Vancouver Fashion eZine - Online Magazine

Shopping in Vancouver's historic Gastown district is boutique shopping at it's finest. But, there's something that sets apart the cleverly titled (212) from the rest of the area's boutiques. With the area code for New York City as its name, (212) is full of wearable, affordable luxury - a very rare find in those parts. It's black roof and antique wooden furniture paired with simple minimalist decor give the store, which just recently celebrated its two-year anniversary, a very metropolitan touch.

Photography - Fiona Garden for Nobasura - www.nobasura.com
Styling - Toyo Tsuchiya for Judy Inc. - www.judyinc.com
Model - Darya K. for Liz Bell Agency - www.lizbellagency.com

"One thing that sets us apart is that we do our own women's label and it makes up the majority of the store. We have a few other little lines that we carry, but it's predominantly (212)," said co-owner Scott Walhovd. Its racks are filled with dozens of one-of-a-kind designs. "It's all very unique," added Walhovd. "You're not going to find it anywhere else." Until this fall at least. After working seven days a week for two years, Walhovd and his partner Anthony Castro's hard work paid off as their fall line will be found in a few other West Coast stores, including Victoria's "Persuasion." It will also be found in large-scale American Department store, Bloomingdales. "It's all very exciting and it's all happened in the last two years."

Twenty-two-year-old Walhovd, broke into the fashion industry seven years ago when he began modeling for Liz Bell. "Modeling is what made me fall into fashion design," said Walhovd. "I had an interest in fashion and design but realized modeling wasn't really my thing." After his fifth year of modeling, Walhovd knew that he needed to do something else. "It was a time in my life where I wanted to get out of what I was doing and into something more solid, so we opened up the store." He never went to design school yet is designing the store's in house line, (212) after learning through an internship with Castro. "Basically [Castro] has taught me everything that I know."

"We want a mom to be able to come in here with her daughter where they can both shop," said Walhovd. "We offer a higher end type of clothing, with great fabrics and fabrication at a price that a lot of people can't understand" and all the merchandise in the store is under $250. The (212) line can be described as contemporary, sophisticated and comfortable, geared towards an 18-40 year-old metropolitan woman. Their signature all-in-one dress ($185) made of a high-waisted denim or satin bottom and cotton with an open back and cute collared neckline comes in a few colors and is a definite must have for any fashionista in this city. Their light, and dark denim high-waisted button front skirt ($149) also stands out with large bold buttons contrasting on the denim and a bow at the top. Ruffled tanks and dresses ($139), a simple yet elegant beige satin dress ($65), a silk dress with an exposed zipper ($239) a small variety of regular and high-waisted shorts and jeans, all make up what is (212).

Some of the other carefully chosen men's and women's international labels that they carry in the store are BB Dakota from America and Mink Pink from Australia. "We've really thinned out the other brands as we fill the store up with our own designs, but it's all really cool international stuff that we do bring in."

In this very comfort-driven city where women like to go from work dressed to the nines, then out for a casual drink, (212) is a one-stop shop. Visit www.twoonetwo.net for info, news and a gallery and stop in at 454 West Cordova and check them out.