Hyper-Specific City Guide: A Day in Vancouver With Your Gluten-Free, Vintage-Loving BFF

How to have the perfect day with you gluten-free BFF who loves vintage clothes and starts every anecdote with “One time, at Coachella...”

This is part of our Ultimate, Hyper-Specific Vancouver City Guide, featured in the May 2024 issue of Vancouver magazine. We’ve created 25 unique personas and 25 unique itineraries to match. If this to-do list for ‘your vintage-obsessed, gluten-free, Coachella-going bestie’ isn’t helpful, perhaps one of the other 24 bespoke schedules will be. Explore them all here. 

Over a fresh-baked gluten-free danish of the day ($6) at Gluten Free Epicurean (633 E 15th Ave., glutenfreeepicurean.ca), make your plan of attack. Hit up F as in Frank (2425 Main St., fasinfrankvintage.com), Mintage Mall (245 E Broadway, mintagevintage.com) and Rewind Resale (2331 Main St., shoprewindresale.com) for distressed denim, cute ugly shirts and other one-of-a-kind finds.

If you’re craving a touch of designer luxury, Turnabout on Main (2929 Main St., turnabout.com) is your next stop. Here, you’ll discover a mix of high-end consignment and designer labels, perfect for elevating your festival style game. Who knows? You might just catch the eye of the lead singer on stage with your newfound fashion flair.

After a day of shop hopping, hit Smitty’s Oyster House (3124 Main St., smittysoysterhousemainstreet.com) for raw oysters (MP) or, if your bestie is the free spirit she claims she is, spice things up with a zesty oyster margarita ($10). Catch a show at the Fox Cabaret afterward (2321 Main St., foxcabaret.com)—the former adult theatre is now a hub for live music but still has a perfect grungy-gritty vibe.

More from the Ultimate, Hyper-Specific Vancouver City Guide here.