I had discovered the Phoenix, Arizona boutique Purple Lizard Boutique online a few months prior and had been quietly obsessing over the small boutique ever since. I found Purple Lizard Boutique when I was digging online for quarantine clothes, and their offering of uber-comfy chic dresses had turned up. As I started clicking through the rest of Purple Lizard Boutiques offerings, I knew I had stumbled upon a very special store.
With so much of fashion retail becoming increasingly slick and data-driven, I have deeply missed the textured landscape of small boutique retail, and Purple Lizard Boutique stands out as a jewel of its kind. Purple Lizard has an extraordinary collection of small and hard-to-find designers, as well as goods made by artists and craftsman. You have graphic African print dresses by Fahari Bazaar, made in Tanzania by a small group of seamstresses. You’ll also find Manuelle Guibal, a French label founded in 1991 focusing on understated clothes in carefully dyed raw fabrics. Elsa Esturgie is another exquisitese French label carried by Purple Lizard, and looks like the kind of clothes a Yohji Yamamoto woman would pack for a vacation. The experience of Purple Lizard is light years away from shopping at a giant like Nordstrom or Net-a-Porter. It’s obvious that Purple Lizard is a true labor of love.
