In June 2008, Jan Polach and her daughter Alex opened their store Zēlaz to provide age appropriate clothing and accessories to tween and teen girls. First located in Ridgedale Center, Zēlaz settled in Excelsior 15 months ago. “Excelsior is very welcoming to small businesses,” Polach said. Zēlaz was born out of their frustration with finding clothing that wasn’t too old for younger girls like Alex at the time. The high volume, big stores didn’t have many appropriate options available, Jan said. Alex, who will be a senior at St. Louis Park High School in the fall, and her mother are business …
Robyne Robinson, the designer behind jewelry company Rox Minneapolis, will be at Omorphia in Excelsior for a trunk show of her latest collection this Wednesday. Robinson, an award-winning Minneapolis news anchor and former art gallery owner, designs her own pieces, and has been creating jewelry since age 12. Self-taught, she started Rox Minneapolis in 2003, and was discovered by Ralph Lauren’s CEO Frank Guzzetta, who appreciated Robinson’s artful use of pearls, metals, and exotic, semi-precious stones from countries she’d visited while traveling. Robinson now sells her work at boutiques …
Wayzata has long been a hot spot for fine consignment – Rags From Riches and Fashion Avenue are always full of designer pieces thanks to their locals’ guru-like sense of style. But there’s nothing else like Circa Vintage west of Minneapolis, and the new store does, in fact, up Wayzata’s fashion ante: the shop carries retail generally associated with uptown Minneapolis or New York City, different from the traditional J.Crew vibe of the lake crowd.Since it’s opening in the spring of 2009 it’s settled well into the Wayzata shopping community. Laura McPhillips, the store’s owner, says she feels …
One closet, one stylist, one hour. That’s what happened when I persuaded a local personal stylist/wardrobe consultant (who happens to be a friend of a friend) to donate her time and talent to a needy cause (who happens to be me). You see, my so-called wardrobe has suffered from neglect over the past decade, a casualty of parenthood and life. Granted, I’m no fashionista. Never have been. Perhaps this stems from my childhood. Growing up on a farm, style simply wasn’t important. And wearing a Catholic school uniform for 12 years no doubt stunted my fashion sense. As a young lawyer in the 90s…
Editor's note: This is the first in an occassional series exploring individual senses of style and fashion. Have a subject for a future installment? E-mail jay.corn@patch.com. Her hair is bright pink. She wears a tight Superman shirt underneath a pink sweater with black shorts and high tops. She’s 15, likes heavy metal, has plenty of friends and says she’s happy. Her name is Angel Sanders, and her favorite color is actually purple. “My hair used to be really, really bright purple, but it faded,” Sanders said, turning down the Rise Against track blaring from her iPod. Her loud fashion draws …
