Dedicated to Independent Shoppers and Retailers
Direct to you from Janet Simons, author of the Colorado Smart Shopper and veteran Rocky Mountain News shopping columnist.

Deal of the week!

  Thursday, July 22, through Sunday, July 25, marks the 40th anniversary Cherry Creek Sidewalk Sale. Over the decades, the CCSS has developed into a must-shop retail festival. Read on for a few highlights!
   •Art toys, baby toys, construction toys, dolls, educational toys, games, musical toys, outdoor toys, puppets, puzzles, toy cars and trucks, you name it -- all retiring toys from the entire array at Kazoo & Company Toy Store, 2930 E. Second Ave., 303-322-0973, www.KazooToys.com, will be marked down by 50 percent during the sidewalk sale, and a handful of clearance items will be 85 percent off. Stock up for those upcoming school-year birthday parties!
  •Although Garbarini’s, 3003 E. Third Ave., 303-333-8686, www.Garbarinishop.com is one of Denver’s hautest clothing boutiques, it’s best-known for its amazing shoe selection and the bash the store sponsors during the annual sidewalk sale. Last year, we got a delightful description in an e-mail note from owner Terri Garbarini.
  It’s worth reprising, so here goes:
  We put great big tents over the sidewalk immediately in front of the store and put all the super bargains outside. Everything outside is $98 or less! That includes three or four huge banquet tables piled with shoes (divided by size, so you don't have to dig too much) and, of course, the piles dwindle fairly quickly. We do a progressive sale on the shoes outside. For example: first pair $60; second pair, $40; third pair, $30; fourth pair $20. So, for $150 dollars, you get four pair! You only have to buy one pair, but the second pair is an even better deal. Well, you can see where it leads, and why the piles disappear so fast when you sell four pair at a time. People often buy eight pair. I think 24 pair is the record number for one customer. Anyway, the original prices of these various shoes average between $98 and $298. Some more, some less.
Also outside are racks of tops, skirts, pants, jackets, all $10 to $98, originally priced up to $700. Inside, the sale continues. (We can't fit everything outside.) Selected jeans, handbags, hats and more clothes, shoes and boots are mostly $98 and up.
   •And at SOL Store of Lingerie, 248 Detroit St., 303-394-1060, www.sollingerie.com, it’s time to get to get the girls boosted with a properly fitted bra. “The Today Show” has spotlighted the bra-fitting expertise available at the store, so it’s no wonder that lines stretch around the block when the extremely popular Marie Joe Daisy bra goes on sale. How, you may ask, does a store that fits each bra privately sell hundreds of bras during one sidewalk sale? They give customers pagers so they don’t have to wait at the store and double the number of on-site fitters from six to 12.

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