Catherine Osborne wrote an interesting paragraph for her article “Bien chien” in the magazine Design Lines Toronto. “Starbucks used to be the sign a neighbourhood was on a gentrification upswing. But now, it’s your local dog boutique. They’re everywhere - spas that offer organic shampoos, daycare centres with webcam feeds, bakeries that sell handmade biscuits with restaurant-grade ingredients.”
I’m featuring this because it’s so true. In the city I previously lived in, a coffee shop, whether Starbucks or one that was similar, meant gentrification and recently, I’ve seen an in flux of dog boutiques all over areas undergoing gentrification in the city. Same goes for Toronto of course!
I guess we can all thank Yuppies for this - they started it all in New York City. But nowadays, Hipsters are the new Yuppies, because like Jay McInerney said in his article Yuppies in Eden, Hipsters are contributing to gentrification in New York City in the 21st century just like the Yuppies did during the previous century.
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November 14, 2008 at 6:56 pm
In Düsseldorf -Germany- the luxuous Puppies shop landed in the street I take every saturday to go to the library.
All in pink and creme decoration I first thought it was a lady beauty shop. Watching the cakes and biscuits behind the surgery clean window i believed it was a patisserie for diabetics. Schocking to see such sweet waitress kindly explaining the cooking process of each delicacy to customers full of time and attention.
Next shock was to understand a few month later that young business looking like men would come there to buy a present for their fiancée (i mean the fiancée’s dog).
High End dogs shops teaches us some lesson about our societies:: we are all equal the dogs even more.
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