Back in the day, Richmond Avenue and Shepherd Plaza were the Houston nightlife destinations. Open-air clubs and velvet rope lounges gave all the pretty people a place to be seen, and cruising the streets became an evening in itself. These days, the party has shifted to Washington Avenue where the jeans are no longer tapered and men’s shirts are heavily embroidered. Also new to the corridor is Affection Boutique, a shop catering to Saturday night party girls as well as Sunday brunchettes. The shop is heavy on dresses imported from China where owner Paula Davila travels multiple times a year, buying and keeping the store's selection fresh. A chemist for eight years, Davila decided to become a retail pioneer and open Affection on Washington to fill a void.

“The Washington area is one of the biggest streets in Houston, but when it comes to retail, there’s not so much along here. I thought it was time and I’ve had a great response so far,” Davila said. To prove her point, several customers filtered in and out of her shop during the afternoon, buying items for the weekend ahead.

Essentially a converted warehouse with a store front, Davila's shop takes advantage of the floor-to-ceiling windows that wrap the front of the building by showing off up to eight looks on mannequins. The emphasis is on special occasion dresses and since Davila buys most of her merchandise in Shanghai and Hong Kong, labels matter little. The designs are different, incorporating lace, daring cuts and bright color combinations and even the most intricate dress isn’t more than $250. The sizes however, do run small, ranging from a two to an eight. Jewelry always fits and the expansive back wall of the shop is loaded with high quality costume jewelry under $50.

Affection is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Davila keeps the wine chilling all day. Perfect for a boutique along the Washington Corridor.

Denim for spring has gone back to the future

Chloé, Dolce & Gabbana and, yes, even Banana Republic sent head-to-toe denim looks down the runway updating the denim uniform popular in the late '80s and early '90s. Just in time, Banana Republic is introducing a new denim collection offering eight fits for women, including three skinny styles, the boyfriend and the trouser. Men don’t get all the skinny choices, but they do have straight, vintage straight, boot and relaxed to choose from. Perhaps because it’s spring or maybe the creative team thought we needed to lighten up a bit, the washes are lighter and draw inspiration from blue cloudless skies. And while they aren’t selling for 1988 prices, the new denim collection starts at $79.50.

Kudos to one of the oldest family retailers in Houston

Murry and Karen Penner are headed overseas. Their men's and women's fashion boutique, M Penner, is one of only 17 stores in the United States to be invited to Italy as guests of Esquire Magazine and the Italian Trade Commission. They will get an exclusive look at fresh Italian fashion, which will soon make its way to Houston. Congratulazioni!

A real plus on the Web

Nnete Inyangumia, 97.9 DJ and owner of Strut Boutique, is taking her plus-size styles to the Web. She is closing the doors of her Galleria boutique, but shoppers can still scoop up items by Monif C. and other designers.

Project Runway is back

Project Runway returned to New York, where it belongs. No Houstonians are in the mix for the seventh season of designing, sewing, plotting and scheming, but there are two Dallas designers, Mila Hermanovski and Amy Sarabi in the competition. There was nothing new in last night's episode—a really talented designer got booted while a couple of lesser talents with more dramatic histrionics stayed in—but mentor/co-host Tim Gunn has a new catchphrase. It seems "make it work" has been overworked, so expect to hear a lot of "this worries me."