The name LYNNsteven may not ring a bell. But “that cool little clothing boutique in Gastown with the cylindrical change room made out of stacked books” might. When it’s phrased that way, people usually respond with “Oh yeah, that place.” On the one hand, that recognition is a blessing—it means the funky lifestyle store is on people’s radar. But as owner Nicole Dennis Durnin explains, sometimes the attention-grabbing centrepiece is one of those “careful what you wish for” type of things.

“When we decided to open the store, I could have easily thrown up rolling racks and called it a day,” says Durnin, who recently gave the Straight a tour of her Gastown gem at 225 Carrall Street. “But I knew I wanted something different.”

With that in mind, she looked to a neighbouring business at the time, Obakki, for inspiration and wound up bringing architect Michael Green onboard to design the store. She still recalls her initial reaction to his book-tower concept, which has gone on to win several local and international design awards.

So has it grown on her?

“Michael knows I have a love/hate relationship with it,” she says, referring to the fact that it’s become somewhat of a tourist attraction, particularly in the summer.

“Everyone wants to talk about the book wall, which is great, but I’m like, ‘We also sell clothes.…look at our clothes too,’ ” she says good-naturedly. “But I mean, hey, it brings people in and that’s half the battle, right?”

Come next Thursday (April 18) between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m., however, she needn’t worry about fielding book-tower questions. That’s because she’s part of the Gastown Shop Hop, a successful, community-minded biannual event that’s all about cashing in on great fashion and beauty deals, supporting local businesses, and sipping Champagne. Sound fun? Well, it is.

“I love it,” says Durnin, who’s offering 20 percent off everything in her store during the four-hour shopping extravaganza. “It just brings everybody out. Everybody’s in a good mood, and—knock on wood—it’s always good weather.”

Right now, she’s got super-cute new arrivals, including L*Space by Monica Wise swimsuit separates. You can get a Caribbean-orange fringe-trimmed triangle top or a pink ombre tasselled bandeau (each $85) and match it with a basic bottom of your choice ($70 to $95). There’s also an adorable orange and violet meadow-print monokini ($175).

Another standout in the store is the sweet and sassy line of Partyskirts by SKOT apparel ($195 each). Designed in Vancouver, these full-volume silk minis come in a variety of fresh colours and prints, including a très mignon pastel Aztec pattern that’s exclusive to LYNNsteven. Think you’re too old for these little numbers? They come in “lady length” ($245), and you can’t go wrong here, especially with the solid-black version.

In terms of makeup, the store carries the renowned Vancouver-based Ilia Beauty line. Here we have lipsticks, illuminators, and mascaras ($24 to $34) that are 85 percent organic. As well, there are hot spring nail polish colours from NCLA, including yellow, mint, and lilac ($18).

I could go on and on. There are just so many fun, flirty products to check out, it’s hard to believe that the book tower—as cool as it is—could possibly overshadow all these girlie-girl goodies.

Bonus: LYNNsteven is a huge supporter of indie Canadian designers.

“Initially, that wasn’t my total focus,” Durnin says. “But as you start running this kind of business, people contact you and you realize how many really great Canadian lines are out there.”

Hear, hear.