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Golden Age
If you're missing your regular dose of Emily the Strange or you just want to blow your vacation budget on a highly detailed life-size model of Ultra Man, head straight to this Aladdin's cave of the comic book world. While the clientele is unsurprisingly dominated by spotty males of a certain age, the staff are friendly and welcoming - especially to wide-eyed kids buying their first Archie .
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Goon Pack
This fantastically eclectic gallery and clothing store offers regular art shows where you can meet the local hipsters. It also showcases some of the city's best, under-the-radar designers on its racks. Look out for duds by Evolt and Paper Bird and check out the unique hoodies and graphic T-shirts that will make everyone back home eternally jealous.
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Gravity Pope
This temple of great footwear is a dangerous place to come if you have a shoe fetish - best not to bring more than one credit card. Quality and fashion are the keys here and you can expect to slip into runners, boots and shoes by virtually every leading label and designer from Hugo Boss to Etnies to Stella McCartney. The sales are also great here. If you have any money left, head next door to its new branded clothing store.
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Heavens Playground
Nestled in a new ministrip of urban fashion boutiques including Puma, Adidas and American Apparel, this is the first North American outlet for this ultra-cool Dutch chain that kits out people who want to look hip without looking like they're trying. The hot item here is the Gsus and the Seven Deadly Sins T-shirt.
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Henry Birks & Sons
A Vancouver institution since 1879 - hence the landmark free-standing clock outside - Birks crafts exquisite heirloom jewelry and its signature line of timepieces. It's an upscale place, similar to Tiffany's in the USA, and ideal for picking up that special something in a classy, blue embossed box for a deserving someone back home.
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Highend Organics
Carrying tons of hemp, recycled and organic fiber clothing, this counterculture favorite is also one of the only places in the city to buy the sought-after Blackspot sneakers produced by Adbusters magazine. Alongside the hoodies, Ts and pants, there's a head-spinning array of bongs, which should please the customs officers when they find one in your suitcase.
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Hill's Native Art
Launched in 1946 as a small trading post on Vancouver Island, Hill's flagship store has many First Nations carvings, prints, ceremonial masks and cozy Cowichan sweaters, and traditional music and books of historical interest. Artists are often found at work in the 3rd-floor gallery.
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Holt Renfrew
Not far from the Bay and Sears, Canada's ubiquitous chain department stores, Holt's is where it's really at for designer shopping. You'll need a healthy credit card limit to swan through the sumptuously loungey departments, but you can expect to run into old friends such as Armani, Gucci and Tiffany. The end-of-season sales here are awesome and hotly anticipated by the locals.
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Hope Unlimited
Hope Unlimited selects its giftware stock - beaded jewelry, candles, paper and more - based not only on its appeal, but also on its social and environmental impact. More than 75% of items are Canadian-made. The store donates 10% of its annual profits to charities, such as the YWCA, Children International and AIDS Vancouver.
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Ht Naturals
Specializing in sustainable clothing that's affordable rather than priced for the rich, men's and women's T-shirts, hoodies, pants and tops (expect to pay from around C$20 to C$60 ) of the classic, everyday variety are sold here. Items are often made from soy, hemp or organic cotton blended with bamboo. The hot item is the Beunostyle ladies' underwear range printed with the phrase 'Eat Organic.'
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Hunt & Gather
A crisp white interior showcases the in-house-designed handmade clothing, bags and accessories here as if they are artworks. Some of them are, including a clutch of elegant classics that will likely become mainstays of your wardrobe for years. Making waves across North America, despite its humble size and location.
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International Travel
For maps, atlases, globes and guides covering nearly every region of the world, drop by this travel-lovers' favorite. It publishes 200 titles of its own and distributes 23,000 titles by other manufacturers. Ask the staff any geographic question from Andorra to Zambia, and they'll be able to find the map to answer it.
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John Fluevog
While some of the footwear here looks like Doc Martens on acid or as though it could poke your eye out from 20 paces, many of Fluevog's funky shoes also have a reduced 'green footprint.' Check out the synthetic vegetarian shoes and the completely biodegradable 'Earth Angels' range.
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Kalena's
True to East Van's Italian heritage, Kalena's imports handsome leather shoes and boots from the old country. Men's and women's styles can be had for reasonable prices and there's also a big area devoted to sale items. This is the kind of place you'll pick up a pair of brogues that'll last you forever.
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Kids Market
A nightmare if you happen to stroll in by mistake, this two-story mini shopping mall for under-10s is bristling with kid-friendly stores, mostly of the toy variety. If your child's interests extend beyond Lego and Barbie, there are also retailers specializing in clothing, candy, magic tricks and arts and crafts.
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Kidsbooks
If you're wondering what your sprogs can read now that the Harry Potter series is over, bring them here. Like a theme park for bookish kids, this fantastic child-friendly store - Canada's biggest kids' bookshop - has thousands of novels, picture books, history titles and anything else you can think of to keep them quiet. There are also regular readings by visiting authors and a selection of quality toys and games.
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Legends Retro Fashion
Nestled among antique shops, racks of elegant clothes from decades past are sold along with one-of-a-kind hats and rhinestone jewelry here. Legends has been around for 20-plus years and has earned its reputation for having merchandise in excellent condition.
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Little Sister's Book & Art Emporium
One of the only queer bookshops in western Canada, Little Sister's has a vast bazaar of queer-positive volumes, plus magazines, DVDs and gifts. Proceeds of designated books support the store's long-running legal battle against Canada Customs for its seizures of imported items. Good place to network with the local gay community.
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Lola Home & Apparel
A browser's delight, this pink-hued little nook is a smorgasbord of tea sets, Victorian soap leaves and silk dresses. Resembling a boutique from the Victorian era, it showcases modern-day designers who have incorporated antique and vintage aesthetics into their contemporary clothing lines.
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Lululemon Athletica
A homegrown local store that's reached far beyond its origins (hence the Tokyo branches), Lululemon kick-started the trend for stretchy yoga togs worn by fashionistas who don't actually do yoga that much. Men and women are catered for here; along with the cute pants and tops, the current hot item is the branded tote bag.
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Lush
You'll likely smell this body, bath and beauty store where packaging is generally frowned upon from several meters away. You can stock up here on all its special products - including 'sex bomb' bath ballistics or 'black magic' massage bars - or just peruse the teetering stacks of soap piled up like blocks of cheese. It might look tasty, but try not to eat anything.
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Magpie Magazine Gallery
Regularly voted among Vancouver's best magazine stores, Magpie's 2000 titles certainly represent the city's largest and most varied selection. Prepare for a squeeze while perusing the narrow aisles, and make sure you hit the back of the store where a small selection of discount art, philosophy and fiction books waits to lure you further.
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Meinhardt Fine Foods
There's a handy take-out service next door to this South Granville cuisine-lovers' paradise - the equivalent of a sex shop for fine food fans. Check out the narrow aisles of international condiments, then start building your ideal picnic from the impressive bread, cheese and cold cuts selection.
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Mina No Konbiniya
This is the kind of colorful, chaotic, even tacky store frequently seen in Tokyo's clamorous suburbs. The best place in town for Pocky chocolate sticks, senbei (rice crackers), take-out bento boxes and Melty Kiss candies - hence the homesick language students shuffling around the aisles - you can even indulge in the Japanese staple of hot, sweet canned coffee here.
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Mink Chocolates
If chocolate is a food group in your book (and why shouldn't it be?), follow your candy-primed nose to this decadent designer choccy shop in the downtown core. Select a handful of souvenir bonbons - little edible artworks embossed with prints of trees and coffee cups - then hit the drinks bar like a grizzled alcoholic for the best velvety hot choc you've ever tasted.
