THE RESILIENCE OF OCEANSIDE'S FASHION RETAILERS

by Kait Burgan

BEING GOOD AT BUSINESS IS ALWAYS IN FASHION AND GETTING THROUGH A PANDEMIC YEAR THAT SAW DRESSING UP AND GOING OUT REPLACED BY ZOOM CALLS IN SWEAT PANTS, IF ANY PANTS AT ALL, DEMANDS AN ADMIRABLE SENSE OF BUSINESS STYLE THAT CAN ONLY COME WITH EXPERIENCE AND PASSION.

THE LAST 18+ MONTHS HIT OCEANSIDE’S FASHION RETAILERS HARD.

BUT LIKE MANY OF THE REGION’S FASHION RETAILERS, SANDY HERLE, OWNER OF CLOSE TO YOU FASHIONS IN PARKSVILLE, AND FORMER PARKSVILLE MAYOR, HAS ADAPTED AND IS STARTING TO SEE A RETURN TO SOME SEMBLANCE OF NORMAL. SHE’S ENERGETIC, COMMITTED, GRACEFUL AND RESILIENT. Sandy’s been in retail all her adult life. Along with her ex-husband, she owned three bicycle stores in the central island area, and even back then, her fashion sense was impossible to repress. At 5' 1", high heels are staples in her wardrobe, even when riding a bicycle.

This fall, the look is put together but comfy and cozy.

“We’ve changed some of the direction for the store because we were very dressy before COVID—Joseph Ribkoff, Frank Lyman, ” says Sandy, naming some of her most popular lines. “We’ve had to tone it down because people are more casual. They want the quality, and they want the look. For Oceanside, it’s a put-together look, things that work. We’ve added lines because of COVID that we didn’t carry before, lines I never thought we would carry, such as Columbia.” She notes that even the lines she carried for years have toned down a bit. They’re using more knits. Things are comfier and cosy.

Wilde and Sparrow is another retailer adding to the growing shopping destination experience in downtown Parksville. Owners Trish Smith and Shirra Wall opened ten years ago, carrying lines including Free People, Z Supply and BB Dakota.

Parksville is also becoming a destination for boutique consignment shopping. Tina Hayward owns The Kit & Kaboodle Trading Company, with three locations, including The Vault, which carries high-end home goods, decor and furniture, and clothing. “There were people from Victoria yesterday and from Saskatchewan the day before. Now that people can go out as a group, they’re making a day of it. They call it doing the circuit.” The circuit also includes RCubed Clothing, a super modern consignment boutique and artisan collective. And just a few doors down from them, Curve Appeal Consignment is owned by Kara McCarthy who says, “I really didn’t want size twelve and up women to feel like they only had one rack in every store. I wanted a place where they felt really confident and beautiful and could build a wardrobe that spoke to them without making them feel any shame around their shapes or themselves.” When asked to describe what Oceanside fashion is, she adds that “people are looking for linen. They’re looking for high-end casual wear.”

Small town charm runs through boutique shopping throughout the area. Often, it’s shop owners themselves, who are working behind the counters, helping customers, becoming friends, and then helping those friends feel good about their fashion choices.

Arbutus Fashion & Lifestyle in Qualicum Beach, opened more than thirty years ago. “We’re all living a more relaxed lifestyle now. It’s more about comfort,” says owner Jean Young on the evolution of local fashion trends since the beginning of the pandemic. She quickly jokes that might have something to do with a few of us having gained a bit of weight over the last twenty months. “I know with fall, whether it was COVID or not, the designers and the folks developing the fabrics come out with really beautiful soft garments. And it’s wonderful that we can have fall fashion you don’t have to take to the dry cleaners.” Jean carries a wide variety of labels, including Papillion and Papa, both from Vancouver and HUE’s line of versatile, high-quality leggings.

Just across the street from Arbutus is Open Collar Men, the only men’s fashion store north of Nanaimo, carrying Vancouver-based 34 Heritage jeans and pants, the Dutch label, Fish Named Fred, Scotch and Soda from Amsterdam and Copenhagen’s Martinique. “I’ve really leaned toward European fashion. They’re usually a few years ahead of us here, and we’re getting a younger demographic moving to Qualicum Beach,” says owner Terrance Doyle. Terrence opened his store after moving here from Vancouver and simply couldn’t find a place where he wanted to shop. He was ready to open on March 30, 2020, right when COVID was peaking. But after sitting at home for a few weeks, he began to see a silver lining. “I started to realize it was probably safer to shop in a little place like this than to go into a grocery store where there are 125 people at any given time,” reflects Terrance. “So, we opened to two people at a time in the store, and it was fine. It’s not as convenient to shop online as we’re led to believe. People wanted to shop local, but they were also more or less forced to shop local because they couldn’t go to another community.” He credits MOD Apparel another hip fashion retailer in Qualicum that offers clothing with an LA vibe, as being especially helpful to him as he established his business.

THERE ARE MANY CHOICES WHEN IT COMES TO FASHION IN THE OCEANSIDE AREA. MANY OF THE BUSINESSES FEATURED HERE DELIVER WORLDWIDE AND INVITE YOU TO BROWSE THEIR WEBSITES AND SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES.

ARBUTUS FASHION & LIFESTYLE 147 West Second Avenue, Qualicum Beach (250) 938-9008

CLOSE TO YOU FASHIONS 174 Corfield Street South, Parksville (250) 248-3781 closetoyou.ca

CURVE APPEAL CONSIGNMENT 154 Morrison Avenue, Parksville (250) 514-6580

FRESH BOUTIQUE #5-220 West Island Highway, Parksville (250) 586-1111 freshboutique.ca

KIT & KABOODLE TRADING COMPANY 151 Harrison Avenue, Parksville (with two additional locations on Morrison Ave) (250) 586-2677 kaboodleboutique.com

MOD APPAREL 671 Beach Road, Qualicum Beach (250) 594-5594 modapparel.ca

OPEN COLLAR MEN 138 West Second Avenue, Qualicum Beach (250) 594-9997

RCUBED CLOTHING 148 Morrison Avenue, Parksville (250) 713-6111 rcubed.ca

WILDE & SPARROW 152 Morrison Avenue , Parksville (250) 586-2010 wildeandsparrow.com