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Posts Tagged ‘downtown St. Paul’

St. Paul Capital Collective

Wednesday, September 29th, 2010

The dramatic central lobby of Landmark Center provided a perfect stage for a runway show tonight, featuring fall fashion from several St. Paul boutiques. Too bad more shoppers weren’t there to see it. (Especially fun to see vintage Lula ensembles look so modern, and every Minnesota man should take a style cue from BlackBlue.) Tickets for the St. Paul Capital Collective show were $40, which is a lot, even as a benefit for downtown improvement groups. So, there are kinks to work out. But producer and tireless supporter of local retail Richard Moody is determined to bring this show back, bigger and better, next year. St. Paul finally has enough fashionable boutiques to make it work so east side shoppers, prepare  to represent!

There ARE shoppers in downtown St. Paul!

Tuesday, January 20th, 2009

Want to see the downtown St. Paul Macy's spring to life? Give away cosmetics. Smartly dressed women came out of the woodwork in St. Paul on Tuesday morning. Honestly, I thought I'd taken a wrong turn into Minneapolis on my way to the sorry downtown store, which is usually a ghost-town at 10:30 a.m., and could barely be called "bustling" even over the lunch hour. But it's not for lack of downtown workers who are interested in beauty and fashion. As I observed a line that snaked around the entire first floor, I thought, if only Macy's could get these ladies in here on a typical day, the state of downtown St. Paul shopping would be a whole lot healthier. Stop saving the better merchandise for the suburbs and we won't have to wait until the weekend to shop! Of course it goes both ways. If the same crowd had supported Il Vostro Boutique when it set up shop in town for the RNC, perhaps we'd have more fashionable stores downtown. Don't wait for free night cream to get out of your cubicles, ladies!

Il Vostro in downtown St. Paul

Tuesday, July 29th, 2008

Il Vostro Boutique of 50th and France is in the news this week for owner Stacey Finnegan’s surprising  decision to open a second shop in downtown St. Paul, which is not exactly known for its lively fashion scene. The move could pay for itself in marketing – she’s getting calls from every news outlet in town because, unfortunately, a contemporary women’s boutique opening in St. Paul is a rather unusual turn of events. The timing is no accident – Il Vostro will open before the Republican National Convention. Anxious to make St. Paul look lively, the city gave her a discount on rent and a short-term lease. So what happens after the convention? That depends on whether St. Paul workers and residents are really ready to shop. I can do only so much alone.


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