There is a reason discerning shoppers frequent local boutiques across Colorado’s Front Range and mountain communities. They don’t want to see anyone else walking down the street, entering a party, sitting down at church or attending a big event wearing the same thing they are. And they want a look that fits in with their Colorado lifestyle and interests.
Beyond personal style savvy, shopping at independent boutiques also bolsters local spirit and the local economy.
“People think that big names validate a community,” says Julie Bauch, a longtime mall consultant, who also owns Don’t Fence Me In, a boutique in Evergreen. “Boutiques are always the ones that take a beating when there is growth in a community. The truth is that when individually owned boutiques do well, it shows a community has true success in the retail environment.”
Nancy Taylor Mason, who owns Baby Doe’s Clothing in downtown Golden, likens boutiques to great neighborhood restaurants. Each has its own flavor. “If you look at what you see on the runways, or even what you see in Cherry Creek,” Taylor Mason says, “when you come to Golden or Evergreen or Conifer or Georgetown, it’s very different. It’s surprising how different it really is, when it’s only 20 miles away.”
Here are a dozen boutiques to check out.
1. The BeanBlossom
509 Big Thompson Ave., Estes Park
970-586-5662
Amy Stevens and Anne Beanblossom Marco, a mother-daughter team in Estes Park, own and run several shops. They’ve been in business for 20 years.
BeanBlossom is popular for its handpicked selections from Pendleton, Brighton and other smaller lines. “We try to keep our lines youthful but for all ages,” Stevens says. “Nobody wants to look old anymore, nor do they need to.”
In addition to its limited quantities of high-quality items, BeanBlossom focuses most of its effort and much of its reputation on service.
Customers are welcome to bring in items from home to match. The staff even will ship items to customers outside Colorado.
2. Changes in Latitude Travel Store
2525 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder
303-786-8406; cil.com
For 15 years, Changes in Latitude has provided year-round access to travel-worthy clothing and up-to- date destination information.
While shop owner Cindy McClelland still leads a few international trips each year, she dropped the in-house travel agency when online booking became popular . The store, however, still hosts travel programs most Tuesday nights.
“It’s everything from packing clinics to slide shows,” she says of Traveler’s Tuesdays. “We get 50 to 100 people every week.”
3. Denim & Lace Boutique
211 Colorado 119 South, Nederland
303-258-9777
Kimberly Spagnola still does everything by hand at Denim & Lace Boutique in Nederland. “I don’t have anything on a computer or online because this is a place you have to experience,” she says. “If the electricity goes out, we just light candles and keep working.”
That down-to-earth mind-set extends to the inventory, which Spagnola describes as “very Victorian, but not too Westerny.”
“It’s the kind of stuff that never goes out of style, but you can’t find it anywhere else anymore. People say, ‘Gosh, I love this stuff, but I never see it.’ That’s why we stand ahead of the rest, I think,” she says of her 9-year-old shop.
In addition to everyday clothing, Denim & Lace carries alternative wedding or special-event clothes, along with handmade sweaters, hand-quilted throws and tons of girly gift items.
4. Baby Doe’s Clothing
1116 Washington Ave., Golden
303-279-8100
Founded in downtown Golden in July 1999, Baby Doe’s moved to its current spot on the main street in 2002. “This location used to be the variety store,” says owner Nancy Taylor Mason. “For anyone who grew up in Golden, this is where they came to get their penny candy. People come in all the time and reminisce.”
She describes the essence of Baby Doe’s as “an eclectic mix of casual, unique clothing mixed with wearable art.”
Inventory includes scarves, shirts, sweaters, better-fitting jeans, embellished jean jackets, skirts, outdoor clothing and a section of easy-care, easy-wear travel togs. In addition to jewelry by both local and regional artists, Baby Doe’s carries a line of butter-soft leather purses made by a husband- and-wife team from Greeley.
5. Chelsea of London Lingerie
1203 Washington Ave., Golden
303-271-9565; chelseaoflondon.com
About 13 years ago, Judy Hamilton changed careers. “I grew up in Golden,” says the former bookkeeper, “and I decided it would be a fun place to start a business, so I did.”
Specializing in body-conscious, elegant lingerie, the shop’s inventory is rooted in manufacturers that Hamilton calls industry leaders. That includes Hanky Panky out of New York, makers of 4811 thongs, and bras by Le Mystere, touted on TV by Oprah Winfrey.
Chelsea carries clothing, sleepwear and lingerie, and prices are set a peg or two lower than the same items sell for elsewhere.
“You don’t have to be a size 2 to wear this stuff,” Hamilton adds. “I don’t just carry skimpy outfits. We have longer gowns, more sophisticated looks. I feel like just about anyone can walk into the store and walk away with something to make them look and feel better.”
The store also serves a large contingent of male shoppers, especially between December and February. “In fact,” she says, “a lot of men buy all the lingerie for their wives.”
6. Buckskin Trading Co.
506 Sixth St., Georgetown
303-569-2050
buckskintradingcompany.com
A veteran of the Colorado boutique scene, the 30-year-old Buckskin Trading Co. in Georgetown gets 75 percent of its customers from a 50-mile radius. The other 25 percent is made up of loyal customers who shop during frequent trips to Colorado or on their way to second homes and time-shares in areas west of Georgetown.
“We specialize in casual clothes for Colorado lifestyles,” says Mary Pat Young, the shop’s owner. “We sell a lot of denim and khakis, lots of jackets. We carry casual business attire. The majority of our business is in the basics.”
Like many other boutiques, Buckskin dabbled in, then dropped, men’s clothes and now focuses entirely on women’s apparel, including sweaters and jackets, boots and other ski-related items (but not actual outerwear). Young recently branched out, adding an adjacent home-accessories store, called Bard Creek Home Accents, and an online retail presence.
7. Bits & Pieces Clothing
1250 Bergen Parkway, Evergreen
303-674-9646
For nearly 17 years, Bits & Pieces Clothing in Evergreen has been about approachability. “We are known for being really down to earth. This is not a snooty place,” says the shop’s owner, Carol Scott.
Whereas some shoppers might feel sized-up and judged at certain boutiques in big-name mountain towns, Scott says “that nonsense doesn’t happen here.”
Stocked with “mountain contemporary casual” clothing for women, the shop carries a variety of styles – from Double D Ranchwear to career suits, from jeans to dress-up accessories. It’s also a big carrier of Brighton accessories. With a focus on fit and personal style, the shop’s six-person team helps women find clothes “that are going to fit well and make you feel good about wherever you are going,” Scott says.
8. Don’t Fence Me In
32214 Ellingwood Trail, Evergreen
303-674-0250
Open just more than a year and already doubled in size, Don’t Fence Me In strives to be a true destination for shoppers who are looking for a place to shop and unwind. “That’s why I have wine and food at the store,” says owner Julie Bauch, “so that they can make an occasion of it. Women, groups of friends, will stay four hours. You’re never going to find that, even at Nordstrom, and I love Nordstrom.”
Inventory is driven by what women want in Western wear and jewelry, mostly Southwest-style, Navajo-signed collectibles. Bauch describes the look as crisp Western.
Everything is sold in super-limited quantities. “I will not sell two of the same piece to anyone in town,” Bauch says. “If someone invests in a fur or an $850 leather coat, they know they won’t see it on someone else, at least not through me.”
9. Girlfriends Clothing
28175 Colorado 74, Evergreen
303-674-1448
While you can find the celebrity-favored Jealousy Jeans at Girlfriends Clothing in Evergreen, you also will discover casual and contemporary clothes that shift easily from work to play.
“You can buy an outfit from me and be able to wear it to work, but be able to go out in the evening,” says Melody Coleman, owner of the 9-year-old store.
Affordable suits are mixed in with all manner of jeans on the racks. The shop even carries the David Kahn “butt-lift” jeans touted on “Oprah,” as well as labels like French Dressing.
Despite the bevy of denim options, Coleman warns, “I’m not a younger store for teenagers.” Alongside the jeans, shoppers will find upscale selections from Eileen Fisher, Max Studio and Garfield & Marks.
10. Jasmine Boutique
862 Happy Canyon Road
Suite 115, Castle Rock
303-663-8183
Founded in August, Jasmine Boutique sells some lines from Los Angeles and New York, along with a few from Europe, but owner Gina Ratliff jokes, “If you’ve heard of them (designers), we probably don’t carry them.”
Ratliff rarely brings in more than three pieces of any given style. Everything is fashionable, without being too youth-focused. “That’s what’s most important to women that come in here,” Ratliff says. “They want to dress fun. They want to be unique, but they don’t want to look like their daughters.”
The 1,500-square-foot shop is designed to have enough space for customers to feel comfortable and not cramped.
“Our focus is on sophistication redefined,” Ratliff says.
11. Terra Verde
208 N. Tejon St., Colorado Springs
719-444-8621
For 13 years, Terra Verde has served as a destination of its own in Colorado Springs. It’s known mostly as a women’s clothing store, but Laszlo Palos, general manager, says, “We are really seven little shops, clothing, accessories, baby items, gifts, home décor, furniture.”
The store recently expanded by another 2,300 square feet, which allows more space for upscale and more urban furniture lines.
The heart of Terra Verde is an 18-member staff that ranges in age from 18 to 64. That’s critical because, Palos says, “A lot of the time, we’ll find three or four generations of family members shopping in our store together.”
12. Take a Hike
95 Main St., Westcliffe
719-783-3771
Take a Hike, a men’s and women’s clothing store near the Sangre de Cristo mountains opened in March 2005, in a location that used to house a photo-processing shop. Cañon City, Pueblo and Colorado Springs are all at least an hour away. As one part-time local put it, “It’s the only place you can buy socks.”
Carrying lines from Columbia, Woolrich and Royal Robbins, Take a Hike cues from the outdoorsy lifestyle of the area. It also sells handmade soaps and other gift items, but “nothing in the shop says Westcliffe on it,” says Erin O’Connor, the owner.
The goal, heading into the summer, is to transform the store into a serious hiking- and camping-goods store with not only clothes but maps, boots, tents and such.
