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Best Outlet Mall

Outlets at Castle Rock

visitcastlerock.org

Everything an outlet shopper could want comes together at Castle Rock. The complex is huge, with multiple pods easily accessible from jumbo parking lots fore and aft. The variety of stores is vast, representing major national chains, local stand-alones and everything in between. Athletic-shoe junkies will be especially sated thanks to separate Nike, Converse, Puma, Vans, Adidas and Under Armour shops jammed with the latest styles as well as recent remainders that often go for a fraction of the original price. The outlets are in a great location, making them a fine place for a stroll, too — but bring your wallet, just in case.

Best Store on Broadway

The Annex

The Annex

A few years back, large sections of Broadway were crowded with antiques stores of every description. Now, many of those spaces are occupied by dispensaries, and a lot of the antique shops that remain specialize in oversized furniture that can sometimes cost as much as a used car. The Annex boasts some of these items, too, but its collection is broad and eclectic, encompassing oddball artifacts large and small: Think vintage swizzle sticks, a teapot and interlocking cups that stack up to look like the tower of a castle, and quirky metal yard animals. Not that the store is dominated by kitsch; indeed, the stock is governed by a guiding aesthetic that embraces mid-twentieth-century design rather than looking down at it. Oh, yeah: The prices are among the most reasonable on Broadway, making the Annex well worth exploring.

Readers' Choice: Decade

Best Store in Cherry Creek

Mariel Boutique

Life in Colorado is casual, but sometimes you want to dress to impress. For thirty years, Denise Snyder and her staff at Mariel have helped Denver women look their best, helping them choose one-of-a-kind "fit to flatter" outfits that they can wear to work, to a wedding...or even to their own wedding. Like women of a certain age, Mariel knows how important it is to emphasize your assets, and the boutique has done some updating over the years, moving from Larimer Square to Cherry Creek, then transferring to elegant new digs earlier this year that reflect both the shop's upscale surroundings and this city's increasing interest in fashion. Looking good, Denver!

Readers' Choice: Lush

  • 3000 E. Third Avenue, #8, Denver, 80206 Map

Best Shop on Colfax Avenue

Herbs & Arts

Kyle Harris

As more and more chain stores stomp over Colfax, Herbs & Arts helps keep the street cool by providing a wide array of witchy goods, herbs, jewelry, pagan art and more. The shop's deceptively small library is loaded with everything from books about crystals and herbs to old grimoires (classic magic textbooks). The staff is friendly, stylish and always willing to guide you to a fanciful sarong, a mystical sculpture or a tiny talisman, providing advice for how to conduct a ritual, how to use herbs to heal minor ailments and how to bring spirituality into your life. Whether you're a neo-pagan, a devout witch, a connoisseur of mystical decorations or just looking for a shopping adventure, this store is pure magic.

Readers' Choice: Twist & Shout

Best Store on the 16th Street Mall

Uniqlo

https://www.uniqlo.com/us/en/stores-details/?StoreID=10200081

For years, the 16th Street Mall was a vast wasteland for shoppers, but recent moves at the Denver Pavilions has been turning that around. And when Uniqlo — a legend in Japan for its casual yet chic, minimalist, affordable clothing — opened in October 2016, the revolution was complete, at least in this two-block merchandising mecca. The Pavilions now offers one-stop shopping for cool Colorado-produced gifts (I Heart Denver), sassy grown-up fashion (Rosey's) and sassy less grown-up fashion (H&M), with other specialty stops scattered in between. And with Uniqlo, it has a true star — not just a spot where you can browse away a lunch hour, but a real destination for savvy shoppers from all over Denver.

Readers' Choice: I Heart Denver

Best Thrift Store

Gone for Good

Gone For Good Facebook

The commitment here is commendable: Gone for Good has a stated mission of "reduce, resell, recycle," and it follows through by hauling away your junk and garbage for a fee. Workers will even carry the stuff out of the house. The company then either sells it all at the store or disposes of what can't be reused in the most non-toxic and environmentally friendly ways possible, including breaking things like wood, electronics and metal items down to their basic components for commercial use. But most of the items are sold whole: On any given day at the store, you can pick through amazing things that Gone for Good has gleaned from around the state. There's very little organization, and the place is a bit dusty, but that's part of its charm: In the midst of the clothes, furniture and knickknacks, you might pick up a velvet Elvis and find underneath it a set of Depression-era dishes, at prices way below those at other local thrift stores.

Readers' Choice: ARC Thrift Store

Best Flea Market

Sweet William Market

The small but definitely sweet Sweet William Market in Stapleton is a triumph of quality over quantity, with a weird and wonderful mix of vintage, antique, retro and hip new merchandise, and just three dates planned for 2017: June 3, September 2 and a holiday market December 2-3, when it will be held at Northfield's new indoor events center. Laid-back and welcoming, the market has a true community feel, something that founders Kim Kouba and Lizzie Kienast — Kouba still runs it — were shooting for when they started the humble flea eleven years ago. Wander among the handpicked vendors to find one-of-a-kind items, from funky jewelry and interesting clothes to found-object art and upcycled furniture. Food stalls and live music make it even easier to stick around; fortunately, there's plenty of parking in surrounding lots and on the street.

Readers' Choice: Denver Flea

Best Pop-Up Market

Witch Collective

Since it materialized less than a year ago, Witch Collective has popped up everywhere from the Mercury Cafe to the Botanic Gardens at Chatfield Farms, bringing with it handmade goods, hand-stitched art, organic snacks, spells, tinctures and herbal potions. The Witch Collective sees its mini-economy as a community connector, a way for artisans to get low-fee booth rentals, for patrons to find high-quality merchandise at affordable prices, and for both groups to work together. It's also a socially conscious operation: Each edition of the pop-up market gives 10 percent of the proceeds to such causes as the OneOrlando Fund, Standing Rock and Black Lives Matter.

facebook.com/witchcollective

Best Place to Buy Hipster Baby Gifts

Cry Baby Ranch

If you're a Colorado hipster, then it's high time you ponied up for some Wild West wear for your offspring. Founded in 1989, Cry Baby Ranch is still the best place in town to score Western-style boot(ie)s, rancher onesies and bibs with Texas stars. The colorful cow-kid clothes are mostly handmade, and you'll even find leather-on-suede jackets, along with themed gifts for your buckaroo: sippy cups and cutlery, blankets, books, stick-on mustaches, and some seriously cuddly rancher-themed stuffed animals. Make sure to spend a few minutes moseying through the store's adult section; we wouldn't blame you if you ended up lassoing a pair of boots for yourself, too.

Best Kids' Clothes Not Made by Kids in Sweatshops

Park Hill Design

Parents looking to clothe their offspring in something more durable, conscientiously sourced and distinctive than what the big-box stores have to offer might want to check out Park Hill Design's online store. The company's sweaters, outerwear, dresses, leggings and hats are handmade right here in Denver, using quality textiles to produce one-of-a-kind pieces. It's all factory-free, guilt-free and stylish.

parkhilldesign.com

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