fashionista of the month: miss beth martin

k's longtime friend, former roommate, and fellow fashion enthusiast beth martin was an obvious pick for our fashion interviewee sooner or later. beth was born and raised around the denver area, and we're always impressed by her ability to stand out and not only be fashion-forward, but unique, and also just fucking adorable and sassy. don't even get me started on her halloween costumes. yay for may!

1. why do you think you're so fashionable?
I guess maybe its the fact i don't take myself seriously. I like to have fun with my style and do silly things. Keeping people guessing always seems really fashionable to me. Plus I have an uncanny ability to wear way too many accessories. 

2. what's the least fashionable thing about you?
My bags are normally hideous. I cant be bothered to hold things so I put my purses down everywhere and they end up getting pretty grimy .

3. what's a secret fashion vice of yours?
I'm the type of person who likes to re-invent myself very frequently or i get board, so right now my current vice is changing my hair. I wanted it short a month ago and now I want it long again so i may have developed a slight addiction to hair extensions...on only one side.


4. what trend or trends do you hate the most right now?
Not so sure how i feel about jumpers. I somehow have one in my closet though. How i ended up thinking "yeah this is cute", going all the way to the counter, getting my money out and purchasing it without a little red flag coming up I have no idea.

5. who or what is a fashion inspiration to you?
People who are elegant and classy no matter what they are wearing always baffle and amaze me. I am inspired by people who are effortlessly glamorous, probably because it is so different than how I feel myself. Also my friends inspire me; we feed off each other. Who knows what i would end up wearing if i didn't have fashionable friends?



bonus beth question!!: as a longtime denver-area resident, what are some tips you have for us about vintage store shopping or places to shop?

For me the most important thing right now is versatility, because i'm quite broke. So i need to find things i can wear lots of different ways. The great thing about vintage stores is that you can have versatility without being boring. I love the unique shapes that you can find. I really enjoy common era over on platte street as well; they are reasonably priced and they have a lot of jewelery that they make themselves and is one-of-a-kind.

imaginary clothing friends

we're jealous of clothing make over shows that give you $5,000 to spend on anything you want. so maybe we're not the worst dressers in the world, does that mean we should be denied this amazing opportunity? according to popular television, probably. so instead we decided to take ourselves on an imaginary shopping spree and see what we would spend other people's money on. 

kendall's picks

stella mccartney embroidered mini dress for $3,945.

kate spade owl bag. price is unknown as it is not available until august 2009 but estimated at around $500.

alexander wang carrington woven boots for around $1,000.

scalloped jacket from chloe's spring 2009 collection for $2,495.

kenneth jay lane octopus ring for $150.

grand total: estimated at $8,090. k only went $3000 over budget for these 5 items!! yay!

el's picks

dolce v by mimi holliday silk and lace bra and panty set because every girl wants to feel a little like marie antoinette under her clothes. bra for $88, briefs (not pictured) $59. 

paige premium denim blue heights mckinley jeans for $179. 

fall 2008 ann demeulemeester lace up boots $1800.

vanessa bruno ruffled top. no idea what season it's from, just love it. estimated cost $500.

vivianne westwood distressed linen "worthmore" jacket for $865. again, no idea what season it's from.

ashley watson dunlin bag for $440. this is being currently sold at composition, our favorite denver store!

jennifer behr victorian crystal and silk stain head wrap for $264. not sure about the season yet again.

grand total: estimated at $4195! leaving el an extra $805 to go to town with. she would probably at least get another pair of jeans and a couple of these...

crazy expensive ($81!)but super cute harlow cropped sweat pants from ella moss because she loves to lay around in her pj's so much and no fashion make over show would ever break her of this habit

just remember folks, you are never too poor to shop with your imagination. cheers!

dress for the resesh: exploring denver thrift stores

we hate talking about the recession just as much as the next gal, but there is no denying the fact that it is time to start thinking about shopping on a tighter budget (not that we don't already!) so today we went on a quest to explore some of denver's more reputable thrift stores. we really only had the time to get down to the south broadway area, but that's where most of the good ones are anyway. here are the four that we hit and what we thought about them:

south broadway ARC--1515 s. broadway. denver, CO.

this arc is interesting. it hovers on the thin line between the hip baker neighborhood and one of the more ghetto areas of denver (close to south federal, santa fe, etc), so the items in the arc can range from amazing finds to disgusting t-shirts that smell faintly like pee. but it is worth the trip, as we both have found some real gems there. this arc is pretty large, so you have to be committed to searching a bit. don't count on the tiny dressing rooms being available.  

k found these hot ankle boots by rampage for $3.99

regal vintage--1866 s. broadway. denver, CO

we were thrilled to happen upon regal vintage (previously called rare bird vintage) at its new, rather unfortunate location (it used to be on 13th ave in the capitol hill area). this vintage store is a real treasure. its spendier of course than your typical thrift store, but its got high quality clothes and accessories as well as vintage furniture, ashtrays, new kids on the block pillows, etc. if you love vintage stores, be sure to make the trip down to south broadway to check this out. judging from the location, they probably don't get a ton of foot traffic. the staff seemed knowledgeable and friendly, and they also buy vintage items so try taking your high quality goods down there if you'd rather be making some cash than spending it.

regal vintage is a colorful oasis on south broadway. check out that cool old luggage in the window!

our favorite find: a fun faux fur collar with a chartreuse tie for $15

flossy mcgrews--1824 s. broadway. denver, CO

this store is best known for being THE spot for halloween costumes, so we weren't sure what to expect on a tuesday afternoon in may. turns out its chock full of all sorts of vintage clothes, accessories, jewelry, hats, and of course, random costumes for that ugly sweater party you rsvp'ed to. we found it a bit off-putting, though, because it was so dirty, unorganized, and cluttered. it looked like no one had taken a broom to the floor since last halloween's busy season, so if you're a vintage clothing lover, be sure to block out a chunk of time to do some serious digging. some of the hats, for instance, looked too dirty and wrinkled for anyone to actually want to wear them, but there are no doubt some gems hidden in flossy's. 

you're going to need to dedicate some serious time to digging through this wall of costume jewelry

safari seconds--422 broadway. denver, CO

there is one word for this store: gnarly.

we traveled here at the behest of the westword's 2009 best of denver edition (westword is our local alternative newspaper) which had this to say about what they called, "the best thrift store deal in denver":

We already like Safari Seconds enough to have raved about it here in 2006 and 2008, but the place, a dirt-cheap, refugee-run thrift store that helps African immigrants get on their feet, just keeps on giving. Since moving last summer to a more visible space on Broadway, the shop has hosted clothing giveaways every last Friday of the month, sometimes with a bit of fanfare and African food and music, but always offering secondhand specials at the best price of all: free. Spring cleaning was never so much fun.

while that's all well and good, it doesn't change the fact that safari seconds is seriously thread bare and has an overall unhygienic smell that makes shopping there unpleasant. after scanning the few racks we didn't even find anything to snap a pic of. so maybe donate money to these folks, but don't spend it there.

overall we are slightly disappointed in denver's thrift store selection. compared to other cities we've been to, there just doesn't exist that same culture of upper echelon thrift. but maybe because of the good ole recession the denver thrift store scene will perk up soon and surprise us all. here's to hoping! let us know if you have any special places in denver you go for great deals, we'd love to hear about it.

cheers!

design tip of the month: altar your space!!

one of the coolest little tricks we have found for not only filling up a random empty corner, shelf, or bookcase while making your living space that much more personal is to create your own altar. there are a billion variations to be explored with altar-making. its a great way to gather together the random stuff you have laying around that is too meaningful to get rid of, and its a creative and potentially thrifty way to increase the design-savvy look of your personal space. 

when putting together an altar for the first time, think about what you have the most of already. religious paraphernalia? old family photos? how about those 99 cent lady of guadeloupe candles you bought at the king soopers when you were in college? since el had a dia de los muertos theme at her wedding, she already had a ton of fabulous day of the dead knick-knacks, which became the main theme of her altar. k had a plethora of hindu murtis, seashells, and crystals that look so magical when grouped together in an old bookcase she cleared out and painted. 

el built her altar in an awkward empty living room closet

layered tibetan prayer flags or papel picado banners are a must for colorful altars. try your local tibetan store or mexicansugarskull.com for the banners.

we can all agree that altars look more amazing when they have an overall theme. this is where you get to start collecting and thrift-store hunting. most traditional altars are religiously-themed, but this does not have to be the case. you can theme around a color, superhero, artist, or special person in your life. 

mexican blankets and fake fruit and flowers all create an authentic day of the dead altar.

here an antique cabinet was transformed into a altar to remember ancestors. 

our personal favorite: this altar was made in an old radio cabinet complete with a found bird's nest and "book branches." this is a perfect example of how creative and unique you can get with the design and theme of your altar.

enjoy altaring your space!!

cheers!

fashionisto of the month: magic cyclops

okay, so we made up the word "fashionisto," but we are thrilled to have our favorite denver/fort collins dj magic cyclops as our april fashion interviewee! AND we admit its high time we included some dudes in our estrogen-driven blog. as you can see from the above pic, he has that creative, low-budg style that we love. take it away, magic....

1. why do you think you're so fashionable? wal-mart

2. what's the least fashionable thing about you? my socks

3. what's a secret fashion vice of yours? a custom headband with my name on it

4. what current trend or trends do you hate right now? z cavaricci and tight-rolled jean pants.

5. who or what is a fashion inspiration to you? basically my budget. if my band was better i could afford to dress for success.

APRIL BONUS QUESTION:
what fashion advice do you have for denver's male population?

the magic cyclops t- shirt! what a  great way to tell people you're
"with it"  and display great fashion sense all at the same time! this 4-color print shirt is professionally silk screened on a black gildan shirt to compliment any ensemble. available on my myspace page (address below), plus for a limited time get my first compact disc  free w/ purchase !(while supplies last) $10 includes postage.
simply visit : www.myspace.com/themilehighmadman and look for the
magic shop widget.

short. sweet. to the point. :)

until next week...cheers!