Want to discover places only the locals know about? Longtime Denverite Bill Husted introduces you to this hidden gem:
Shop where the rock bands shop. And get something edgy for your baby. That’s the drill at Fashion Nation and its offspring Babysitter’s Nightmare, a Denver shopping tradition since 1985.
Fashion Nation is like Neiman Marcus for the punk rocker. A wall in the clothing store is covered with photographs of famous bands that have shopped in the store, and I’m betting you haven’t heard of most of them. The Dead Kennedy’s? The Cure? The rockers know. Through word-ofmouth, this is a must-stop for club clothes when the tour bus parks in Denver.
One of the largest collections of Dr. Marten’s shoes and boots kick it at Fashion Nation – hundreds of the hipster clodhoppers line the walls.
Babysitter’s Nightmare cries in the back of the store, a temple to the Little Rock ‘N Roller in your life. Owners Paul and Pam Italiano raised their children in these threads, most of which make a chilling childish statement. Like the T-Shirt that reads “I (Heart) Zombies” and “Zombie Snack.” One kid T proclaims the child is an “Alcohol Related Accident.” Above a cute kiddie giraffe it says, “I HATE YOU.” Orange is the new black in a County Jail Onsie.
“There is a line you don’t want to cross,” says Paul Italiano. “We take it right up to that line.
