Women on South Main: Burcu Ozdemir at Burcu's Angels

Burcu Ozdemir is one of the first "pioneer" women on Main St - and in her 11 years in the vintage fashion business (next door to my fave coffee bar in the city, Lugz Coffee Lounge), she's seen it all. She realizes that there are definitely challenges to being a female entrepreneur, and advises up-and-comers to make sure that make sure it's truly their passion in life - because if you don 't love it, you'll end up resenting the seemingly endless hours of unpaid and unappreciated effort.

Burcu went into business as a single mother and former waitress whose sense of style had been "ridiculed and congratulated for years"...so, thinking that she may have something to offer the community, she opened up a boutique that celebrates her own creative personal style while providing a treasure trove of vintage clothing and accessories for the adventurous shopper.

From psychadelic '70's caftans to mod '60's shifts and a large collection of unique shoes, hats and other accessories, if it's got "Color, texture, fun [and] magic"(her concept and store motto) you can find it here. And if you're at a loss as to how to combine such great finds into a wearable outfit, Burcu also offers a personal styling service under the moniker Pesky Peacock (if she's not around, her staff, the always creatively dressed "Angels," are always ready and able to help).

At some point in our chat the discussion turned to the seemingly random nature of women's clothing sizes, and the frustration that goes with such an irrational system. Almost every woman I know has felt exasperated at least one occasion - when she visits ten different stores in one day of mall shopping and finds herself to be ten different sizes, depending on the store. Vintage shopping can be even more difficult, especially if you've convinced yourself that you're a certain numerical size, and are unwilling to deviate from that perception. Not only are sizes today wildly different from one shop or brand to the next, modern sizes have changed a lot since the 1950's and 60's - making it even more important to try everything on, regardless of the number on the tag.

In Burcu's opinion (with which I agree), it's high time that women's clothes were measured in the same way as menswear - in inches, from neck to waist to ankle. Speaking of neck to waist, while I was there Burcu gave me a great tip for quickly finding out whether or not a pair of pants or a skirt will fit you (if you're too lazy or rushed to try them on): the circumference of your neck is half the size of your waist. If you wrap the waistband of a pair of pants around your neck and the sides touch at the back, chances are they will fit you perfectly at the waist.

The clothes and accessories that you'll find on the racks at Burcu's Angels are sourced in a variety of ways. She's organized her shop to become a true community project in sustainable fashion. Burcu's trading system encourages her customers to bring in whatever clothing is languishing in the back of their closets and trade it in for one of the many other items (tags marked with a "BA") that have been traded in previously. In her words, "Everything traded is tradeable" - she encourages her customers to stop thinking of shopping as consumption and exchanging currency and start thinking about recycling, cleaning your house and passing on your unwanted vintage treasures to someone who'll get more use out of them. If by chance your contributions don't quite fit into her concept, they'll go into the free box in front of the store - another innovative idea that provides free clothing and accessories for anyone passing by.

Most of the clothing in the shop is hand-picked by Burcu herself from a warehouse in the suburbs, a common practice among vintage shops in Vancouver. A self-professed "addict", she always keeps her eyes open for great finds in her day-to-day travels around Vancouver and beyond. If by chance Burcu doesn't have something you're looking for, she'll refer you to one of the other great boutiqes in SoMa. During my interviews for the "Women on South Main" series, this informal referral system seemed to be a common practice with almost all of the business owners in the neighborhood, and it really builds a sense of community where I'd expected to find competition.

Burcu's reccomendations for shopping in Mount Pleasant were: visit Hotbox Accessories to find sassy belts to finish off a great outfit, and farther south on Main, Barefoot Contessa "for when you want to treat yourself to that one saucy girly thing". I've been to the Contessa's shop, and it's definitely a place to spurge on a pretty girly party dress or a flirty top. The diversity of boutique concepts in the area makes for an amazing shopping experience, no matter what you're looking for.

While she maintains that every vintage shop in Vancouver provides a different flavor and point of view on vintage fashion, she advises shoppers to avoid the vintage shops in downtown Vancouver, which have in her opinion become touristy, stocking garments and accessories that are of good design but bad quality. Smaller businesses, she says, are the way to go. One of her favorite vintage shops is Little Miss Vintage (Commercial Drive at Venables), a newly opened boutique whose owner has done wonders with her tiny storefront, providing a very tightly edited collection of amazing finds. I have yet to chek it out, but visiting Little Miss Vintage is definitely on my to do list.

There is one big change in store for Burcu's Angels in the upcoming year - Burcu is planning on moving to Halifax, leaving her shop in the capable hands of her Angels. She doesn't want to be in Vancouver during the Olympics, and trusts her staff to continue in her footsteps with the core aspects of her concept - the free box and the trading system, the tables and chairs at the front of the store, and the color, texture, fun and magic that makes Burcu's Angels so very special.

EDIT: Photo courtesy of Sabocracy's flickr site

Burcu's Angels
2535 Main St
Vancouver BC
604.874.9773