Boulder and the Beautiful

Click to enlarge. And be there, for the love of God and shoes.

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Want to update your spring look for under $200?
Celebrity stylist Jenn Falik says:

$34, Shoes.com.

Think toe-to-head.
One of the easiest ways to update a look is to add bright, colorful shoes.

$14.99, Urban Outfitters

Stock up on skinny belts.
This is the  easiest way to change the silhouette of a dress. Spring and summer styles are more feminine and polished, giving billowy summer dresses a new feel by throwing a belt around the waist. This can also make a simple shift dress more interesting and flattering, Falik says.

$28.90, Nordstrom

Go long — with necklaces.
Layer long necklaces to create a line that draws the eye vertically, giving the slimming  illusion of a longer torso.

More tips:
Refresh your look for spring

$39.99, Crocs

Want a spring makeover?
Crocs is holding a New You contest. Enter to win a $7,000 wardrobe makeover trip to New York with Falik, with Dress For Success, which provides clothes to disadvantaged women.
Enter at www.crocs.com/newyou.
For every entry, Crocs will donate $5 to Dress for Success Worldwide.
Every day during the entry period, Crocs will randomly give away one new pair of shoes to three women.

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Forever 21′s new look book has me wondering: What is so interesting on the floor?

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On April 5, nationwide TOMS is asking people to go without shoes so that kids don’t have to.

The CEO and founder of TOMS, Blake Mycoskie, was a contestent on The Great Race and he noticed that most of the children living in rural areas in Third World countries did not have any shoes. Without proper foot protection, many children contract diseases from not wearing shoes.

Savvy in Boulder will be participating on April 5th for One Day Without Shoes. We will be asking everyone who comes in to Savvy to leave their shoes at the door. For everyone who participates in this event, Savvy will enter their name into a drawing to win free TOMS. We will also be offering a discount on all TOMS just for that day.

Here is the link to the website:

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When I was a freshman in college, I borrowed my sorority big sis’s fancy black dress to wear to Formal.

On the bus on the way to the dance, I accidentally sat on someone’s gum, and smeared white globs of gummy goosh all over the rump of her expensive gown.

I spent the entire event freaking out in the hallway of the hotel, crying while my date tried to pick and freeze the gum off my buttocks with ice from the hotel ice vending machine.

It was the worst formal ever.

So I have a lot of compassion for this poor model at the recent Seventh-Annual Hose Cup China Swimwear Design contest. Poor lady, sat on a huge disgusting spider and smushed it all over her designer swimming suit.

That’s why you should never wear a white swimming suit. Or borrow clothes that you can’t afford to replace.

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I’m not going to deny that I have some pretty hideous vintage clothing in my closet, usually made out of polyester-blends and sea-foam green.

I also am not going to deny that four days out of five, my outfits could land me on a segment of “What not to wear: Retro classics that make you go hmm.”

But sometimes, even I draw the line.

Maybe it’s the dueling bows (head and neck). Maybe it’s the pants; everything about them, starting with the pleats, which should not appear on any clothing item other than cheerleading skirts or Halloween costumes. Maybe it’s the fact that none of these colors work together, or heck, maybe it is the flesh-colored pantyhose bracelets wrapped around the wrists.

But if my sea-foam green geriatric pencil skirt belongs on “Retro classics that make you go hmm,” this Flickr photo from a rooftop fashion show belongs on “Retro classics that make you go ‘No!’ and then get physically ill and rock yourself in the corner.”

Photo by Flickr user TPWP.

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AP photo

As if anything you put on a kid doesn’t look adorable, some high-fashion designers are making unique creations especially for the munchkins.

This little guy is wearing a Sport Obermeyer navy jacket, orange bib and the cutest blue Mohawk knit beanie ever created, at the SIA Snow Fashion and Trends Show at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.

When selecting your Mini Me’s winter attire, according to the show, look for lively, colorful patterns for girls and bold and simpler designs for boys.

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Shop: This Boulder-based shop, fringeouterwear.etsy.com, sells sassy, handmade hats, scarves, “fisticuffs” and other accessories out of alpaca fabric blends. Fringe’s styles are young, edgy and high-quality, sometimes using the rarest yarns available. All designs are original. In fact, the artist says she doesn’t really know how to read patterns and is self-trained. In other words, she crochets “off the hook.”

The face behind the shop: Carrie McWithey, of Boulder, learned crochet in college, about 12 years ago. Immediately after making her first hat, someone asked to buy it from her. A couple of years later, a friend told her about Etsy.

“Etsy felt so good,” she says. “Why would I want to have a site all alone out there in the giant Internet-iverse when I could have a store clustered up next to hundreds, thousands, of others that are connected to mine?  Community.”

Price range: $45 for a sale red plaid scarf to $169 for a custom hat, scarf and arm-warmer set. You pick the colors and the yarn, with a few exceptions.

Favorite items: The “Grass Blades Alpaca Scarflette,” $70. Lime green with four bright knitted flower accents. And the “Hi Ho Berry Oh” hat and set, $139. This is a custom order: hand-crocheted brim hat, wrist warmers and scarf, made out of wool, alpaca and synthetic blend.

Photos by Bryon Parsons, Bright Boy Photo.

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