Style Local: Brandi Shigley, Fashion Denver

Brandi in Lily Bell.

​Denver fashion maven Brandi Shigley is all bounce and determination; even when she cries (yes, even the most cheerful people lose it once in awhile amid the trials of entrepreneurship: After vandals broke a window at Shigley's Fashion Denver boutique and headquarters last week, Brandi admits that there were tears), there's something hopeful and right and about it, like at the end of a movie when the protagonist heads out into the sunset.

And she's chosen her motto -- "Do what you love, love what you do" -- for a reason: It's a message she emits nonstop to all who seek her skills as a promoter and cheerleader for local designers and fashion artisans. It's also the name of the formal pep talk she gives periodically at Fashion Denver and other fashionista hot-spots; an inspirational message inspired by her own story of a young girl who decided to make and market her own line of handbags and who eventually morphed into what and who she is today: a mentor to clients trying to make it in an entrepreneurial world. To that end, she showcases many unique clothing, jewelry and accessory lines, both at Fashion Denver and at quarterly fashion markets (such as last weekend's Vixen holiday market at the Grant-Humphreys mansion). In Denver, Brandi is the local designer's best friend.

A brooch by BarBieQued, at Fashion Denver.

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In the coming year, Brandi expects to continue towing the the line in an upward motion: In the boutique she hopes to keep evolving, depending on the staples while trying new things. "I want designers to have a home, a place where they can put themselves out there without having to do everything themselves," Brandi says. "And I want to take our designers to the next level by focusing on business development through agencies like the Denver Design Incubator. I love spreading the word about them." By the next level, she means to lead clients beyond the world of piecework and into the realm of line production, and Brandi thinks more than a few of our local designers have the chops to do it.

Right now, the boutique is decked and and still Christmas-ready, with items both gift-worthy or begging to worn for a holiday night on the town: Some of Brandi's many favorites include the sexiest lingerie ever (fetching, youthful and modern sweet nothings by Young Blood Couture that channel the trendy, from burlesquey touches to pure plaid), Lily Bell's adorable sparkly holiday head gear, bags from So Whimsy, plumped-up knit caps by Sarah Brist, whimsical reversible aprons by Gnarls Zombie and so much more.