Vancouver, BC is much more than the wild west of Canada; in-deed, it is an emerging fashion capital. With the Winter Olympics taking place there in February 2010, there has never been a better time to visit this thriving city. Although Vancouver is dominated by chain stores that sell similar brands and merchandise, these smaller stores challenge the typical Vancouverite uniform consisting of yoga pants and parkas. Take a break from breathing the incredibly fresh air and staring at the breathtak-ing scenery and make sure to stop by these boutiques for a unique Cana-dian shopping experience.

By Andrea NgShop Six Oh Four

Plenty Having been a staple in Vancouver since 1989, Plenty still stays true to its phi-losophy of capturing individuality in its merchandise. Each of Plenty’s four locations offers a comfortable shopping experience. Its denim bars provide every brand, size, style imaginable.Shopping for denim becomes a breeze rather than a painful experience. Plen-ty not only offers a wide variety of clothes but also has an interesting collection of whimsical costume jewelry by local and Canadian de-signers that are great accents to any outfit.

Robson Location1107 Robson Street Vancouver, BC V6E 1B5Tel: 604 689 4478www.getplenty.com

Jonathan + Olivia After being in the fashion industry for 10 years, Jackie O’Brien decided to be her own boss when opening Jonathan + Olivia in 2005. Situated in South Main Street, the boutique stands out drastically from neigh-boring vintage stores. Their motto, “A Depar-ture from the Expected”, is exactly what you get. With a unique collection of contempo-rary designers, like Alexander Wang, Acne, Opening Ceremony, and Vanessa Bruno, it gives Vancouverites a piece of New York City in a little boutique. Their merchandise inspires you to dress differently from the rest and also gives you the resources to do so.

2570 Main St. Vancouver, BC V5T 3E4Tel: 604 637 6224www.jonathanandolivia.com

Gravity Pope & Gravity Pope Tailored Goods Although it was founded in Edmonton, AB in 1990, Gravity Pope didn’t make its way to its Kitsi-lano location in Vancouver until 2004. Gravity Pope offers an incredible collection of shoes that cannot be found elsewhere, including vegetarian shoes and ethically made shoes, while Gravity Pope Tailored Goods’ merchandise is so distinct that they rarely carry the same items as other stores with the same brands. Grav-ity Pope should be your first stop in Kitsilano as the store sets the tone for your relaxing promenade east-ward to Cypress Street.

2203 and 2055 W. 4th Ave. Vancouver, BC V6K 1N9Tel: 604 731 7673www.gravitypope.com