It’s bittersweet to see my hometown Vancouver change so much over the years. When I was growing up, it was a quiet, sleepy city with cloudy weather and an easy-going attitude (something like a Canadian version of their neighbors in Seattle). Nowadays, the place feels a lot more hip and bustling. Their menswear scene, for example, rivals that of any North American city’s outside of New York. You have Roden Gray and Haven for high-end streetwear; Dutil and NiftyDo for denim and denim-related things; and a dozen or so shops for everyday labels such as APC and Gitman Vintage.
One of my favorites is Neighbour – a small, cozy boutique that’s tucked away inside one of Gastown’s hidden courtyards. Although the shop is Canadian, it has a Scandinavian sense of simplicity. Its interior relies a lot on glass, light-colored woods, and concrete, and instead overcrowding the small space with too many racks and shelves, everything feels spacious and manageable.
Some of what Neighbour carries is probably too designer-y for the average reader here, although I think it’s all great. 1205′s Paula Gerbase, for example, worked for a while on Savile Row before starting her very modern, austere-take on sportswear (she’s also designing a footwear line for John Lobb). Additionally, Christophe Lemaire might be one of the most interesting menswear designers at the moment. He recently left Hermes, where he handled womenswear, and caused quite a stir with his FW15 show in Paris (I think it’s one of the best in recent memory).
The rest of the store has things that can be easily incorporated into any wardrobe. Saager Dilawri – the New York transplant who started Neighbour in 2011 – tells me he only carries what he loves, although he does have some favorites. He likes Stephan Schneider and Our Legacy because they present interesting clothes that feel approachable and unpretentious (I’m a big fan of Schneider’s knitwear and Our Legacy’s jeans). He also enjoys Niuhans, a Japanese label with botanically-dyed clothes (he describes them as having a sense of “air-like lightness” and “clean perfection”) and O’Ballou (for their Talented Mr. Ripley, 1950s sense of casual Italian style).
What makes Neighbour great is everything that I wrote about in my post on warm minimalism. Rather than the snootiness that can sometimes come with tailoring, the cosplay of workwear, or the busyness of some casualwear labels (looking at you, Daiki Suzuki), Neighbour’s clothes feel simple and relatable. I’ve bought some Patrik Ervell outerwear and Stephan Schneider sweaters here, and often wear them with boots and slim-straight jeans. They’re great for when you want to look put together, but don’t necessarily want to make a statement.
Two months ago, Neighbour opened a women’s wear shop around the corner from their menswear store. It carries the same aesthetic and – like their main location – also has the kind of housewares and quirky accessories that makes the place feel fun (who doesn’t want large, brass paperclips?). They also just revamped their website so that it’s a bit more stylized and navigable. Even through cold, hard pixels, however, their shop feels like a friendly part of your local neighborhood, which – I imagine – is why Saager named his store what he did.
(photos via Neighbour)