New World Designs

I was on on the hunt for some blue hair dye and after trying to find a beauty supply store that was «somewhere along Hastings and Cambie but I’m not sure», I expanded my boundaries and came across New World Designs. I was tired (borderline hangry) and was hoping to get lucky — and I had. The wonderful sales associate was so knowledgeable (and had fine coloured hair herself!) and helped me choose two shades of blue that I absolutely love. Who would have guessed that they have Crazy Color hair colours?! Now that I’ve found what I needed, I may very well pop in there for some wants — they have a wonderful selection of clothes that I’d love to take a peek at!

Struggling to rate between a 2 and a 3 star
For the boutique itself — prob a 3.5 star rating– perhaps pushing a 4…
It’s bright and clean, there is ample stock.
The items were cool– corsets, wigs, shoes, hosiery, even some beauty products.
The prices however failed to excite me.
I did not feel the need to try anything or make a purchase.
Why the low rating? Well that is thanks to the surly salesgirl. We never were greeted at all. No hello, no nod, nothing except a glaring suspicious look as we checked out the shop.
Judging from the look of her, I am going to guess she may of been the owners daughter perhaps? (she did not have the alt./goth look that people working at shops like this have) she looked way out of place. I find people with this poor of customer service skills usually don’t last long unless they are related to owner.
But who knows –I could be wrong .
All I know is that with her attitude towards us I took my money to Deadly Couture where the products and service were 5 star !

You know those days where you want to embark in capitalism and end up spending your rent money on a cute dress? Okay, several cute dresses.
You walk home in shame, wondering just *how* degrading it would be to do the chicken dance on the street corner for money to make up for what you spent on some of the most fabulous clothes ever!
I may be stuck working entry level jobs and eating dried ramen for the next quarter century, but I’ll look damn fine doing it!

I have been going to this place off and on for years. This place used to carry the most awesome array of clothes at high unique quality. They still do, however, something went missing along the years. It is still a cool store. The staff are friendly, prices are fair and there is always at least something of interest for me to ponder.

Both times i’ve barreled into New World, I have not left disappointed. And when I say barrel, I mean BARRELED in at a run, spilling coffee, winded and epically panicking about a needed outfit for a time sensitive event. The first time was last Valentines day where while planning an event at the venue I was managing, I happened to overlook having ANYTHING to wear to said event. The clock was ticking — I had an hour to grab something cute to wiggle into and make it back. Plus, I think I deposited myself on their doorstop a mere 15 minutes before their closing time.
The lady who helped me out (I wish I knew her name) was just excellent. Right off the bat she assured me that she’d be happy to stay open a few minutes longer if it meant I left a happy camper so from the get go, the service side of things was just dandy.
She was super helpful, pulling different dresses out for me to try and offering the very rare HONEST opinion on everything I tried on. If I looked pooky in a dress, and KNEW I looked pooky she didn’t try and sell me on it anyhow. She was very upfront in saying that it wasn’t the most flattering and was quick to suggest something new. Eventually I found one of my favourite pieces in my little red Stop Staring wiggle dress and rocked the saucy hostess job an hour later.
Speaking of Stop Staring — this place carries the best selection i’ve seen in the city. If you’re not familiar with the line, it’s spins on classic vintage styles and they have magical fabric that makes my boyish figure look like I have curves galore. It is hands down my choice for any dress when I think I need a little more vavavoom in my evening.
The second visit landed on the day I was leaving for the Burlesque Hall of Fame festival in Vegas and with a few hours to spare before I was airport bound, I was attempting to quite literally buy my ENTIRE Vegas wardrobe in one trip. As a newbie to BHOF, I knew that I was descending on a festival of the best of the BEST outfits and needed something in my arsenal to at least pretend I was pulling my fashion weight. Again — super helpful staff and I left with two new Staring dresses and a cute little bathsuit to doll up poolside. In a painless hour, I left with enough goodies to hold my own.
The prices are reasonable. This isn’t H&M so don’t go in expecting $ 30 dresses — for some of the brands you’re going to drop in the $ 150 range but they are unique and if you ask me, worth it. You can’t beat slipping into something you truly feel fabulous in! The only thing that irks me slightly about this place is the items on the website don’t always correlate to what they are carrying in the store so when you fall in love with a vintage inspired girdle, you may not be able to take it home.
But all in all, for the vintage lovin gals in the city — this place is a staple for a last minute sauce-​fest.

I’m a huge fan of Heidi’s little gem of a store. I walked by every day for a year after moving into the neighbourhood, and thought it wasn’t for me — the coffin-​shaped sign outside and some of the freakier PVC outfits in the window display suggested that the store catered exclusively to the fetish/​goth crowd. I don’t even remember what made me walk into the store last summer, but I did, and I just love it.
The store does carry corsets, rockabilly wear, burlesque costumes and the like, but there are also a number of retro-​style labels that I absolutely love to wear, such as Stop Staring! and PinUp Girl Couture. And bless her heart, Heidi carries a few racks of plus-​sizes for curvy girls like me, and that’s how she won me over! I’ve bought a number of beautiful dresses there that people compliment me on constantly. Heidi always wants my feedback on the labels she carries, and on the fit of items, and has altered things for me where a seam just sat in the wrong place, or where a hem needed a little turning up. I’ve also found bathing suits to fit my Size 16 – 18 body that make me feel sexy rather than matronly, and cheap sunglasses and accessories that have held up from season to season.
A great little store and not just for those with extreme tastes. For plus-​size shoppers like me who don’t want to look like we’re middle-​aged, the inclusive size ranges make this the first place I go when I need a new hot dress or fabulous outfit for a night on the town.

Great store and the lady who was working yesterday was awesome! Super helpful and friendly and helped me find my sizes and I tried on a variety of random things and ended up with an awesome military ish skirt and a badass black lacey skull tank top that is custom made by a designer in san fran. Overall a great end to my shopping day! I told myself no more but I couldnt resist stopping in here and the stuff is so rad. Also always has a little bit of sales going on on a rack in the back. Comforable to shop in this store as the size and layout are nice and bigger than most stores like this in van.

I’ve been here many times but last weekend the owner Heidi (at least I think she’s the owner) was working. What a lovely woman!
We were getting fun contacts before the Zombie Walk and she was so helpful in deciding which would have the most impact and how to care for them. They always have great sale racks that are worth checking for something fun. They have a really cute line of polka dotted dresses in right now that I’m totally covetting. They also have cool guy stuff if you’re in the market for plaid pants or maybe a kilt.

I was hoping to see something new and fresh when i came to New World. It’s your basic rockabilly, wanna be goth shop.
Full of the same corsets sold all over vancouver, retro dresses, Iron Fist shoes, etc.
They have a very small mens section too.
I will say that they have some great artwork for sale though.
The sales gal was kind of unfriendly/​unchatty and I felt like she was stalking me around the store to make sure I didn’t steal :(

This is my new favourite place for dresses! I usually have a hard time finding any dresses I like, and when I finished shopping at New World Designs I had to make a really tough choice and choose between 4 different styles (never mind colours!) of dresses I loved! And I didn’t even get round to the shoes, skirts, and separates… Next time

I have to admit, I often head into New World for inspiration more than shopping. They have a great selection of alternative fashions, goth, pinup etc and they’re always adding and changing what they’ve got in.
Dresses, shoes, corsets, cinchers, sweaters etc they have a really good selection for pretty much anything from casual to a night out.
They also have a decent selection of mens clothing which is nice.

The shoes! Pencil skirts. great prices on corsets. Lip service clothing and custom made as well.
I love the fact that the do there own designs here and make there own clothing at this place. For me that is aces in my book.
Being a huge fan of the rockabilly, retro look this place so rocks

I love going into New World! Hot Topic has nothing on this place! When I went in to buy a corset the girl working their was extremely helpful and actually knew what she was talking about!

We don’t need Hot Topic, we’ve got New World Design — ultimately classier and more grown up than our Down South Gothlette cousin. Filled from floor to ceiling with amazing finds from both well-​known brand names in the alterna-​wear industry, and in-​house designs. There’s even a great selection of clothes for men and boys. They are trans-​friendly as well, since their men’s selection fits my very skinny trans friend!!!
This is the place to go shop if you’re looking for something new for Sin City, or even if you want to get a sexy high-​waisted skirt to strut your stuff in. It’s also a great destination if your drab wardrobe needs a little pick-​me-​up of the punk variety to let that little ROCKR kitten inside of you out!

I am a big fan of this store because it always has the latest styles in alternative clothing. They carry a lot of big brands like Tripp, Lip Service, and Stop Staring. You can get anything from goth to punk or pinup, they also have a selection of funky heels, and they just started carrying Bordello shoes, so I am a fan! They carry girls and guys stuff in all sizes, and the staff will take the time to help zip you up, or lace your corset for you if you need it.

Given the current economic crisis these days, you’d think that customer service would rank high on the priority list of a business owner. At New World «Gothic» Clothing Retail Store located on Cordova Street in Gastown, Vancouver, B.C. I encountered the most unfriendly, rude business owner (not sales person). She was extremely resistant to accepting an exchange, and refused to offer a refund or return for item she personally sold me. Three days prior to my attempted return, the owner of New World brought me a selection of ‘funky’ jackets that I really liked. However, when I got home, I noticed «skull design’ on each of the twenty buttons on one of the two I purchased. I was shocked to discover this as my friend and I made it clear to the owner that we didn’t want anything with ‘skulls or cross bones’. I naturally decided it wouldn’t be a problem to return it given that the owner was made aware. in advance, of my preferences and definite «no no’s’. The lighting was so poor in the store that neither my friend or I could see the skull design on the buttons. I also couldn’t see any signs, nor was I made aware that the policy at New World Clothing was «No return, No Refund’. When we came in and made her aware of her ‘mistake’ in selling me something that she was warned wouldn’t work for me, she immediately went on the defensive and had the audacity to say she didn’t like out ‘attitude’ and chose to say she wasn’t prepared to help us at all. She even threatened to call in Security because she felt we had a ‘bad attitude’. We begged her to let us at least exchange the jacket and she repeatedly told us she didn’t like our attitude. (I sensed she wanted to make an excuse for not serving us properly or in a professional manner so she opted for the ‘blame game’ approach to resolution. She refused to accept my return and suggested I go and purchase buttons and she would replace them on the jacket. I told her I didn’t want to do that, so she immediately snapped back and accused me of not liking the jacket (I simply didn’t resonate with this owner’s rudeness.) We spent over 45 minutes trying to figure out what to exchange for the bad purchase whilst the store owner disappeared to the back of the store completely ignoring us. The challenge was finding some article of clothing that would actually fit as the large sizes fit a small body shape. By the way, the only «No Exchange, No Refund» sign was in the change room where we never entered at all during the evening of our unforgettable shopping experience. In fact, at the time of purchase,
she didn’t even mention this to us either. I finally settled for a jacket of equal value that had no ‘skull’ design for an exchange we had to beg for. Upon leaving New World I politely suggested she display a sign near the cash register so customers are fully aware of their store policies. Once again she went on the defensive and got the final word in to say «we used to have one there, but no one has ever returned anything in over 23 years». Sounds like the perfect place to avoid if you’re looking for customer service! New World has an on-​line store, so my advice is to shop elsewhere if you’re looking for customer service if a purchase goes wrong. After leaving New World we discovered other shops in the same vicinity offering similar products, better selection and much better customer service. Dissatisfied Customer

I came across New World after shopping down the street at Dressew. If you like goth, punk, rockabilly or new «vintage» styles and want to find some cool gear to wear, this is the place. This shop goes above and beyond anything you would find at a mall or Hot Topic. It is really comparable to shops that I have shopped at in NY and LA The owner is a designer and sells her designs, as well as Stop Staring!, Lip Service and Iron Fist, among many other brands.
I forget her name, but the owner of the shop can also make custom skirts and other clothing. The clothing she makes is incredibly flattering, whether you are a toothpick or curvy gal! I really regret not buying one of the pencil skirts that she had designed, she doesn’t sell online ;{
New World carries all kinds of apparel as well as shoes, corsets, hosiery and jewelry. I got the most AMAZING Zombie high heels at New World, people stop me on the street to ask about my shoes. I wish the store was in San Francisco, but I am happy that it’s there when I visit.

Have you ever been to one of those weddings where the bride dresses in one of those gothic-​style gowns made of velvet and silk, with lacing in the front? Chances are good she had it made by New World Designs, one of Vancouver’s finest sources of goth and punk gear for boys and girls.
This Gastown shop has for years been a purveyor of cool plaid pants and miniskirts, studded belts, and cool T-​shirts. They dress many Vancouver bands, I believe, but they also outfit those of us who like to add a little spice to our wardrobes with a funky tee or some cool heels. You know those Hello Kitty T-​shirts that show Kitty as a goth chick? This is where you get ‘em.