Downtown Glam on Granville Street in Vancouver

By Tina, Miss Teen British Columbia 2017
Photos by Tamara Guerino

Fashion in downtown Vancouver displays how young women and men can express themselves freely while feeling comfortable in their own skin, which I think is undoubtedly one of the most important and fascinating functions of fashion! For this blog assignment, I decided to shoot Vancouver’s signature styles on Granville street, which I think is an accurate representation of what downtown Vancouver is like: high-fashion, glamorous, but also serene and beautiful all at the same time.

There are many young women and men in this city with busy lifestyles who like to dress themselves with a pop of personality that shows off their character and preferences, so that’s mainly what I had wanted to capture. The city’s tall, towering buildings also make a nice scenic view, combined with the buzz of laughter and conversation, as well as the rush of people passing by with their coffee, it’s the perfect place to bask in the city ambience. This street’s abundance of designer stores and brands has clearly shown in the people who patronized it, everyone has on a variety of eye-catching and bold clothing. It’s rather hard to conclude everyone’s style into one phrase because of how unique each individual’s outfit is, so let me take you on a walk down Granville street, Vancouver BC!

Here is Alissa; I felt it was important to get to know our subjects and learn about what lead them to their personal fashion choices. Alissa is fourteen years old and currently a high school student, but she frequently visits the downtown area of Vancouver with friends to hit the shopping centres and to embrace the local city atmosphere.

Alissa’s very kindhearted and outgoing, she loves to socialize and have a good time. As you can see from the picture, she loves the casual look with simple, but well-paired colours. With a white trendy off the shoulder top with flounce cuffs from Forever 21, classic yet urban ripped denim jeans from American eagle, and a laid-back flannel from Garage. She accessorized with a black leather bag from a thrift shop and some plain white Converse sneakers. The whole apparel gives off an unsophisticated modern vibe, with the flannel giving it a colourful kick and cotton top adding a nice feminine touch. Alissa feels that her fashion inspiration comes from the one and only fashion icon Kendall Jenner, who has a similar casual and chic style in her daily life. With the entire outfit under 200 dollars, it perfectly showcases a teenager’s wardrobe necessities, and how you don’t have to buy expensive or extravagant fashion pieces to pull together a great look!

Our second model is 18 year-old Philip, who has just graduated high school and is moving on to university! He pursues sports in his free time, but other than his basketball shorts and runners, his wardrobe contains quite a few well-developed and bold statement-pieces for nights out with friends, or just a casual stroll down Granville.

He wore a basic white tee from Old Navy, a light blue denim shirt from H&M rolled up to show off those forearms, white ripped jeans from Pacsun, small sunglasses from Ray-Ban, and camel-coloured boots from Tokyo, Japan! The white, blue, and camel colours contrasted nicely, making the ensemble look clean, put-together, but nonetheless expressive and stylish.

Phillip likes to emphasize on comfort and material in his everyday fashion choices, he likes to wear things that have a great fit but still look pleasing to the eye, and something that will give him mobility and allow him to stay active throughout the day. “The more tight the more right” does not exactly accommodate his beliefs when it comes to his own clothing. This outfit is a bit more high-end, and overall provides a relaxed and slightly business casual feeling while simultaneously illuminating Phillip’s personality as an athlete and socially active teen.

Next up is Jessica. She’s fifteen years old going on grade ten, and she is all for fashionable outfits that are expressive but also uncomplicated. She appreciates different unique items that work perfectly as a combination.

Jessica is especially intrigued by the city lifestyle, is always up for venturing and it comes out in her cool outfit! With a blue and white striped off the shoulder shirt from forever 21, ripped jeans from Topshop, high heel black booties from Nordstrom, cute watch from Michael Kors, and black bag from Coach, Jessica rocks the sweet and stylish look, giving us a glance at her vivid, independent, and creative personality. Jessica looks up to iconic Selena Gomez for fashion inspiration, because she sees herself in Sel and adores the trendy and bold vibes. Well, I don’t know about everyone else, but I can totally see an awesome Pop Star in Jessica, she is absolutely killing it!

Roaming the streets of Vancouver, and seeing everyone’s fashion choices made me realize that when you’re out and about, comfort is the key, and also that regardless of what you wear, as long as you feel good, nothing else matters. I think people’s love for fashion is not just about the artificial aspects like brand and material, but rather how confident you feel when you put on an outfit, and how satisfying it is to look in the mirror and really be proud of your reflection. Which is especially important for people who live in big cities like Vancouver, who should take the time to shop for their ideal outfits and take the time to appreciate and celebrate themselves amid their crazy and hectic lives. Because that’s what fashion should really be about, something to make your strides just a little bigger, yourself a lot more confident, and your day much better.

Fashion will always be a one-size-fits-all, because anyone can pull together a great look even with a smaller budget, and everyone can and should express themselves through how they dress.

From what I’ve seen, fashion in vancouver in three words would be: simple, stylish, satisfying. I loved seeing how everyone’s outfit showed the world a significant aspect of their life and diverse personalities, and I can’t wait to see what everyone thinks about these three wonderful teenagers and their outfits! I hope you all enjoyed catching a glimpse of Granville downtown street chic.

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