Slowly but surely, Denver is becoming more and more of a fashion-based city, integrating several new fashion boutiques and stores all across the city. With on-trend fashion constantly changing, boutique owners who thrive shop the market for the next best styles to carry in order to bring fashionable style to Denver’s locals.
Alexandra Kyle and her sister, Daron Pflug, opened Fifth and Hudson Boutique in the Jefferson Park area of Denver about a year and a half ago in the hopes of carrying their favorite styles and sharing them with their customers. With a passion for local fashion and a vision of opening a boutique that carries quality clothing at an affordable price, Kyle and Pflug began their journey in the retail industry with Fifth and Hudson.
303 Magazine: Where does your background in fashion start?
Alexandra Kyle: My background started in the beauty industry and I did hair for eight years. My husband moved to Scottsdale and when I was down there I developed more of a love for fashion and local fashion. Originally, I wanted to start there but he got transferred back here. I think Denver has a lot of great options and variety but we weren’t really seeing it in stores we saw here. There would either be high end or less expensive clothing and that’s it. We needed a variety.
303: How did Fifth and Hudson start?
AK: We were ready to get our own vision up off the ground. We wanted on-trend pieces that came with quality and at a more affordable price. We kind of wanted to get away from quick and easy pieces that last two washes and then are done with. November was when we hit one year. So we’ve now been open for about a year and a half.
303: What were your biggest influences not only with the store but also working in fashion generally?
Daron Pflug: We both love Revolve.
AK: Yeah, that was sort of our starting point. We obviously didn’t want to mimic Revolve, but bring Revolve here. There’s a bunch of different price points and a bunch of different options for anyone. We also both have a good set of bloggers we like to follow.
DP: Just through the years we love watching all the fashion out there and all the companies that come up.
303: Describe the style of the store and the clothing you carry?
DP: I’d say its a good mix of both of our styles and some of the things we’d wear ourselves. On our downtime, we browse social media to see what new styles there are that we might want. This year it’s very ’70s.
AK: I think I would describe it as suited for a young sophisticated woman that still loves to be fun with her fashion. A few brands we carry and love are Fifth Label, AgoldeAGOLDE, Saltwater Lux, and Lumier.
303: What does daily life working in retail look like for you?
AK: We go to market every quarter — about four times a year. We pick out two seasons ahead. So, when we go into June, we’ll be shopping for winter. I’m more behind the scenes and keeping that up to date. Daron is more in-store, like HR and personnel.
303: What is your favorite part of owning your own retail business?
AK: Working with the girls we have here. I feel like we have a great little community. Also, watching something you’ve put your heart and soul into and watching it grow is amazing.
DP: I feel like it’s family here. It’s fun to come to work and see all the different fashion.
303: What does the future of Fifth and Hudson look like?
AK: Being in the beauty industry, I miss having that clientele relationship. We’ve been thinking of doing Fifth and Hudson Beauty on the side, like doing lash extensions and things like that. Using this to help grow online too would be ideal. Tying it all together it makes sense. Why wouldn’t you want to go get your lashes done then shop around and make a day out of it
DP: It would be like a one-stop-shop. We just want to grow and expand. I think Fifth and Hudson is such a meaningful and personal thing for both of us. I don’t see either of us leaving this.
All photography by Karson Hallaway.
