Love Rosa

No this is not a confessional about a secret crush I have that I can no longer keep private, its about a store called Love Rosa tucked clandestinely (like a secret crush) on the shady side of Kingsway and 8th. Taking cues from Budgies next door, Rose opened the shop to showcase Dios de los Meurtos-style trinkets but soon expanded into one of the finest found clothing stores in Vancouver.

Art Deco skirts adorn the walls, a wax skull sits solemnly on a black piano, and a beaded necklace is draped over an anonymous frame. Authentic Mexico City folk art, papier mache dolls, and Catholic rosaries add to the ambiance. Downstairs there is a collection of men's clothing as well as lingerie and vintage shoes. Almost all of my clothing allowance has been wisely allocated to oversize Blue Jays paraphernalia, Converse sweatshirts, and hipster approved Wolf-print tees. But more important than the clothes, (yes there is such a thing) is the cultivation of an aura of total hang-outability. In the summer the proprietors lounge on beaten up car seats sipping fine wine from plastic cups. But with the completion of One Kingsway, which will house the Mount Pleasant branch of the VPL, a childcare centre, and community centre, the fate of micro-stores like Love Rosa hangs in the balance.

The forces of gentrification are hard at work; the marketability of Commercial Drive to the east, the branding of Mount Pleasant into SoMa, condo fever snaking its way up from the ashes of Cambie Village as the RAV Line rips through a once prosperous community, and to the north is South-East False Creek with its Olympic aspirations.

Yet for all the doom and gloom, the neighbourhood is hanging onto its character, even building on it. The Foundation still anchors the little mountain, with the most corporate addition being a Waves coffee shop, and a Sport Chek on Broadway. Our Town hums away, Dadabase is still selling their agitprop, Soma has branched out into quite a destination cafe, Happy Bats nest on the middle of the hill, while Red Cat and Eugene Choo crown the hill. The two newest additions to the Kingsway wedge are a jewelery shop named Queen Bee Luxuries, and a treasure trove of vinyl in the basement of Gallery 42 called Dandelion Records. The former is a sort of 'rockabilly lifestyle shop' with burlesque corsets and colorful makeup, a lot of which is vegan. Queen Bee compliments the Kiss Stores, Puncturehaus piercings, and the low brow Jem Gallery. Meanwhile Dandelion Records have original pressings of Can, Nick Drake, and Neu amongst others and a projection screen with vintage videos haunting the corner. Be prepared to lose a pile of cash.