A Shopper's Guide to A Girl's Day Out in Vancouver
Guest Post by the very talented writer, stylish shopaholic, and curator of Urbandig's Girls on Granville Guide in Vancouver - Nancy Chapman.
I love to shop – the hunt and the tangential discoveries, the rush of finding it (on sale!), the promise of transformation, I love it all. From J Brand skinny jeans to Rocky Mountain Foot Butter to a Goorin fedora, I’ve bought it all. I’ve been teased that Confessions of a Shopaholic’s Rebecca Bloomwood is loosely based on my life – except perhaps for the bits about the enabling roommate, and that glossy pink (iLove!) Macbook. I do, however, own more stilettos than you can shake a stick at and have had my credit cards declined at Henri Bendel. Tres embarrassing!!
I’m a born and bred Vancouverite and as mentioned, I love to shop. In fact, I believe I am a pioneer in the shop-tourism sector – having travelled to London, Paris, Milan, Tokyo, Marrakech, Toronto, NYC, Chicago, and San Francisco to name a few – like a UN Goodwill ambassador, successfully spurring the local economies. Secondly, I also have four sisters and our favorite holiday of the year is Boxing Day. After the tree is trimmed, the turkey gobbled, doodads purchased, wrapped and then unwrapped for every member of our extended family, we wake up at 6AM, zip to Caffé Artigiano for a latte to go and then shop till we drop (dollar bills obviously!) And finally, living as I do, with 4 boys under my roof, there is not much I won’t do for a day out with my girlfriends. And so, as often as we can, my girlfriends and I come together to brunch, shop, spa, shop some more, drink & dance – and as such, planning Girls Days Out are somewhat of a specialty of mine.
With the malls of North America so cookie-cutter boring, there are really just two shopping destinations in Vancouver that I love to waste a day away at – Main Street and South Granville Street. For my Girls Day Out tour, I chose Granville Street as it caters to foodies, shoe lovers, and all shoppers who love good style as much as they love good labels, plus it ends at a world-class spa. Everyone’s a winner on Granville Street!!
So grab a girlfriend (or eight), grab some brunch at Café Barney or Luke’s Corner Bar (but don’t eat too many breakfast potatoes or you won’t fit into those skinny jeans you covet!) and take a wander down beautiful, historic South Granville Street. I’ll bet you’ll find just what you’re looking for!
Nancy Chapman is a freelance writer living in beautiful West Vancouver, BC Canada. When she is not writing, she can be found ferrying around her three sons, working out and shopping. Subscribe to Nancy's blog and follow her on twitter to enjoy more of her escapades with girlfriends and thoughts on writing, parenting, politics, shopping and more!