Anyone familiar with fashion knows styles go through 20-year cycles, when what was popular two decades ago reemerges onto the scene and what's old is suddenly new again.

Margaret Miner has been recycling fashion for 21 years at her Boulder consignment shop, Rags. And it was right around her two-decade mark that she decided it was time for something new.

Rags now has a location in Cherry Creek and a warehouse space in Boulder.

To focus on her burgeoning fashion business, Miner has decided to divest herself from her other business, Boulder's Ten20 nail salon. She plans to sell or close the business by the end of April.

We sat down with Miner to learn more about her recent moves:

1. Why did you open the warehouse?

We were looking for a warehouse space to store things that didn't sell while we decided what to do with them. It was just a warehouse sorting space but we got into negotiations and the city thought it was a retail space.

So we said, OK we'll do retail. We spiffed the whole thing up and it kind of pieced itself together. It's about 3,500 square feet and holds 7,000 items. We don't do consignment over there.

2. There are a lot of used clothing options in Boulder. What's Rags' niche?

It really was for me. When I started, I was looking around and nobody was selling what I wanted. There were garage sales and Goodwill and retro vintage, but nobody was just selling J Crew.

Now we've got Buffalo Exchange and Crossroads, but they skew toward a younger crowd. We start at probably 28 (years old) all the way up, anyone who is interested in clothes.

We sell the high-end mall and boutique brands, from J Crew and Banana Republic up to Balenciaga. But most of it is right in the middle: J Jill, Tibi.

I didn't realize I was thinking about a niche or a hole in the market — I didn't know those phrases or words. I just sold what I wanted to buy, what my friends wanted.

3. Why did you make the decision to step away from Ten20?

When I opened it 12 years ago, I had a partner. Our deal was I'm going to be the ideas person, the money, the marketing and you're going to run it.

Within a year, she left, not on good terms and I was suddenly thrown into the middle of it. So I've been looking at when our lease changes. I've always had a couple of five-year terms and this time I said, 'OK, just let it go to sleep.'

It's such a difficult business to run. We have great managers, but it needs a lot more coddling. If it all fell apart at Rags, I could do the work myself. I couldn't do it at Ten20. I can't do nails.

4. Is a sale or a closure more likely at this point?

It's down to the wire, People are interested in buying it, but it's got to be the right person.

It has to happen so quickly, I would be surprised if someone pulled it off in that time.

I also have listed for sale the brand package. It has this crazy following, which is great. So it could close and reopen somewhere else.

5. With a focus completely on Rags, what's the plan for the business?

We're getting the Ten20 thing done then taking a trip to Italy in May. Then we're going to see, in terms of the business, what we want to do.

I'm from Austin, Texas, and I'm interested in opening something there. Every other day, I'm like, we should just open 100 stores. People should really stop me.

Shay Castle: 303-473-1626, castles@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/shayshinecastle

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