Cedar & Hyde Mercantile
AUTHOR BIO: With a day job that requires constant travel, Maria Rodriguez is likely a frequenter of your favorite restaurant. She’s reviewed restaurants since 2007 in publications from Barcelona to Bakersfield.
I came to Boulder for the food, if I’m being honest. There was a vague plan about hiking something dramatic and maybe learning the difference between all those variations of fermented kombucha, but really I was there to eat my way through the city's chefs-in-fleeces culinary scene.
What I didn’t expect—between a half-dozen tasting menus and one aggressively cheerful acai bowl—was how easily Boulder turns you into someone who shops.
You start with a stroll down Pearl Street, the city’s attempt at making retail feel like a spiritual cleanse, and before long you’re debating whether your life would be improved by a $300 sweater woven out of ethically harvested Mongolian goats. The answer, it turns out, is yes.
Here are 12 boutiques that prove Boulder’s retail scene deserves just as much reverence as its restaurants.
Apocalypse
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If the world ends and Boulder survives, I want to be dressed by Apocalypse. Part vintage store, part punk-rock music video, this shop is packed with reworked denim, oversized leather jackets, and the kind of crop tops that require youth or bravado. Possibly both. No idea who owns it. I suspect a coven.
Canoe Club
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This menswear shop might be Boulder’s most convincing case that guys can care about fashion without needing a trust fund or a modeling contract. Founded by longtime friends Blake Sager and Timothy Grindle, Canoe Club carries cult-favorite brands like Engineered Garments, Kapital, and Visvim—basically, clothes for men who know their selvedge from their sashiko. The space feels more like a gallery than a store, and the staff actually knows what they’re talking about.
Cedar & Hyde Mercantile
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Sisters Christie and Poss Lambert opened this quietly elegant shop in a historic apothecary on 11th Street, and you can still feel the bones of the place—if those bones wore Jesse Kamm jumpsuits and lived off spelt porridge. It’s split into two spaces: one for women’s clothing and one for housewares you’ll fantasize about but never afford. Still, it’s the kind of shop that makes you want to be a better person, or at least someone who composts in linen.
Common Threads
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If Boulder moms had a secret society, their headquarters would be Common Threads. The consignment racks are curated like a concept store in Paris, with gently pre-owned Isabel Marant and Frye boots that look like they’ve never seen a puddle. Owned by Libby Alexander, it’s also a hub for local fashion obsessives trying to unload their past lives.
Elison Rd.
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If Anthropologie had a bohemian younger sister who ditched corporate life to live in a yurt outside Nederland, it would be Elison Rd. Owned by Natalie Minzer, the shop stocks easy, flowy pieces from lesser-known West Coast brands, plus candles and jewelry that smell and sparkle like a Nancy Meyers daydream.
Haven
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Tucked off Pearl Street, Haven feels like the retail equivalent of the Pinterest board of your most stylish friend. The women’s clothing, home goods, and accessories come with a touch of West Coast polish—linen jumpsuits, ceramic mugs, macramé plant holders. New owner Susan Glow curates like someone who knows exactly what needs to be worn to every single occasion, a talent indeed.
Jones + Co.
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This shop is what happens when your minimalist friend from LA opens a boutique in Boulder. Owner Elizabeth Jones curates a collection of sustainable, neutral-toned brands, mostly women-run, all Instagram-ready. It’s aspirational without being obnoxious, and her emphasis on small-batch goods makes everything feel like a find.
Mabel and Moss
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This is where you go when you want to look effortless but still quietly expensive. The clothes at Mabel and Moss lean polished bohemian—structured blazers, drapey blouses, gold hoops that whisper “I summer in Telluride.” Owner Erika Lynn keeps the palette tight (think camel, cream, olive) and the brands even tighter: minimalist labels you won’t find at the mall, styled for women who pretend not to care but absolutely do.
MAX Clothing
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If you’ve ever wondered what a $1,200 outfit looks like, MAX is here to demonstrate—with dramatic lighting and no apologies. With locations in Aspen and Denver as well, MAX is the place for runway labels, think Stella McCartney, The Row, and Nili Lotan. These are clothes styled for the kind of Colorado woman who hikes in Loro Piana and refers to Aspen as “the city.” It’s owned by Max Martinez, who’s been dressing Boulder’s fanciest since the '80s.
Rebecca’s Herbal Apothecary
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Part old-school apothecary, part modern witch’s pantry, Rebecca’s has become a downtown institution. Founder Rebecca Luna stocks tinctures, oils, dried herbs, and mysterious-smelling bath soaks, with staff that actually knows how to explain the difference between mugwort and wormwood. Come for the skincare, leave with a sudden belief in calendula.
Weekends
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Weekends has been holding down a corner of Pearl Street since the ‘90s, a tenure that makes it practically a Boulder elder. The racks are full of elevated basics—AG jeans, Vince knits, the kind of sweaters that work equally well at après-ski or pretending you just came from yoga. Owner Mary Pottle stocks it for locals with money but no desire to flaunt it, which basically sums up Boulder style in general.
