No fireworks? No problem.

Although there won't be any fireworks this July Fourth in Telluride, there will still be plenty of barbecues, beer and good old-fashioned American debauchery.  It's hard to strike a balance between Independence Day spirit and American-as-apple-pie cliche, but we have some suggestions that will help you strike a great balance between patriotism and fashion this fourth.  It doesn't get much more American then red, white and blue, and with extra reason to ramp up the celebration of what this country stands for

this year  (goodbye DOMA!) we think you should go for it and dress for freedom.  A little tip to keep it tasteful and not borderline cheesy: play up two of the color trio and use the third sparingly.  Nautical stripes are always a safe way to be casual and stylish, and with mixed patterns all the rage again this summer, mixing blue and white stripes with, say blue and white stars is a creative and cute choice.  Or why not think a little outside the box and wear expected colors in an unexpected pattern?  We are loving Autumn Cashmere's dip-dye cardigan in blue and white, and it looks amazing with everything from jeans to pencil skirts.  Pair this cardigan with a simple white tank, a pair of white or chambray shorts or white skinny jeans.  Even better: wrap it over your shoulders to accent to a little white sundress, especially if you want to keep things a little more formal.  Then add a splash of red to  your blue and white with some red ballet flats or sandals, or even simply a bold red lip and/or a brick-toned mani/pedi.  This holiday have fun with the stars, stripes and red, white and blue and above all else remember what it all stands for!

Bluegrass is here!

Bluegrass: a little bit country, a little bit rock, and sometimes a little bit wet and muddy.  To avoid looking like a music festival cliché, combine different elements to create a unique boho chic look, and remember to prepare for unpredictable elements, such as weather and throngs of hippies, when you get dressed.  A great way to start is with relaxed yet fitted denim on the bottom. We are loving shorts from Mother right now, and relaxed skinnies from AG in lighter washes.  Printed denim is all the rage this season, and there is no better time to debut a pair than a music fest - just make sure you keep the rest simple.  Pair your denim with an embellished billowy top or throw on a simple tee or tank and pile on bracelets in different textures and materials and add or multiple pendants and rings for an eclectic effect.  A plaid shirt is a cute way to add an extra layer.  Be sure to bring a scarf to ward off Telluride's gale force summer breeze, and bring a straw cowboy hat or a fedora to protect your face from the sun.  Lastly, make sure your footwear is up to the task, not only of looking great, but also for standing for long periods of time, walking, and dust dust DUST.  Stilettos will not do well at the Bluegrass festival, and depending on how far you might venture into the aforementioned throng of hippies, sandals might not be the best choice either.  Short cowboy boots are perfect for Bluegrass and will keep your feet safe and dry, and often look better as they get more beat up.  Wellies might also come in handy if the afternoon brings a thunderstorm or two but don't fret if it rains; should you be forced to reach for the rain boots, Wellies will instantly call to mind Kate Moss's iconic and groundbreaking look at Glastonbury not too long ago, the look that re-defined rubber rain boots as a rock festival staple.  My vote will always be the classic dark green Hunters in knee length, but the bright yellow short ones are making a play for my heart.  Stop by Scarpe before the tents are set up and we'll help you pick the perfect look to carry you through a whole weekend of great music, great food and great fashion at this year's 40th Annual Bluegrass Festival!

For this year's lineup, go to: http://www.bluegrass.com/telluride/lineup.html

Smells Like Teen Spirit

If I could pick a soundtrack for the best years of my life it would be full of Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Jane's Addiction, Radiohead and maybe a little bit of Aerosmith just for some good old classic rock n' roll.  Similarly, if you were to compile a list of fashion must haves for me, both then and now, distressed jeans, plaid shirts, Converse All Stars and boy shirts would probably do it.  Maybe some red lipstick for special occasions. 

I'm a 90s child.  A grunge baby.  An angsty teen turned angsty adult.  And while my style has been refined, streamlined, adapted for the world of being a grown up, the core of my fashion sense still lays somewhere back in middle and high school, back in 90s NYC, sitting on stoops or trying to get into CBGBs with a fake ID.  To this day, Kurt Cobain is my number one fashion icon.  The stripes, the huge sunglasses, the not-quite-bell-bottom jeans and that stringy two-toned blond hair. 

Although I try to march to the beat of my own drummer, I have often been confronted with situations where plaid shirts and boyfriend jeans would appear juvenile, a touch unprofessional, and even downright inappropriate.  I have spent most of my post-grunge years resigned to the fact that the 90s are over and the clothes that are my very favorites must be relegated to weekends and nights.  So imagine my pure delight when I woke up one morning and...well...the 90s were back!!!  Not the real 90s.  The neo 90s.  The modern 90s.  With designers like Marc Jacobs and Alexander Wang at the helm, the 90s have gotten a 2013 makeover.

 

Once again, plaid and stripes rule, denim is a little bit more relaxed, and bending the rules (and sometimes your gender) is once again considered stylish.  The runways are filled with examples of the new 90s, where new takes on both punk and grunge combine with braided hair and bright red lipstick for a delightfully fresh take on what was an enormously important era in the world of music and fashion. 

One of the biggest improvements in grunge dressing these days, what really sets it apart and makes it more mature and more timeless, is tailoring.  No longer is distressed denim actually falling apart.  No longer is the perfect plaid flannel perpetually six sizes too big and, therefore, perpetually sloppy. You can dress androgynously without people actually wondering what sex you are.  Designers are making clothes that look exactly how I, for one, wanted them to look in the 90s, but could never quite find.  When I look at Mother's Slacker Fray jeans (pictured), I am reminded of the too-big jeans my friends and I used to punch extra holes in our belts to wear because they had the perfect flare at the cuff and the perfect amount of wear and tear around the knees.  Mother's Slackers are the jeans of my high school dreams.  They look effortless and cheeky and like they fit perfectly because you're so cool that there isn't an item of clothing on earth that wouldn't fit you perfectly. Back then we would labor away to get our jeans to look lived in, tough, destroyed, careless, and now (insert squeals of delight) you can just buy them!  So go dig up some Chuck Taylors and a goth inspired necklace, ditch the blow-dryer for a day or two (you can do it, I believe in you) and get ready to just be oh-so-cool again without even hardly trying. 

Balloons!

As May draws to a close, Telluride will once again welcome a colorful flock of hot air balloons to town for the annual Balloon Festival.  The sky above town will be transformed with an array of bright colors and bold patterns, and it is truly a sight to behold to watch the balloons launch against the backdrop of the San Juans.  Much like fashion, hot air balloons are functional art.  And also much like fashion, hot air balloons are a celebration of movement and design.  While most women would be loathe to welcome comparisons to a hot air balloon, we think they provide fabulous inspiration for dressing as long as size and shape are taken out of the equation.  Think intense colors, and lots of them, whimsical patterns, and the sensation of floating in the wind.  Stiff and structured cuts have no place in balloon-land; the idea is to go with the flow.  We have the perfect light, airy blouses to pay homage to the balloons and to usher in summer, such as Vince's Deep Placket Blouse in Citron and Graham and Spencer's Watercolor Blouse.

Pair either of these with a pair of jeans or shorts and flutter effortlessly down the street, letting the breeze carry you wherever it may.