Blogs

After two decades, Sandy Tessier is closing the doors of Seams Like Olde Times, her costume shop at 1501 South Pearl Street. Today, May 10, is her last day of business; she's selling off as much inventory as she can and will be back in the store next week just to box up what's left and donate it, primarily to Denver Public Schools for theater costumes.

But in the meantime, this costume party offers bargains galore!

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Today's weather is absolutely beautiful, but I can barely enjoy it since all I can think about is the sad state of my closet. I want flirty skirts and kitten heels in the freshest colors and styles for spring, yet my warm wool trousers and cashmere sweaters are still taking up prime real estate in my closet.

You better believe that after tomorrow's FRESH fashion market, I'll be singing a happier tune. Fashion Denver's FRESH Spring fashion market features over 25 local designers showing off their warm-weather clothing and, lucky us, also happens to be taking place the day before Mother's Day. You can check out the hot styles from noon to 7 p.m. Saturday, May 10 at The Oriental Theater, 4335 W. 44th Ave. Fashion shows will be at 3 and 6 p.m., with Denver musicians and DJs performing throughout the day. Admission is $5 at the door, and benefits Dress for Success Denver. For more information, visit www.fashiondenver.com.

So, before heading outside to soak up the spring weather, head inside to FRESH so you can really enjoy the season in style!

- Aubrey Shoe

If you love sexy pin-up photography, don't miss tonight's Naughty Mambo Pin-Up Party. In addition to in-the-flesh pin-up babes, the party will feature a fashion show, art, music, dance, comedy and more. For more information, click here.

Madonna called. She wants her boots back.

Lotus Entertainment’s marketing director, Paulina Szafranski, dropped by the office, channeling Madonna’s Vanity Fair cover (and maybe a little bit of Julia in Pretty Woman) in a pair of crazy-fierce, over-the-knee boots.

You want a pair?

Too bad.

They will, eventually, be available at Nine West, but not for a while. These particular boots are part of a limited edition collection, found exclusively in New York’s Nine West stores until this fall. Ms. Szafranski bought them hot off the runway from a fashion model friend of hers in NYC.

Sorry ladies. You’ll just have to wait.

Dress – Diane von Furstenberg

Bag – Marc Jacobs

Boots – So Not Everywhere Yet

- Steven J. Burge

It certainly doesn't have to cost you an arm and a leg to show Mom you care this Mother's Day -- although if you have the cash, you sure can score some beautiful, keepsake items. In case you haven't done your shopping yet, here are few fashionable ideas for Mom.

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If you want to know what Colorado and the west looks like, then head on over to the new Rockmount Ranch Wear and Liberty Boot exibit at the Denver Public Library's central branch. The display is a fashion-lovers paradise (if only we could buy all of the beautiful boots and western wear shirts!) and is part of the library's "Wild Wilde West" exhibit. The show is available for viewing from 1-5 p.m. Monday through Friday until May 30. Catch it before it's gone.

- Aubrey Shoe

Slide Show

Last week, Crocs announced that it was eliminating 27 jobs, or 4 percent of its Boulder area work force, as part of a company restructuring in the wake of disappointing sales.

Since the company could use some good news, here's a Crocs fan's response to the piece Alan Prendergast wrote about the biggest invention to ever come out of Niwot.

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Recycled fashion is hot these days. Just ask local designer, Trisha Hayworth -- who uses recycled vintage pieces in her clothing -- or any of the Colorado State University students participating in tonight's recycled fashion show.

Student designers were asked to incorporate scrap material leftover from the construction of CSU's new Computer Science building. The idea was conceived as a way to help recycle materials and support the university's plans to create a greener campus.

The fashion show, titled "Caution Couture: Where Green is the New Black" takes place at 6:30 p.m. tonight, May 2, at the Hilton Hotel, 425 W. Prospect Road in Fort Collins.

In addition to the couture show, students were asked to create a "dress for less" look using clothing from ARC and Goodwill thrift stores.

Tickets to the event are $4 for students and $6 for non-students and will be sold at the door starting at 6 p.m.

- Aubrey Shoe

When Japan’s traditional Tango-no-Sekku (otherwise known as Boys' Festival) falls each year on May 5, families hang out koi-nobori (carp banners) to symbolize longevity and perseverance, both desirable traits in sons. They also bring out the heirlooms – swords and elaborate, armored samurai dolls – and display them in their houses.

It’s quite possible that Boy’s Day will get a whole different approach, however, when Gimme Gimme Pillow Toast, Belmar’s premier Japanese kitsch emporium (here’s what we said about it in this year’s Best of Denver issue), hosts its own celebration, tonight, Friday May 2, from 6 to 9 p.m. Boy-specific items will be on sale, and the celebration will also benefit Youth in Action, a Japanese language and culture program for youth, as a fundraiser to send a group of kids to Japan for a month this summer (meet some of them tonight as they serve unique refreshments and graciously accept your donations). And, too, the party will extend up and down the Block 7 area at Belmar, where Flash Gallery/Working With Artists will debut a juried group photography show and Ink Lounge Gallery will host an opening reception for Lead Heads, the 18th Annual Colorado Alliance of Illustrators Members Show, which showcases local illustrators.

Gimme Gimme Pillow Toast is at 445 S. Saulsbury Street, Space E, in Belmar; go to www.gimmegimmepillowtoast.com, or call 303-872-7706.

- Susan Froyd

DIY fashionistas, rev up your bobbins: Wesco Fabrics, supplier to the design trade here and across the nation, is unloading a mind-boggling 25,000 yards of drapery and upholstery sample fabrics, all at a standard $3 per yard. There are jackets and handbags just waiting to be sewn from these classy fabrics, which originally sold for as much as $80 a yard, so grab the biggest shopping tote you can find and hurry over: The sale is on as we speak, today (Friday, May 2) until 4:30 p.m. and tomorrow (Saturday, May 3) from 8 to 1 at the Wesco warehouse, 4001 Forest Street. Visit www.wescofabrics.com for information.

- Susan Froyd

Though fall colors are normally laid to rest when spring has sprung, sometimes Mother Nature comes down with a touch of schizophrenia and makes it snow on May 1st. When this happens, one is faced with a dilemma: Stay warm and wear fall clothes and autumn hues for unexpected weather? Or throw caution to the unseasonable wind and freeze to death in a crocus-colored springtime frock?

Hmm. What to do… What to do…

Here’s a sassy little candid of our Sales Sweetheart, Rayann, making a mad dash for the front door in the more practical of the two ensemble options.
“This is cashmere! It’s bad enough I’m wearing brown on May Day! Does it have to snow on my brown cashmere on May Day?!”

Good question, Rayann. But a better question might be, “Where is your coat, dear?”

“It’s spring, Steve!” she snaps, giving a little snowflake-shunning shimmy when she’s safely inside. “I don’t need a coat. Now, go get me some hot chocolate. I’ll be in the bathroom blow-drying my hair under that hand-drier thingy. Brrr!!!”

Anything for you, love. And happy May Day.

Cashmere Blouse from Saks Fifth Avenue
Trousers from Nordstrom
Shoes from Charlotte Russe
Beads from Pandora’s Box

- Steven J. Burge

Hey all you fans of modern furniture -- while you still can't shop conveniently at an IKEA (sadly, the closest one to Denver is in Draper, Utah which is over 400 miles away) -- there are a few great sales going on right now on high-end modern designs.

Beginning tomorrow, May 2, One Home is having their annual sale on all of their Knoll Studio pieces. Everything in the collection -- which features famed designers Harry Bertoia, Warren Platner and Eero Saarinen -- is 10 percent off through Sunday, May 11. One Home, located at 2445 East Third Avenue, is open Monday through Friday 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. They will also be open on Sunday, May 11 from noon-4 p.m. For more information, visit www.onehomedesign.com.

Bova Furniture, 2121 S. Colorado Blvd, is in the midst of a going out of business sale, so you'll need to hurry to scoop up the bargains before they're all gone. A quick visit on Sunday revealed that most of their pieces are marked down 50 percent or more. The store, which features modern Scandinavian design, was founded in Copenhagen and opened in Denver in 1981. Their new, shortened sale hours are Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and Sunday noon-6 p.m. They currently aren't answering their phone, but you might try visiting www.bovafurniture.com for more information.

- Aubrey Shoe

Slide Show!

On Friday, April 18, Erico Motorsports, 2855 Walnut Street, hosted a night of fashion, shopping, music and free drinks -- four of my very favorite things. The event was packed with revelers enjoying margaritas, martinis and champagne cocktails made from St. Germain, a versatile French elderflower liqueur that works well mixed with vodka, tequila, champagne and wine, and even stands alone served straight-up with a twist.

The fashion show featured tons of Euro style with looks by Ducati, Vespa, Triumph and ReVit, and got off with a bang when a model climbed atop a motorcycle above the runway and revved away-- capturing the attention of everyone and eliciting concerns of potential carbon monoxide poisoning from a few. Once the fumes cleared away, though, it was all fabulous fashion.

Check out this slide show with photos by Jim Narcy for a play by play of the evening's festivities.

-- Aubrey Shoe

Find cute totes and more at Talulah Jones this spring.

Michael O’Neal of Altitude Exchange admits he’s more hip to the men’s fashion scene, but that doesn’t mean he and partner David Shoulz don’t know quality girl garb when it comes knocking at the door. When faced with the opportunity to pick up some 700 overstock women’s swimsuits and summery cover-ups from the likes of Macy’s and Nordstrom at next-to-nothing prices, “no” was never an option. The entrepreneurial duo will host a blowout Women's Swimsuit Warehouse Sale this weekend at another brand-new venture, Common Threads Boulder, 2707 Spruce Street, a community-minded consignment clothing store, local product outlet and creative craft lab. (That, darlings, is a story in itself, which is coming soon.)

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Sporting a pretty sweet suit he found at a local thrift store, Denver actor/comedian Charlie Schmidt wears his “green” politics on his sleeve -- literally. Mr. Schmidt is currently tearing up Breckenridge in the Backstage Theatre’s production of Reefer Madness, a farcical exploration of America’s other hot, “green” political debate.

Based on the 1936 exploitation film-turned-cult film-turned off-Broadway musical, Reefer Madness is a tongue-in-cheek morality tale dealing with the “dangers” of recreational marijuana use. The original film was rediscovered in the 1970s and became a cult phenomenon among the very population it was initially intended to scare straight. Now the Backstage Theatre offers Reefer’s musical adaptation for Breckenridge tourists as an alternative to the slopes.

Charlie takes a fashion cue from young Hollywood and wears his green suit with a pair of solid colored Converse sneakers, a la Justin Timberlake. Though most of the men’s fashion mags might advise you to (puff, puff) pass on this particular trend when attending a formal event, rocking the rubber soles with your favorite formal duds can be a fun diversion from the conservative norm in a more casual environment. Of course, being blessed with youth and beauty like Charlie certainly makes it easier to pull off this look.

Well, being blessed or being really, really high. (Not that we, at Westword, would ever condone such behavior, mind you.)

Backstage Theatre’s Reefer Madness closes this weekend. For last chance tickets to this wacky camp-fest, please call 970-453-0199.

- Steven J. Burge