North Vancouverites should have no problems with fit checks going forward, with fresh drops arriving regularly at a new vintage store in Central Lonsdale.
Arrival Vintage opened its doors in November, allowing locals to update their wardrobes by buying, selling or trading their digs.
Located at 111 East 12th St., the neatly arranged racks at Arrival promise a curated offering of high-quality, second-hand apparel. Its owners say the store will showcase a constantly changing selection of unique items, fashionable outfits and accessories for thrifters of all-ages.
The store’s founders are North Van locals that bring years of experience in the vintage sector from recognizable brands including F as in Frank.
Co-founder Riaz Khan is one of the brains behind Granville Flea Market, one of the largest markets of its kind in Western Canada, which has run a series of pop-ups at the Shipyards in Lower Lonsdale.
Those pop-ups showed him that there was big interest in the concept.
“That opportunity was there. The markets were huge in North Vancouver,” Khan said. “Then myself and Shawn [Avantini] are both from North Vancouver, so we kind of got together after the season last year, and we’re just like, it’d be cool to open up a shop in North Van, because there weren’t many shops at the time.”
Store fulfills local desire for modern vintage apparel, owner says
Something that sets them apart from other vintage shops is the buy-sell-trade component.
“That’s something that not many retailers in North Vancouver do,” he said. “Knowing that the amount of people in North Van, not having a huge area or market to shop from, would have good stuff to sell.”
What brands and styles can you expect to see on Arrival’s racks?
“We are modern vintage,” Khan said. “Our target market is 15 to about 30 [years old[ so it’s really what’s popular in today’s fashion.
“The staples are rap [T-shirts] – people love that. Throwback retro jerseys are a huge thing right now with baseball and the World Cup that just ended…. Carhartt is a North Vancouver thing. Workwear stuff is highly regarded,” he said.
But the store steers clear of “fast fashion.”
“You're not going to find like Lululemon or Aritizia in our store. We're staying away from that because another principal part of our business is sustainability and being an environmentally friendly place,” Khan said.
After opening Nov. 15, the reception has been amazing, he said.
“We have customers that are already coming in once every three, four days, looking for stuff,” Khan said.
There aren’t many modern vintage options in North Van, he said. So otherwise, those kinds of shoppers would have to go to Downtown Vancouver or Gastown.
“We just make the process easier by being a beautiful store, but located in North Vancouver already,” Khan said.
He said that many events will be coming up at the store, including a monthly gallery of rotating local art, shop parties and a boxing day sale.
“We’re looking to get into the community with sports teams and stuff like that … sponsor some local high school basketball teams,” he added.
No matter what, people can always expect fresh drops at Arrival, Khan said.
“We restock all the time. We put in 20 to 30 new pieces every couple days,” he said.
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