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Marjorie Skinner

Marjorie Skinner is the Portland Mercury's Managing Editor, author of the weekly Sold Out column chronicling the area's independent fashion and retail industry, and a frequent contributor to the film and other arts and feature sections of the paper. She has been writing about Portland life and culture for the Mercury since 2001, produces one of Portland's largest annual spring fashion shows, and occasionally answers emails.
Posted inNews

Apocalypse Soon

Will You Be Ready for the End of Civilization? The Post-Apocalyptic Summer Camp Will Be!
Avatar photo Marjorie Skinner

Someday, it’s all gonna come crashing down. Play a sick little guessing game: Will it be the bird flu? Nuclear world war? Global warming? Bioterrorism? Economic collapse? Whatever’s in the cards, the people behind the upcoming Preemptive Post-Apocalyptic Summer Camp want YOU to be prepared. The camp is headed up by Tony Deis, founder of […]

Posted inMovies & TV

Girl, You’ll Be a Woman… Whoops!

Gentrification Meets Gestation in Quinceañera
Avatar photo Marjorie Skinner

In Latino culture, the quinceañera is a customary ceremony to commemorate a girl’s 15th birthday. More importantly, it signifies the transition into womanhood. The amount of fuss and pomp (read: money) over this event is taken to be indicative of the family’s economic status, and the similarities to weddings don’t stop there—the young woman of […]

Posted inSold Out

Sold Out

Working it Out with Physical Element
Avatar photo Marjorie Skinner

When it comes to workout wear, there are two basic approaches. One is to focus solely on comfort and function—right down to that pair of sweats you inherited from your brother and the T-shirt you (finally!) earned in Camel Cash. The other side of the coin cares as much for the look of their activewear […]

Posted inSold Out

Sold Out

Avatar photo Marjorie Skinner

North Mississippi continues its steady march toward becoming a shopping hub, with new additions streaming in left and right. The kiddies can get their kicks at the new retail space of Black Wagon (3964 N Mississippi), the clothing store for hip tots that’s been residing purely on the web (blackwagon.com) up until now. “Cool” and […]

Posted inMovies & TV

Head Games

The Night Listener: Up to Old Tricks
Avatar photo Marjorie Skinner

Trust no one. That seems the only way to navigate the contemporary minefield of fiction, with widespread deception being the current fad. Take, among others, the bizarre JT LeRoy hoax, which left fans as perplexed as the book reviewers who wondered who they had been talking to during phone interviews. It’s murky territory when an […]

Posted inSold Out

Sold Out

Portland Makes Sustainable Look Good
Avatar photo Marjorie Skinner

I’ve always thought of Portland as the “final frontier” of the West Coast. Sure, that’s partly because you can still smoke in bars and non-millionaires can buy homes within the city limits—but more importantly, it’s because Portland is still a place where people can come in order to do things. Because the city is fresh […]

Posted inSold Out

Sold Out

PDX Welcomes Upper Playground
Avatar photo Marjorie Skinner

Something old and something new are on the horizon. The new: San Francisco-based more-than-a-store Upper Playground is moving into new digs at 23 NW 5th (which some will recognize as the former headquarters of the Fashion Incubator). The old (only in the lightning-quick pop-cultural sense) is “Fall for Fashion,” a fall runway show featuring two […]

Posted inSold Out

Sold Out

“4”
Avatar photo Marjorie Skinner

Fashion may begin with the designer’s vision, but it doesn’t have to end there. Some of the best minds in the industry are those who do the buying for boutiques—scouring trade shows and researching lines to find the best items to suit their stores’ personality and that of their customers. Often, these people are goldmines […]

Posted inSold Out

Sold Out

Shopping the Hottest Summer Sales
Avatar photo Marjorie Skinner

Attention shoppers: Now you have even more reasons to giddyup and shop, with boutiques popping up like dandelions all over town. Firstly, Bubble Boutique has made its debut in the Pearl district, a complementary neighbor to the new location of Odessa, which is finding greener (if slightly smaller) pastures in the space formerly occupied by […]

Posted inSold Out

SOLD OUT

Magalí Corzo: Sample Sale
Avatar photo Marjorie Skinner

It’s not too late to get your hands on the best in spring design, even if the magazines insist you start thinking about the heavy knits of fall. So put down that glossy, and go outside to the here and now, where the required fashion is sexy, sparse, and all about fun. And while you’re […]

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