Besides designers at our SPLASH summer fashion market, we’ve also got an amazing fashion stylish joining us for the fashion fun! Learn more about Lisa Sharpe, brains behind Stylish Sparrow!
Obsessions:
Roller skating, swimming, horses & Barbies
Fashion as Creative Expression:
I honestly don’t know how. It just always was! My earliest memories of enjoying fashion are creating fashion shows with Barbies and creating outfits on Fashion Plates. As a teenager, I poured over European magazines and Seventeen, studying how the outfits were put together.
Daily Life & Collection
My mother always said, “Buy what you love, even if you don’t know what you’re going to do with it when you get it home. You will find a place for it.”
So, as a resale store owner & stylist, I choose things that speak to me & inspire me. My home decorative items and my clothing collection are eclectic, and yet there is a thread of commonality that emerges because my eye is the common denominator.
Research
Watching fashion trends casually, and then selecting items for resale that delight me and spark a vision of how to style that particular item. I look for simple ways to update looks without buying a new wardrobe, such as a new shoe style or hat or jacket.
For color combinations, I find unexpected ideas in nature, such as brown, ivory & light blue in a Siamese cat. Or, lime green lichen on an umber or gray rock.
Fashion’s Impact
My response to fashion has ranged from shame to levity to obsession. In my 20’s, I overspent and landed myself in debt. I was all dressed up with nowhere to go!
When I worked as a social worker and saw dire situations around the world, I thought fashion was frivolous.
Now in my 40’s, I have returned to my love of fashion and beauty. I respect its rightful place in my life, and the lives of others. What we wear changes how we feel about ourselves. And food, clothing and shelter are the basic human necessities. People have an innate sense of dignity, and the clothing we wear is an expression of this dignity.
Denver Fashion Scene
What I enjoy most about the Denver Fashion scene are the people. I have not yet met a person who is self-absorbed or blatantly self-centered. People are open to newcomers & new ideas. This is congruent with the culture and people of Denver as a whole. My theory is that so many people like myself are transplants, which creates an open and friendly feel.