Volume 2, Issue 15 July 6 - July 19, 2000

So you wouldn't be caught dead in Dockers and a button-down shirt. That doesn't mean you don't need a little fashion advice. Everyone, whether they admit it or not, chooses what they put on in the morning with the intention of looking stylish.

First off, let's clarify. There's fashion, and then there's style. Fashion is something that can be bought--the latest shoes from Nine West, the newest Levis, or the hottest-selling shirt at the Gap. Style is something else entirely--it's an attitude. Style reflects all facets of your life. It's individual: what you may think is swell might make me lower my head in shame.

And I do. (Lower my head in shame, that is.) There are so many perfect examples on the streets of Denver of people who either don't acknowledge style exists or have chosen to ignore it completely. Take, for example, the delayed trend phenomenon: people who think they are funky and cool for catching a trend once it has been exploited and discarded by MTV.

The offenses are heinous. At ROSS Dress For Less, they are selling snakeskin pants. People that shop at ROSS shouldn't wear snakeskin. This is a trend that's best left for people in the Australian Outback. JCPenny does big business selling phat JNCO pants. You've seen them: little ravers who feel so "alternative" until they realize they accidentally left the tags on, and everybody knows that Mom bought them at the mall.

Speaking of malls, let's discuss Hot Topic. Does a real goth buy morbid clothes off the rack from a chain store? And could everybody please just acknowledge that the "power bead" bracelet trend is dead? Walgreens has them for $2 each! To me, the most ridiculous trend of all is cargo pockets. They just won't die. Everybody wears them and nobody actually uses them. Maybe if we could all band together and stop buying them, the stores would stop selling them. What a day that will be.

By far the worst offenders are those who find it acceptable to take fashion advice from Wal-Mart. Please, take a moment to let this sink in. A homogenized mass-mar-ket retailer is presenting to you clothing that has no resemblance to anything you see on any stylish person, and people buy it! And wear it! Repeat after me, please: "It's the end of a trend if you can buy it at Wal-Mart." Practice what is called the ‘Wal-Mart turn-around' ... if you find yourself in the parking lot of Wal-Mart, turn around.

There is no reason for anyone to dress like a paper doll when Denver has so many places to buy fashionable and stylish threads. The challenge is finding things that express your individuality while still maintaining a semblance of togetherness. After all, it's very rare that one rolls out of bed and into a fly outfit.

Luckily enough, Go-Go and I are here for you. As the new fashion editor, I'll be telling you what you should and shouldn't be seen in public wearing. You can count on us to point out your faux pas and to praise you when you do well. As always, our slant will be on alternatives to the mainstream--we're not GQ and we don't want to be. Keep your eyes on this space for much more style talk and watch your back, because if you insist on looking bad, I'm out there, kids, and I'm going to let you know it.

Atomic Garage is the kind of place that caters to a very specific crowd. If you're scared of black vinyl clothes or offended by the word ‘fuck' ... stay away. If, however, you love bondage or live for shock value, this is your place. In the spirit of FashioNation and Hot Topic, Atomic Garage brings to Denver a variety of clothes for the most ambitious among us. Located at 2870 South Broadway in Englewood, they sell new and used clothing, art, stickers, and jewelry, including offerings from Lip Service and Manic Panic.

Lucky enough to be housed in a very large space, Atomic Garage tries to fill it using what they term ‘clubwear' or clothing that is not meant to be worn every day. (Unless, of course, your idea of everyday clothing includes silver vinyl pants or hot pants with the word ‘pussy' emblazoned all over them.) As far as used clothing goes, they carry a variety of alternative clothing, including a pair of used JNCOs that were marked at $28.

Atomic Garage may be a bit of a jaunt for the centrally located, but is easy to find by driving down Broadway and looking for the fluorescent handmade signs in the window. It is about a block and a half past Yale. The posted hours are 12-6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 12-5 p.m. on Saturdays, but it is advisable to call first to make sure that the store has opened for the day.

For more information, call Atomic Garage at 303-806-0968.