This past weekend I had the lovely pleasure of attending the store opening of the Agave Denim Outlet in Ridgefield, WA. Hopefully you say my post last week giving the head's up about, and you were there too. It certainly seems like they got the word out because a lot of people were there shopping, hanging out and just having a great time. Here's the low down.
Agave Jeans was founded in 2002 by the super cool Jeff Shafer (pictured). Seriously, I've hung out with him a couple of times, and he's totally the best guy who happens to be a brilliant jeansmith. Anyway, the line was started in LA where all the other main premium denim brands are from, and Jeff got Agave right there in the mix with them. Stupendous quality at a strong price point. After a while though, Jeff tired of LA's "scene" and wanted something better for himself, his family and his fantastic label. So, where better to move than the great NW? Jeff bought some land, designed his studio/warehouse/outlet store and hasn't looked back since. In fact the line is constantly growing and expanding, now including sumptuous cotton t'shirts, supple leather jackets, and tons of other great activewear.
What I really love about the line though, is how personal and thoughtful the brand is. You could feel that thoughtfulness at the fete on Saturday from the personal attention everyone got in the store itself, to the charming BBQ that Jeff set up so people could hang a while and eat too, even to the entertainment, which was dominated by a rousing(i.e. loud) performance by Collision, a band populated with two of Jeff's own kids. I was so under the Agave spell I even walked out with a fabulous pair of white jeans that I can't wait to rock, so if you see me in my white jeans around town, you know where you can pick up your own pair. And you should, seriously. If you can't get up to Ridgefield, Agave is also available online at Bluefly, On The Fly, and Sierra Trading Post.
[...] the Oregon Ballet Theater and also a fashion show featuring Agave, that fabulous denim brand I've written about before. Thank god I went because I couldn't believe how rife this event was with Do's and Don'ts. I [...]