Best Place to Outfit the Alternative Family 2016 | FashioNation | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Best Place to Outfit the Alternative Family

FashioNation

FashioNation has been bringing alternative style to the Mile High City since 1987, consistently sticking to its mission of presenting unique attire at affordable prices. One of the first independent retailers in the country to carry Doc Martens, as well as one of the area's early vendors of Manic Panic hair dye, FashioNation has stayed one step ahead of the mainstream curve. The spacious South Broadway store is well stocked with bullet belts, kitten heels and leather jackets for adults, but its secret weapon is the wild apparel available for kids and babies. In-store offshoot Babysitter's Nightmare carries the coolest diaper bags in town, along with tutus, mini-Mary Janes and onesies for wee ones. Since the store's inception, owners Paul and Pam Italiano have maintained creative control of FashioNation's inventory, picking out every platform boot and military jacket that makes it onto the rack.

1594 S. Broadway
303-832-2909
vixensandangels.com

Best Gallery in a Streetwear Boutique

Station

Courtesy David Bywater

Another new business that recently popped up in Five Points, Station fits the neighborhood like a glove: Offering a blend of streetwear on its racks and street art on its walls, the boutique and gallery brings a new vibe to Welton Street that has appeal for the neighborhood's hip-hop and artist communities alike. Owner David Bywater proudly stocks clothing brands new to Denver, including one-of-a-kind artist T-shirts and caps, as well as art books, collectible toys and spray paint, and he hosts monthly art openings featuring scads of street artists with local and international cred, from Colorado native 84pages to London's Mr. Penfold. Hop on your skateboard and fly on over.

stationdenver.com

Best New Womenswear Boutique

Ily and Iley

Ily and Iley opened in April 2015 in lower Highland, raising the bar for boutique shopping in Denver. Co-owners and stylists Ilyse Mark and Bailey Lemak began their business after running into each other in Miami and New York; luckily for us, they decided to settle in Denver. In addition to two floors full of fashion, Ily and Iley carries a unique range of specialty jewelry, accessories, plants and home decor, as well as a selection of vintage pieces handpicked by the owners. The result is a lifestyle store that reflects the pair's ongoing romance with modernity, bohemian flair and timeless style.

2525 15th St.
303-284-3814
ily-iley.com

Best Women's Shoe Store Expansion

Two Sole Sisters on Gaylord

This sister act run by Laurel and Lindsey Tate has long been the reigning shoe palace on Boulder's Pearl Street Mall (it won our Best Store on the Pearl Street Mall award in 2009), but the feet of D-town's most discerning shoe freaks have been cheering loudly since the pair opened an outpost on South Gaylord Street last summer. Their secret? The Tates don't think high-end shoes in luscious colors with trendy styling should hurt. It takes a good eye — and a little science — to pick out a shoe that looks good and is good for you, too. Now Denver fashionistas have a go-to for that.

twosolesisters.com

Best Witchy Goods and Services

Goddess Isis Books & Gifts

Candles for rituals, crystals and herbs for healing, tarot decks and astrology guidebooks — whatever you need to enhance your spiritual practice, Goddess Isis Books & Gifts has got it. Reiki masters and plant-medicine specialists feel at home in this metaphysical marketplace, but the average soul looking to explore the world of the divine can find tools and guidance at the all-inclusive magick shop, too. More than just a retail store for ceremonial goods, Goddess Isis is also a learning and event center. Take part in a Friday-night séance or introduce yourself to paganism through a Wicca 101 class. Whatever your field of sacred interest, this humble temple has a full calendar of events and educational opportunities to serve the community.

store.isisbooks.com

Best Trip Around the World

Silvana Mondo Gallery — Art Decor & Lifestyle

Anyone who's frequented the Tennyson Street retail district in Berkeley over the past ten or fifteen years knows that the strip has seen many changes. Several rounds ago, a boutique called Silvana L'Amour, a shop of global curiosities and girly things owned by worldly Denverite Silvana Vukadin-Hoitt graced Tennyson before disappearing along with so many other businesses that have come and gone from the street. But Vukadin-Hoitt hasn't given up: She recently returned to Tennyson with Silvana Mondo, an art gallery and home-decor display room that once again reflects her unique intercontinental view of arts and culture. It's the place to find killims and folk carvings, tribal jewelry and antique furniture from around the world — and, for a lark, a chance to have your future told in the patterns left in the bottom of a cup by Turkish coffee grounds, by appointment. Vukadin-Hoitt is a woman of great taste and many talents.

4420 Tennyson St.
720-739-0399
silvanamondo.com

Best Hand-Poke Tattoo Artist

Rachel Paton

Ritual Tattoo & Gallery Facebook

Dot by dot, Rachel Paton's tattoo art is a lesson in the beauty of patience. The hand-poke tattooer adheres her work to clients' bodies using the no-machine-necessary stick-and-poke process. Paton's black-ink-only illustrations are sharp and imbued with a sense of magic — celestial imagery, witchy symbolism and gothic and Western themes are prominent in her handiwork. The hand-poke artist's tattoos are 100 percent original: She collaborates with clients to build an idea, then goes to work creating a one-of-a-kind design in her style. Getting a tattoo from Rachel Paton means owning a piece of the Denver artist's work that will never be replicated. Fair warning: The shop is moving later this year, to an as-yet-undetermined location.

Best Name for a Tattoo Shop

Kitchen's Ink

Even before a client sits down in a chair, a tattoo shop can make an impression with its name. Kitchen's Ink, a friendly shop on Santa Fe Drive, not only does excellent tattooing and piercing, but also displays art and offers other shopping opportunities. In fact, you'll find just about everything here but the kitchen sink.

Readers' choice: Think Tank

Best Name for a Hair Salon

Permanent Basis

A classic name for a classy place: Perms may have gone out with the '80s, but Permanent Basis remains a fixture in this rapidly changing central Denver neighborhood.

700 E. 1st Ave.
303-778-6912
Readers' choice: Big Hairy Monster

Best Toxin-Free Beauty Store

Aillea

The new wave of beauty products is toxin-free, and former beauty-industry exec Kathryn Murray of the beauty boutique Aillea rode it right to 14th and Larimer in 2015, bringing a curated selection of all-natural, chemical-free cosmetics, cleansers, fragrances and creams that smell just as nice — if not nicer — than the old-fashioned, non-natural kind. The result of Murray's personal search for safer, kinder products in an industry overrun by unregulated and unhealthy secret formulas, Aillea gathers the best of her next-generation finds in one place to share with Denver faces.

1408 Larimer St.
303-997-6209
aillea.com

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