Some know Kari Sanders as the woman who always arrives dressed for the occasion.
The dramatic coats. The vintage treasures. The feathers. The pink. The unmistakable confidence.
Others affectionately call her the “Carrie Bradshaw of Fort Collins.”
“She’s my spirit animal,” Sanders says. “Every time I get dressed, I think, What would Carrie wear?”
But long before New York shaped her wardrobe, Fort Collins shaped the woman she would become. Born at Poudre Valley Hospital and raised here, Kari comes from a family woven into the city’s history.
For Sanders, style didn’t begin in a closet. It began on College Avenue, inside Julian’s, where her grandmother, Jenny Allen - “Honey” to everyone who loved her- worked among racks of elegant clothing.
Kari’s mother would dress her up and take her downtown to meet Honey for lunch at the Walgreens diner everyone called Wags. Afterward, Kari wandered through Julian’s with her hands tucked behind her back, absorbing the glamour and Honey’s impeccable style. Sometimes Honey let her sit in the front window and watch College Avenue pass by. Kari still remembers Honey’s Ciara perfume and keeps a bottle today.
Honey favored black and white, drove enormous yellow Cadillacs and rarely left home without looking polished. Kari inherited that belief in making an effort, though her version includes considerably more color, volume and feathers.
“My grandmother would probably be a little embarrassed,” she says with a laugh, “but she would respect the effort I put into it.”
In Kari’s family, showing up well meant being present, for a dinner, a friendship, a celebration or a community.
In 1959, her grandfather, Bill Allen, was one of four founders of the Fort Collins Country Club. Kari remembers summers at the pool and family membership number 128, which she later reclaimed. She still has Honey’s white Cobra golf bag. It is heavy, impractical, and priceless.
Her grandparents were generous hosts, and Kari and her husband, Scott, continue that tradition.
Scott served 25 years in the Air Force and retired as a colonel, giving Kari one of her favorite introductions: yes, she has her own “Colonel Sanders.” He also brings his own polished style right alongside hers.
Together, they can turn almost anything into an occasion. For their pug Olive’s 10th birthday, they hosted a black-tie celebration. Even a dog’s milestone deserved formalwear.
That playful spirit explains Kari’s wardrobe better than any label. Dinner is more fun in a fabulous coat, a CSU game more celebratory in sequins, and lunch with friends reason enough for feathers.
Her childhood Fort Collins was filled with familiar rituals: Panhandler’s Pizza after football games, Saturdays at Foothills Fashion Mall and Friday evenings at The Rio when she returned home.
“It was the better version of Facebook,” she says. “You would see people you hadn’t seen in a while, get caught up and reminisce.”
The city has grown, yet Kari can still pass Julian’s and Garwood Jewelers and feel decades have passed on the same block.
One piece of that history never leaves her hand. Kari wears Honey’s wedding ring, originally purchased from Garwood Jewelers in Old Town. She brings it to Randy and Deb for cleaning, and Randy recognizes it.
It is a small circle of Fort Collins history - chosen by Honey, remembered by Randy, and now carried through Old Town on Kari’s hand.
College in Texas and Scott’s Air Force career took them around the country. Seattle introduced Kari to polish, and New York gave her permission to stop wondering whether an outfit was too much.
The move to Manhattan was not entirely unrelated to Sex and the City. Kari loved its energy and women who dressed for themselves. On New York streets, she saw feathers with denim, vintage coats on ordinary afternoons and personal style without apology. Thrift and secondhand stores became sources for unusual pieces with enough personality to inspire an entire look.
Then she brought that freedom home.
“I wasn’t going to leave it in New York,” she says.
New York influenced the way Kari dressed, but family ultimately brought her home. Her younger brother, Matthew, lives with disabilities, and being close to him was one of the most important reasons she and Scott returned to Fort Collins.
The confidence she developed in New York came home with her. Today, her closet is a joyful collision of sequins, tulle, faux fur, vintage finds, statement coats, shoes and enough pink to qualify as its own design philosophy.
She doesn’t chase every trend. She gravitates toward texture, movement and pieces that make her feel something. For her, clothing is storytelling.
“It’s kind of like reading a foreword to a book before you start the first chapter,” she says. “You get a feel for what the person is like or how they’re feeling.”
Kari jokes that athletics were never her calling. What she could do was spot one unusual garment and imagine a look around it.
“I love that challenge,” she says.
Her message isn’t to dress like her, but to stop talking yourself out of what you love.
Fort Collins may be known for hiking boots, athleisure and relaxed Colorado style, but Kari believes casual should be an option rather than an obligation. She imagines more local fashion variety, even a boutique filled with elevated CSU game-day looks: sparkly boots, feathered skirts and sequins worthy of a home game.
“Bring it for the home team,” she says. “Let’s have some fun.”
The most meaningful pieces in Kari’s collection are not always the boldest. She owns fur coats that belonged to Honey and her mother, their names embroidered inside. The ring, coats, perfume and golf bag carry the presence of the women who taught her to enjoy beautiful things instead of saving them for someday.
Which raises the kind of question Carrie Bradshaw might have turned into a column: Does confidence create style, or does style teach us to be confident?
For Kari, the answer is both.
New York gave her courage; Fort Collins gave that courage somewhere meaningful to return. Now she hopes younger women discover that freedom sooner than she did.
Experiment. Shop vintage. Try the unexpected piece. Wear the fabulous coat to lunch. Add the feathers. Choose the color.
“Reach for the thing that makes you happy,” Kari says. “Find a place to wear it. It doesn’t have to be a special occasion.”
The little girl who walked through Julian’s with her hands tucked behind her back now reaches for the beautiful thing, puts it on, and walks straight into the day.
The feathers may be what people notice first.
But in Kari’s world, there’s no such thing as overdressed, only permission to celebrate yourself.
“Every time I get dressed, I think, ‘What would Carrie wear?’ Then I reach for something fun and unexpected.”
“Fashion is like telling a story without having to use words.” - Kari Sanders