Comedy and fashion are like oil and water — they simply don’t blend well together.

Last night’s Comedy Couture event at Comedy Works was a bit of a mixed bag. Shoppers at the trunk show snapped up felt flower pins and fuzzy purses by Denver designer Sugarpuss, but Lauryn Esther’s gorgeous jewels were oddly stagnant. Items up for silent auction to benefit SafeHouse Denver included jewelry, scarves, and paintings donated by the artists at the trunk show, but the bidding was lukewarm, and most of the crowd simply filed past and found seats to await the show downstairs.

The actual fashion show featured designs by ReThunk and Eve Boutique. Mariah Becerra’s ReThunk line is way cool, avant-garde wearable art created by recycling unusual objects — bicycle inner tubes, VHS tape — into surprisingly pretty and feminine clothes. (Buyer beware: these outfits might fly at a New York art gallery, but I’d say pass on actually wearing any of them here in Denver.) Eve showed sassy asymetrical jersey skirts, boldly patterned party dresses, and my favorite outfit — a fun pink faux-fur shawl worn with cropped jeans and sexy boots. But those poor models. Please, girls, show some enthusiasm! A few of the gals worked it well, but most of them looked bored, listless, and — dare I say it? — kinda plump. Props to El Salon on the hairdos, however. Next time you need a killer updo, the boys from El Salon can obviously hook you up.

Half the packed crowd seemed into the fashion, but the other half were there for the comedy show. Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald, part-time comedian and full time vet — he’s the kindly white-haired doc on Animal Planet’s Emergency Vets show — shocked some in the crowd with his vet-school jokes. He blew up a parrot, hates Chihuahuas, and thinks some dog owners are dumber than dirt. (Sideline: I got stuck next to an older gal on my left who decided I was her new best friend and wouldn’t shut up the entire time, so I missed half the punch lines. She also kept doing an incredibly annoying elbow-jab to get my attention. NOT necessary, lady.)

All in all, Comedy Couture is worth trying, and it’s certainly not the same-old-same. The next event will be held Monday, December 20.