The Sister Act Bringing Main-Street Cool to the Masses

Vincent Park is where next season is at

Cara Stryer has a confession to make. “We didn’t really know what we were doing in the beginning,” she says. “We just bought things we liked—now we’re a lot more refined.” The 32-year-old Stryer is one half of the duo behind Vincent Park, a store that has moved past those early growing pains to become a Main Street staple. That sense of refinement, meanwhile, is reflected in the 1,000-sq.-ft. space that Stryer and her sister Lauren Kurc, who is also a professional photographer, have called home since 2008.When it comes to what stock they carry, Stryer says they’ve learned to find a balance between staying loyal to brands that their customers love while also maintaining a rotating inventory that keeps them coming back for more. “People here aren’t trend driven right away,” she says, “so we have to find a balance between what people want and where style is heading.”They haven’t always gotten it right, mind you. The brown linen overalls from Free People that they brought in back at the beginning, for example, turned out to be five years ahead of the dungaree trend. But they’ve learned from that experience, Stryer says, and a lot of that has to do with—you guessed it—the Internet. “Social media is changing the way stores like ours operate. We found this great Australian watch brand called The Horse on Instagram. Now we are one of only two retailers in Vancouver.”Their overarching goal, Stryer says, is to connect people with their city, be it through local designers or working together with other Vancouver boutiques. “We love where we live and we want to show everyone how great it is. It’s as simple as that.”

Our picks from Vincent Park:

Fenntessa bottoms, $60, and top, $50 Army of Rockosz The Nights Magic Ring, $320