chic city spotlight: denver, featuring abbey bryan

defining chic is not easy.

you know it when you see it,

but different cities develop their own styles and trends.

with that in mind, i have endeavored to create a new weekly blog theme,

dedicated to exploring the fashion of a different city

through the eyes of someone living in that city.

the city chosen for the debut post is denver, colorado

the perspective is from abbey bryan, nurse,

and former memphian who has settled in denver

let's find out what's chic out west in the mountains, shall we?

if you could describe denver's fashion scene in one word, what would it be?

eclectic. it seems that almost anything goes which is part of the

appeal of colorado fashion, everyone puts their own twist on things.

of course, with any large city, you have various labels or groups of

people that identify with their fashion trends. capitol hill is

largely known as the "hipster" sect of the city, the highlands is a

trendy area with a progressive sense of style, then of course you have

your mountain rugged look and a large population of hippies :) the

music scene is also a major part of colorado culture, so with that

being said you can always find a variety of people with their own

statements to make.

never having been to denver myself, my impression of it is based on

stereotypes . I think of it as a place where folks might

care less about fashion and more about issues or being active. would

you say that is true? if so, is the fashion a reflection of that?

that is certainly true of a limited population. that is a fairly

accurate description of some of the activist hippies, but activism

doesn't categorize the majority. physical activity however is the

essence of denver (well Colorado in general) because there is so much

to do...biking, backpacking, camping, skiing, climbing, snowboarding.

so, with that in mind, active wear is a huge market in the west.

rugged wear brands like carhartt, as well as mountain fashionable

brands like kelty, mountain hardwear, kavu, dakine, burton, patagonia,

north face (the list is endless) are conducive to not only an active

lifestyle but also a fashionable one. in the last 20 plus years,

bright colors have taken over the mountain towns making skiing and

snowboarding a huge venue for fashion. the mountain men have even

coined the word "steezy" to identify their fashion trends, which

basically means the brighter your colors the better you look.

what might the typical girl in denver be wearing?

it really depends on the season. being february, skinny jeans and

leggings are huge, but usually anything that keeps you warm. layering

is definitely appropriate so you will find  a lot of tanks, shirts,

sweaters, button ups, coats, scarves etc. you can also find several

different patterns/colors mixed with almost every kind of boot you can

think of. for the snow and ice, you will usually see a heavier boot

(some embellished with fur/metal/different patterns/bead work etc),

and then other times maybe just a cute leather or suede boot, but i

would say they are almost always very warm and practical. i have

noticed that women tend to wear less of a heel, most are flats and if

there is a heel it will be fairly low or a wedged boot ( i guess this

only makes sense because I have seen soooo many people fall on the

ice!)

  bright colored, feather down coats are huge. not only because the

feather down coats are soooo warm but bright colors are everywhere.

scarves, gloves and a cut hat or beanie...this is always fun because

everyone looks so different with all of the various options for colors

and style.

are there any brands or styles of closing that seem more popular than others?

 it seems that most people gravitate toward the brand names that are

well known for the quality of their clothing. north face, burton,

patagonia, kavu, dakine, and mountain hardware are only a few of the

brand names that can be easily identified, especially in the mountain

towns.  snowboard fashion has definitely become a statement since the

introduction of clothing lines. shaun white and gretchen bleiler for

example are two well known young, professional boarders who have

appealing and marketable style making fashion on the slopes a huge

part of the sport.

    with that being said, denver and the surrounding towns are also

well known for supporting local artists and vendors. organic,

hand-made threads are everywhere and seem to do quite well in local

markets, not only are they beautiful but usually extremely unique and

well made. i personally love the amount of recycled jewelry that comes

through boulder and denver, again, it has a very eclectic look about

it.

as far as shoes are concerned, sorel, ugg, toms, north face, and frye

are only a few of the brand names that i have noticed. it seems that

practicality meets style is the preferred combination when shopping

for just about anything.

you have lived in memphis for a good portion of your life, how is the

fashion in denver different than memphis?

    i would say that for the most part denver and colorado in general

has a very laid back, casual appeal to it. less formal and more

comfort. you definitely won't see nearly as many women in heels and

rarely a stiletto heel.

   i have been to several amazing restaurants in denver, and the dress

code is almost always anything goes. you can wear jeans to almost any

restaurant or you could wear a dress with cute boots and not feel out

of place at all. denver is like memphis in that it is a huge city and

with a large population you get a melting pot.

fill in the blank. if you wore ____ in denver, you'd stick out like a

sore thumb.

nothing. hah, i think thats about the only way you will get any heads

turning. If you were completely stark naked. there are sooo many

unique people, which is nice because it makes for an interesting

conversation every once in a while, but everyone has accepted that the

next person is marching to their own beat if you will, so it would

take something pretty extravagant to really stick out.

What makes denver's fashion unique? (i.e., are there a lot of handmade, organic garments?)

   the versatile, eclectic mix of people and their personal

statements. colorado is made up of a nomadic group of people ( you

will rarely find a true native), so you get individuals from all over

the country that are usually drawn to this area for it's liberal ways

of life as well as the gorgeous landscape so therefore you have just

that, a unique look to match a unique crowd.

  local vendors are huge. hand-made items do really well, organic as

well as recycled materials are extremely marketable. they usually cost

a little bit more, but the quality is equivalent.

1-10: how much value do you think the average denver girl places in her physical appearance?

          mmmm thats a hard question. college girl or young

professional? again, there is quite a mix, you have very natural women

that wear very little make up if any at all. however, you also have

very feminine, fashionable women that never leave the house without

hair and make up looking perfect. overall I would say an 8. while some

people worry more with their clothing and sense of style, almost

everyone that i have come into contact with is health conscious and

aware of their physique.

the chic takeaway?
in denver, it is chic to be fit, health conscious, and practical, making use of quality fabrics.
within that lifestyle, folks tweak the chic by using bold colors and embellishment.

thanks to abbey for her insight.