the Bay downtown.  I’m also a huge fan of the discount shop Winners and they have an outlet on Granville Mall (as well as plenty in the burbs with a different selection of stuff) where you’ll also find plenty of t-shirt places and rock shops. As long as you avoid Robson St and West Vancouver, you’ll find some decent values most places.

Hope this is helpful and don’t hesitate to holla if you have further questions. Please check out all my reviews on BlackBook (where you’ll also find my recommendations for Vancouver nightlife and restaurants) and by all means download the free BlackBook Guides mobile app so you can have all of my reccos on the go! 

Cheers and hope you enjoy your time in Vancouver!

Hez