Get New Ideas for Where to Shop in Vancouver with a Tour

Early one Thursday afternoon in late July, five members of VancouverMom.ca’s Top 30 Vancouver Mom Bloggers list from 2010, 2012 and 2013 found ourselves at a funky boutique in East Van, sipping mimosas and browsing the first stop on what would be a three hour shopping tour. Under the watchful eye of Vancouver mom and entrepreneur Brandy Kawulka of Posh Shopping Tours, we prepared to spend the afternoon finding new answers to the question of where to shop in Vancouver. After thoroughly exploring the charming Monarchy Boutique – our starting point – we loaded into the car and headed out for the rest of the tour.

Where to Shop in Vancouver? Everywhere!

In the car we each found a lovely swag bag, filled with goodies like cookies, chocolate, tea, nail polish, lip gloss and more. As well, each of us found a chilled water bottle waiting in our cupholder. Brandy’s attention to detail really was impeccable, and it helped us all to feel pampered as we embarked on our fashion adventure.

As we drove, Brandy explained that she’s worked hard to craft her own personal style. She’s also not a fan of the mall. On her shopping expeditions she’s uncovered a number of hidden gems, adding them to her list of where to shop in Vancouver. During our tour we visited a wide array of boutiques, from Monarchy, to the thrift store and social enterprise My Sister’s Closet, to the higher-end, fashion-forward JC Studio. We also stopped at some by-appointment-only spots, which would be very easy to overlook if we weren’t in Brandy’s capable hands. In some cases, we were even able to see the cutting room in the back, where the clothes themselves are created.

Not Just for Tourists

While taking a quick break to eat a late lunch at Liberty Bakery on Main Street, the five bloggers all commented that most of the boutiques were new to everyone on the tour. While many of Brandy’s clients are tourists, we agreed that even as locals we had received some excellent new ideas for where to shop in Vancouver. If you’re looking for a unique idea for a bachelorette party, Mother’s Day outing, or just a fabulous day out on the town with your best friends, a Posh Shopping Tour is a whole lot of fun. You just let Brandy know what kind of clothing you’re looking for, and she takes care of the rest, right down to finding parking downtown. All of the downsides of shopping are taken care of for you, leaving you to enjoy the fun of trying on new clothes.

One of the big upsides to being on the tour was that Brandy introduced our group to the staff at each boutique we visited. We received more personalized attention that we might have had we been visiting on our own. We also got more of a back story on each shop. It was a really interesting introduction to parts of the Vancouver fashion scene that many of us weren’t that familiar with before.