25 Sep

Vancouver Ranked World’s Third-Worst-Dressed City

A recent article by Canada MSN Travel ranked Vancouver the third worst-dressed city in the world. According to the article, only Maui (2) and Orlando (1) have worse-dressed residents. Vancouver even ranked worse than the Jersey Shore (10) – now that’s a low blow.

Vancouver may not be New York or Paris, but I hardly think we deserve the distinction of ranking among the world’s worst dressed. The author of the MSN article singled out the city’s obsession with yoga pants as the reason for its dismal ranking. But is Vancouver really defined just by lululemon?

I’d like to hear from you. Do you think Vancouver is the third-worst-dressed city in the world? Or are we we more than designer yoga pants?

Personally, I can list about two dozen cities off the top of my head that are far worse off in the fashion department than Vancouver. I’d go so far as to say that Vancouver may well be among North America’s more fashion-conscious capitals.

Yes, there is plenty of lululemon on the streets. But you only have to walk through Yaletown after dark to realize that there’s a lot more going on in the haute couture department (You might want to skip Granville Street, though, unless you think halter tops are high fashion).

In fact, I wonder whether the author of the MSN article ever visited Vancouver. I doubt it. My guess is she heard about lululemon and just stereotyped the whole city. In case you’re curious, here’s what she had to say:

“We blame you, Vancouver, birthplace of a certain, insanely popular yoga gear brand which will go unnamed, for spawning a street trend dreaded by all women with wobbly bits and fat deposits in the wrong places. Really, what gives with the whole wearing of bum hugging workout gear to every other place except the gym?”

And here’s the picture that illustrates the Vancouver section of the article: