Black and White and Red All Over

I've talked before about using a pop of color in an outfit to add interest.  Recently my favorite color combo has been using black and white with a pop of red.  This is a pretty classic combo and, in my opinion, it never really goes out of style.  Several of the clothing items seen here are things I have had in my closet for awhile.  The exceptions (things you can find in stores now) are the black and white striped shirt from the Gap, fake leather shorts and scarf from Forever 21, swimsuit from Target, and the VINCA jewelry which was courtesy of local designer Amanda Dimova.  If you don't know anything about VINCA you can check out this post I wrote back in August.  VINCA stuff is available for purchase on their website, or you can find some of it at local boutiques Parts and Labour, DownSTAIRS Apparel, IF + D, and Capra & Cavelli.  Correction: VINCA is no longer sold at Parts and Labour, but you can find it across the street at Creatures.

2nd St. Sidewalk Sale

There will be family friendly shopping and trick or treating at the 2nd Street District on Thursday night.  Make sure you stop by Studio 563 to get your free halloween photo taken.

Recap: Glam, Glitter, & Gore Fashion Show

I guess I shouldn't have set my production value expectations too high for an event taking place at a venue called Starving Art Studios.  The small room with low ceilings, lack of good lighting, and questionable DJ made me feel a little nervous about what the fashion show was going to entail.

The turnout for this shopping event and fashion show was probably not what the artists and designers involved had hoped for.   As I stood around waiting for the fashion show to start, it became more and more clear to me that this crowd was similar to that you would see at a school play.  The people in attendance seemed to be mostly that of close family and friends of the people involved.

With all of that said, once the show actually started (an hour later than it was supposed to) I thought it was fun.  I especially liked Anslee of savannahred's Day of the Dead inspired designs.  But after waiting for so long for the show to start, I was disappointed with how quickly the show was over.  I wish there had been more designers involved in this show so that there would have been more designs to see.

Here are my photos from the show that took place last Saturday:

savannahred

Glam, Glitter, & Gore

Ok, the text on that flyer might possibly be the worst I have ever seen.  There is way too much going on to able to decipher anything.  Luckily I am here to break it down for you.

Glam, Glitter, and Gore is a shopping and art event happening today at the Starving Art Studios.  Starting at noon today, you can enjoy food trailers, an indoor artist market, outdoor vendors, family friendly costume projects and crafts, face painting, and more.  This portion of the event is more geared towards families and kids.

Starting at 6 pm the event becomes more focused on the adults.  There will be a closing reception for the Glam, Glitter, & Gore art exhibition that has been going on since October 1st.  You can enjoy drinks, live music, a costume contest, photo booths, and more.

But the main reason I am excited about this event is the fashion show that is taking place at 6:30.    This fashion show will feature collaborative designs by svannahred, Jinxedaposed, Megan Summerville, Jennifer Cunningham, The Curiosarium, Al Shults, Shalena Designs, Simmang Designs, and more.

Halloween Lingerie Fashion Show

I didn't really realize how scandalous this event flyer was until I just increased its size and uploaded it into this blog post.  Hopefully no one is offended by boobs.  If you are, then you should probably stay at home on Halloween weekend.  Halloween is when the slut-tastic girls think they have an excuse to dress extra slutty.

Basically, if you less than prude girls don't have any costume ideas yet, then i suggest coming out for this fashion show tonight.  It will feature lingerie "costumes" from TABU Lingerie.

STYLE Watch: Bon La Vu Fashion Show and Launch Party

Where: Bon La Vu Fashion Show and Launch Party at Lanai

When: Sunday Oct. 17, 2010

There was a really great turn out at the Bon La Vu show and I think the attendees were one of the better dressed crowds I have seen in awhile.

Recap: Bon La Vu Fashion Show and Launch Party

What is Bon La Vu?

Honestly this is a question that I couldn't find many answers to last Sunday night.  Even though there were many local designers involved in this shindig, the majority of them seemed pretty unaware of what the whole thing was about.  I got more answers by just going to the Bon La Vu website.  However, the website is "member exclusive" which means you have to enter in your email even to browse the site.  Bleh.  I'm not a fan of sites where you have to sign in just to look at anything.   

But anyway, the point of the website Bon La Vu is this: Every day they feature a different outfit made up of pieces by local designers and/or local boutiques.  You can buy any piece separately, OR you can buy the whole outfit.  If you buy the entire outfit then you get a discount.  Sounds kinda awesome, right?

Welcome to the 90s Mr.Banks

Remeber Alf?  He's back, in pog form!... I could go on all day making references to 90s pop culture. But I won't.  My point is, the 90s are back.  


It kinda makes you feel old doesn't it?  Were the 90s really that long ago that the fashion has already made it's way back into rotation?  The answer is yes.  Have y'all noticed the resurgence of combat boots?  Baby doll dresses?  I went to Feathers the other night for their birthday sale and noticed several 90s baby doll minis.  Personally I love the baby doll dress.  It's fun, girly, flirty, and comfortable.  Juxtaposed with the edginess of combat boots, this 90s trend it's on its way back.

dEconstructing Kelly Young

When I walked into jewelry designer Kelly Young's apartment I didn't really know what to expect.  I had only met Kelly once when we were at an event at Mohawk.  The time we met, Kelly had a booth set up displaying her jewelry line, dEconstructed dEsign.  I was intrigued by her work so I stuck around her booth for awhile.  Her jewelry had a sign next to it saying "Hand chains. Ask me how these work!"  When your jewelry needs instructions, you know you have an interesting product that is not your average accessory.

But Kelly is probably not your average girl.  I discovered this when I walked into her apartment and discovered a girl with a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles mask around her head, living in what could have easily been mistaken as a jewelry parts factory.  I am not exaggerating when I say there was jewelry and jewelry pieces everywhere.  This girl loves the process of making jewelry and obviously has a passion for it.  Interestingly, she says she herself does not really wear much jewelry.  When she's not making jewelry Kelly is bartending and she fears most of her jewelry is not appropriate for that job atmosphere.  Wouldn't want to get an arm band caught on a beer tap.

Dog and Pony

Ever since I graduated from UT I hardly ever make it over to the campus area, unless it's to quench my thirst for bubble tea.  So I was unaware of the new boutique near campus, Dog and Pony, that opened up recently.  Dog and Pony lives on Guadalupe next to Kasbah and has only been around for about 2 months, but I have already been hearing some good things about it.  I went the other day to check it out for myself.

What I found at Dog and Pony was a decent selection of trendy clothes that were priced pretty reasonably. There were actually some really unique pieces at this place.  Some one of a kind hand painted tanks were one of the more unique things I saw.  Although they weren't necessarily something I would want to wear since they reminded me of a preschool art project, the idea and artistry of them made me stop and look twice.

Bon La Vu Fashion Show and Launch Party

Bon La Vu is a new online boutique that features one styled outfit a day assembled by stylists with various pieces from local boutiques and designers.  To celebrate their website launching, Bon La Vu has put together a fashion show that will feature individual local designer pieces as well as outfits created by Bon La Vu stylists.

Happy B-day Feathers

I can't believe Feathers is old enough to go to kindergarten!  They grow up so fast.

The local vintage store Feathers is turning 5 and they are celebrating this Friday with discounts and cocktails.  I'm super excited about this because Feathers is one of my most favorite clothing stores, so I will most likely be shoppin up a storm on South Congress on Friday.

STYLE Watch: Fashion Rocks the Belmont

Where: Fashion Rocks the Belmont at (duh) the Belmont

When: October 9, 2010

Recap: Fashion Rocks The Belmont

I have to admit, when I don't have tickets to ACL, ACL weekend kinda makes me want to lock my doors and hide under the covers.  However, I sucked it up and somehow made my way downtown to check out the fashion show at the Belmont on Saturday night.

The show started off as promised with some flame throwing tricks.  One of these dudes actually briefly caught his ear on fire!  They then proceeded to swing the fire out into the crowd getting very close to my camera.  Luckily my camera did not end up like that guy's ear.

The fashion show featured looks from Langford Market, Betsey Johnson, and local designers Rachelle Briton, Ana Reign, and Ross Bennett.

Honestly, I didn't see anything on this runway that I would be dying to actually wear.  Maybe this show just wasn't my style.  In fact I was not a huge fan of how some of the girls were styled...

But, there were a few interesting things to take note of.  I did really  like some of the jewelry by Ana Reign.  I have seen her jewelry up close at a previous event and I especially like her big statement rings.  She definitely has some beautiful pieces (but of course nothing I could afford.)

The Queen of Hearts dress by Rachelle Briton is a creative and interesting piece, but I had seen it before so it wasn't as exciting to me as it should have been.  Definitely worth scrolling down and taking a look at if you haven't seen it.

Pobably the most interesting thing though, was Ross Bennett's pink dress because it is a part of his "little pink dress campaign."  For the entire month of October, you can order a custom little pink dress made to your measurements and 20% of each sale is going to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Fashion Rocks The Belmont

Fashion show tomorrow after ACL!  Luxe PR Promotions and the Belmont have teamed up to present what (sounds like) is going to be an awesome fashion show event.  This show will feature looks from local fashion designers Rachelle Briton, Ross Bennett and retailers such as Langford Market and Betsey Johnson.

On top of the fashion there will be go-go dancers, DJ David Davros Smith, and flame throwers!  Not to sound like a psycho, but, anything with fire gets me excited.  Go-go dancers are also a selling point.  I think I'm going to start living a double life and work as a go-go dancer at night (shhh don't tell anyone).

The best part about this event though is probably that there is no cover.

STYLE Watch: Texas' Next Top Designer 2010 Launch

Where: Texas' Next Top Designer 2010 Launch Party at Megan Summerville's Shop

When: Oct.2, 2010

The invitation said "cocktail attire."  As you can see that means MANY different things to Austinites...

Pumpkin Patch

It was about 20 minutes into our hour long drive to Sweetberry Farm that I discovered my friend Josh didn't even like pumpkins and had no intention of picking out a pumpkin of his own.  I'm not going to lie, in the past something like this probably would have put a damper on my own excitement of picking out pumpkins.  But, I am a new person these days and nothing can get in the way of my excitement for whatever it is I'm doing.  My new outlook on life is that everything should be cherished.  Thich Nhat Hanh has even taught me to enjoy doing the dishes.  But, I'll get back to somehow making this about fashion and will try not to go on a Buddhist rambling.  (But y'all should also know that Josh ended up pushing my wheelbarrow full of pumpkins for me while I looked around so it all worked out for the best).  Thanks Josh!

This time of year is amazing because it means you get to start wearing a new wardrobe.  The cooler weather allows you to incorporate jackets, scarves, hats, and tights into the mix.  And more importantly than the clothes aspect (yes I just said something was more important than clothes on a fashion blog), after Halloween you get to start thinking about Thanksgiving which means being around family and cooking and eating delicious food.  I start smiling just thinking about it.

Texas' Next Top Designer

The Texas' Next Top Designer competition started in 2006 and since then has helped bring recognition and financial help to a handful of talented fashion designers.  The goal of Texas' Next Top Designer is to find that special designer who has both the talent and the business savvy to start their own business.

Last year, the winner of this competition was lingerie designer Megan Summerville.  I actually first met Megan at one of our Ladies Who Lunch gatherings.  (I get to meet so many awesome women these days.) I remember Megan discussing her handmade lingerie and convincing us that she had some very affordable and wearable pieces.  Even then I thought it sounded too good to be true.  But this past weekend the Texas' Next Top Designer Launch party for 2010 was held at Megan's shop, so I finally got to see her lingerie for myself.  Megan's claims were true, and her handmade lingerie is beautiful.  I would say the pieces are heavily influenced by vintage, making "lovely" the best word to describe her work.

I did a little spontaneous interview with Megan during the party.  Megan tells us how winning Texas' Next Top Designer has benefitted her and what advice she has for future competitors:

STYLE Watch: South First Fashion Show

Where: South First Fashion Show at Mana Culture

When: Friday, Oct. 1 2010

Recap: South First Fashion Show

When a fashion show starts out with a girl wrapped in a giant python Britney Spears "I'm A Slave For You" style and dances to a tribal drum beat, you know it's going to be a fun show.  But, fashion shows in South Austin are almost always a blast.  A little on the cooky side sometimes, but always unique, South Austin fashion never disappoints.  (And just FYI, I couldn't stop taking photos of that snake girl because it was way too cool.  And my desire to own a snake has now been rekindled.)

The South First Fashion Show, which was held at boutique Mana Culture last Friday, was put together by the non-profit organization Cause to Celebrate.  The mission of Cause to Celebrate is to support local Austin businesses and charities by putting on fun events such as fashion shows and parties.

Buzz Off Cancer

I know I'm no Sinead O'Connor and would never be able to pull off a buzz cut, but, maybe there are some girls blessed with perfect bone structure out there who are willing to let go of their locks.  It would be pretty nice to not have to bother with a hair dryer...or a comb.  But maybe this is an event more geared towards the men in Austin.

Today is LIVESTRONG Day and Bird's Barbershop is hosting "Buzz Off Cancer" tonight.  You can get a free buzz cut and help set a world record for "most people to have their heads buzzed in solidarity with young adult cancer survivors."  There will be drinks, a DJ, and prize drawings of LIVESTRONG gear for those getting a buzz.