I haven’t always liked shopping. I’ve no idea what changed, or when it changed, but there you have it. Much to surprise of my friends and family (and the terror of my husband), I have become a shopper. To be totally upfront, it’s more “window shopping” than actual shopping, like cruising the bar rather than committing to one guy. Not because I’m afraid of commitment – I just can’t afford it. So I develop clothing-crushes.

On a recent wander down Main Street a few things caught my eye:

Narcissist

Dresses at Narcissist are not cheap – but they are sexy and comfortable and (this is where I try to justify my purchase) they are versatile. By versatile I don’t mean you can dress them up with a pair of heels and down with flats (which, of course, you can). These dresses can actually be worn in several different ways – creating several different dresses.

My favourite for fall is the Pamela dress in teal ($194). It can be modified into at least seven different styles. $194 isn’t cheap but by my reckoning it’s only 27.70 per dress. See?

Smoking Lily

I first fell for Smoking Lily years back while living in Victoria. The funky clothing line occupies possibly the world’s smallest store front (a tiny closet-like space on lower Johnson Street). The Main Street store here in Vancouver is much more spacious, and every bit as cool. Every season, in addition to the one or two t-shirts I pick up, I try to add a cute Smoking Lily skirt or jacket to my wardrobe. The screen printed designs are quirky and playful and bring a little bit of balance to my sometimes conservative style (I am a librarian after all). This season I hope to buy the D.C. skirt (the one with the fish appliqué is my fave). Price tag: $112

Eugene Choo

I try to buy local when I can, but the beautiful red Sessun coat (imported from France) at Eugene Choo is pretty hard to resist. Eugene Choo carries several local designers, so I’d rationalise it thusly: by supporting proprietor Kildare Curtis I’d be supporting someone who sells local product. In a round-about way, I’m still supporting local designers, right? Not to worry, though, as there’s not a chance I could possibly afford it ($325).

But man, is it ever lovely…