Farewell Rowena, Hello dudesanddarlins!

Wait a minute... farewell who? And we already know who dudesanddarlins is! If you have been with us for a while you may know that dudesanddarlins is the website/online store for Rowena, a brick and mortar store located in the stunningly unique shopping district of Whyte Avenue located in Edmonton, Canada.

Kathleen Rowena Cameron dressed up in her grandfathers military garb

Rowena's first business papers were signed in 1998 and by summer of 1999 it was in full swing at its Whyte Ave location. Named for the owners grandmother, Rowena has been a staple to the Edmonton alternative community for years and a pioneer in the Canadian pinup scene being the first to bring many brands to Canada such as Collectif, Hell Bunny (operating then under the label Misery), Liquor Brand, Pinup Girl Clothing, and Trashy Diva. Rowena would participate in community events like car shows, tattoo shows, and rockabilly/psychobilly shows with friends and family (when you have a small staff like we do, it really is family), as well as work creating a safe welcoming environment at our shop that would lead to many viewing it as a home away from home.

In 2012 we launched our website Retroglam.com to bring our fashion and wares to a world wide audience which has lead us to meeting (digitally and in person!) amazing people from all over the world. 

This past year has been an incredibly hard year for everyone - how could it not be with the COVID-19 pandemic effecting everyone across the globe? Like many, decisions have had to be made and with our lease coming up, as well as uncertainty for the future, the hard decision to close Rowena was made. dudesanddarlins is here to stay, rest assured, but Rowena as we knew it came to an end Dec 28,2020.

* Have a gift card to use? Fantastic! Online ones obviously will not be effected at all by the closure of Rowena but the ones in store will be since they cannot be used online. We will have a record of all gift cards and their details to cross reference with if you are unable to come in and use your card before the 28th - just send us an email with a picture of the back of gift card with all numbers clear.

We are incredibly saddened, but also excited, over this change. Rowena has been a part of so many peoples lives, and we have truly loved the friendships we have created and fostered with the amazing people who have walked through our doors. 

Thank you all for your support for years, thank you for your continued support as we shift gears, thank you for sticking with us as we move to a completely online format. We're still supporting our local peeps with a flat rate shipping of $10 and we can do a pickup in Garneau with notice...just use code pickup in the code box so it won't charge shipping.

With love from the staff at Rowena/dudesanddarlins
XXX