Tenth & Proper Boutique
4483 West 10th Ave. V6R 2H8 Vancouver, BC, Canada

Welcome to Spring @ Tenth & Proper! Marion Fudge loves fashion and the way beautiful designs make her feel. It’s one of the reasons why she pursued a career ...in fashion when she started out at a London fashion house many years ago, and what inspires her now at Tenth & Proper. I’ve been a size 14 or 16 since I hit puberty, Marion tells us, making me an outlier in the fashion world just being the size I am, which is actually a perfectly average size. This should never be a barrier to women finding beautiful clothes to wear that make them feel the way she does when she gets dressed every day, she adds. This is a message she has spread throughout her career, and the inspiration that has driven Tenth & Proper for many years. Looking through the window at Tenth & Proper, it’s clear that something special is happening just behind the glass. I feel like a kid in a candy shop every time I walk in here, one of her customers told us as she browsed a rack of colourful tops. Most likely this is due to the careful consideration Marion takes when cultivating her collections far more an art than a science. Meeting her standards can be difficult for many designers, and on top of her aesthetic judgments she also does her homework to make certain Tenth & Proper’s offerings are ethical. To make it into her shop, clothing must be made with fair labour practices, offer transparency with regards to the ecological impacts of production, and be certified fair trade when possible, such as products featured by Marigold Collective. Her selections must always offer remarkable degrees of quality relative to the price to make their way into Tenth & Proper, garments must be nothing less than exceptional. Marion’s story on West 10th truly began in London in the late 1990s where she moved to reconnect with the home her parents had left behind when they emigrated to Canada in 1967. She worked in cosmetics early on and then professional makeup for film and television. When an opportunity to apprentice for the London fashion house Ghost arose, she threw herself into the position with relish. Ghost had two shopfront locations in London at the time as well as three concessions in some of the city’s famed department stores like Selfridges. She started managing their concession at Liberty, the department store Oscar Wilde once called the chosen resort of the artistic shopper. As manager at the location, Marion selected designs from Ghost’s collections that would be sold at the Liberty concession, giving her a true appreciation for the careful art of ‘buying.’ After years of growth in the role, Marion was promoted to manage Ghost’s flagship boutique in London’s West End. Returning to Canada in 2006, Marion’s skillset as a buyer was highly attuned to the art of curating beautiful designs for specific audiences. This foundational skillset served her well as she managed Miss Coquette on West 10th Avenue, moving on to Tenth & Proper where she worked and served as a buyer before she bought the business. Eventually, with nearly 20 years of experience, Marion briefly taught Fashion Buying at VCC finding the experience rewarding, though difficult to balance with running her own business at the same time. Marion bought Tenth & Proper in early 2009, purchasing the business from local entrepreneur Leanne Dunic who had first opened the store in late 2007 as a basics shop. As it turned out, 2008 wasn’t a great time for retailers across Canada, and when Dunic sought to sell the business, Marion believed she knew how to turn things around and seized the opportunity. Before Marion had even bought Tenth & Proper, she had begun considering how to buy stock to suit the customers she had come to know on the street. She began perusing collections from designers near and far, looking for ways to tweak her offerings to suit the tastes of West 10th Avenue. Young customers from UBC that had been catered to on West 10th for many years were no longer dominating the street as they may have in the past. Marion moved forward with the assumption that her youngest customers might be in their mid-thirties. The actual median age for her customers, she learned over time, was actually in their fifties or sixties. Since early 2009, Tenth & Proper has prospered under Marion’s careful watch, until the public health emergency that began last spring interrupted ‘business as usual’ for her and every business on the street. Although Marion managed to get some online sales going and credits federal assistance programs, being closed for 2 months last spring was really painful, she explains. She had to lay off her main staff and reduce her shop hours to 5 days a week in order to run the operation mostly herself, with the help of just one part-time assistant one day of the week. These cost-cutting measures have allowed her to reduce Tenth & Proper’s expenses significantly, enabling her to keep things going mostly by herself. If she can keep things operating like this, she expects a full recovery from the losses in a couple years. Marion is also the President of the Point Grey Village Business Association, where she takes to heart her duty to advocate for the small local businesses of West 10th. Not all businesses on West 10th Avenue have been able to adapt, she explains. There have been a few closures on the street directly attributable to public health restrictions. A few new businesses were in the process of opening for the first time last spring, she adds, that were entirely unable to cope and have long since had to close. Marion is grateful that people in the neighbourhood have been so supportive of Tenth & Proper through these tough times, and believes all businesses on the street have benefitted from their kind support. People have come together in Point Grey, realizing that if they don’t shop locally especially in a time like this, they may not have the convenience of local shops nearby to depend on in the future, she adds. Exceptional local support through this time has made a significant contribution to the future of our community. New spring & summer stock has been arriving at Tenth & Proper for many weeks now, with even more exciting finds still to come! Stop by for a look! #pointgreyvillage

Mother’s Day is approaching! Treat dear Mum, yourself, or another special woman in your life with a beautiful scarf to enjoy with this lovely spring weather! Saturday, May 2nd to Saturday, May 9th, we’re offering 20% off all Marigold Collective scarf styles for pickup!... We are only able to offer this discount through our physical store location, so we suggest perusing the online shop as a gallery and then getting in touch with Marion directly to let her know what you’re interested in. View all Marigold Collective items here: https://tenthandproper.shop/collectio//marigold-collective Available pickup times this week for scarves or anything else you might like are as follows: Saturday, May 2nd: 11-4 Monday, May 4th: 11-3 Wednesday, May 6th: 11-5 Friday, May 8th: 11-5 Saturday, May 9th: 11-4 Contact Marion with inquiries or orders at 604.222.1115 or by email at [email protected]!

tenthandproper.shop is live! From behind closed doors, Tenth & Proper is ready to offer all our valued customers next-level service in the safety of your own home! Shop online to have things shipped to you. Or use the shop as a viewing gallery before you contact Marion to arrange a pickup or local delivery to your doorstep! ... In-store personal consultations are available via video chat most days of the week! Thank you for your patience dear friends! Enjoy!

Our new online shop will go live by tomorrow evening! We appreciate your patience. We know many of you have been eager to see the new Tenth & Proper digital shopfront, and the waiting will soon be over! For now, you can preview some of our spring offerings right here on Facebook. ... See you soon at tenthandproper.shop!

Tenth & Proper in the Georgia Straight this week! https://www.straight.com//vancouver-fashion-boutiques-make

For the safety of customers and staff, we have closed our doors to the public and are coming up with new ways for you to shop with us! We're now offering virtual personal shopping appointments with pick up or delivery! Let us walk you through the shop on FaceTime/Skype/Zoom and help you choose some styles that may work for you! Send us a private message or call us for more info and to book an appointment. Also, keep an eye out for our upcoming new ... Facebook Marketplace online shop (coming soon!!) as another option to peruse and purchase our wares! See more

Come and check out our Spring collections!!

Valentine's Promo + Marion's Closet Sale!! Show your love to your mother, sister, daughter, friend.. Thursday, Feb. 6th - Friday, Feb. 14th we're offering 20% off all regularly priced Marigold Collective scarves!! ... Also, come and peruse some of Marion's pre-loved pieces!! She will also be joined by Denise Wilson from Bronsino Designs. Between these two closets there will be tons of fantastic deals on unique fashion pieces from years gone by.

Waterproof coat ! Taped seams and cute pattern. Made of 100% organic cotton

This jacket is perfect for a to go style or even work! made of organic cotton and wool.

Cozy cardigan with yellow flowers made of organic cotton and wool!

Long sleeve navy blue blouse made of organic cutting

Long sleeve stripe t shirt made of organic cotton and pretty leaf embroidery

Stylish red dress made of wool three quarter sleeve! You can get the perfect look with brown or black boots! perfect for fall season