Upcoming Event: Texas 4000 Benefit Fashion Show

What:

• Texas 4000 Benefit Fashion Show
• Raffle to benefit Texas 4000
• fashions by 2nd St. shops: MISSBEHAVE, Estilo, Plain Ivey Jane, and Gallery D in addition to men in tight spandex from Mellow Johnny's
• you get to see me walk in my first fashion show and attempt to not fall and/or make a fool out of myself!

Sale!: Downstairs Apparel Moving Sale

Local boutique, DownSTAIRS Apparel is packing up and moving from its South Lamar location over to SoCo. This mostly men's boutique (carrying modern graphic tees, vintage inspired hats, and accessories from local designers) is relocating to the South Congress shopping center that houses another great local boutique, BuyDefinition.

The DownSTAIRS Apparel moving sale starts today and lasts til Saturday.  Snag some local deals while you can!

DownSTAIRS Apparel's old location (where the sale is!):
2110 South Lamar

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Outfit: Grandma's Flowers

Spring has sprung and so have my grandma's famous flowers.  They only last for a few weeks so I got some photos in front of them while I had the chance.  It was unexpectedly cold yesterday which I was not a fan of since just the day before it was starting to feel like summer (my favorite time of year).  But I took advantage of the cool weather by wearing my suede fringe coat that I bought at the end of the winter and thought I wouldn't get to wear until next year.

Upcoming Event: BonBon Spring Collection Debut

What:

• BonBon Jewelry Spring/Summer Collection Trunk Show
• wine tasting by Simply Naked Winery
• 10% of the night's profits will go to the Breast Cancer Resource Center

Upcoming Event: Ruby Pearl Designs Trunk Show

What:

• Ruby Pearl Designs Trunk Show

Upcoming Event: Make Up's Deadly Cover Up

I started getting interested in natural beauty products last year and I have really stuck with it for the most part (minus the mascara and bold lipsticks).  Way back in June I blogged about some of my favorite natural beauty products, and I am still using them today.  The thought of putting a bunch of chemicals on my face really freaks me out.  If y'all haven't read about the dangers of all the stuff that goes into most of the beauty products out there, then you might want to go to this event on Sunday.  I think this stuff is really interesting (and it's free) so I will most likely be in attendance.

What:

• Make Up's Deadly Cover Up lecture
• Speakers: Stacy Malkan, co-founder of the national Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and author of the award-winning book "Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry"; Allison Evans and Kelly Blackstone, co-founders of Three Branches Healthy Living
• Reception at W3LL People from 5 - 7pm
• organic fare, refreshments, eco-makeovers

Outfit: South by South Mess

Here I am at the end of the last night of SXSW looking a little disheveled.  I left the Samsung presented Perez Hilton party early to go eat at Magnolia Cafe because I was tired and starving.  I bought this green skirt at the American Apparel Flea Market in the Austin Convention Center the day before.  The skirt had a weird spot on it but it was discounted down to only $8 so I took it home and washed it and the spot came out!  Of course the next morning I immediately spilled something on it after having it on for approximately 5 minutes.

Recap and Review: StyleX

Style has always been a part of SXSW unofficially.  Because southby brings in people from all over the world to Austin, there is always an array of interesting fashion to be seen.  And anywhere music and film go, fashion and style will always naturally follow.  But while past years have seen fashion in the shadows of the music, film, and interactive of SXSW, 2011 marked the beginning of style becoming an official part of the popular festival with StyleX.

I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from StyleX seeing as it was its first year.  However, I did secretly have high hopes for the event.  I love that fashion is gaining importance in Austin, and I love getting to be a part of the growing interest in style.  So, I was greatly pleased to see StyleX be born, and was also happily surprised at the turnout for the event.  Seeing as no one really knew what to expect of the caliber of the event, there was a pretty decent crowd at StyleX.  My question though after my experience at StyleX is, will the crowd continue to grow next year and will StyleX eventually become as relevant to the regular SXSW festival goers?

Style Watch: SXSW 2011

Where: all over downtown

When: SXSW 2011

SXSW is that time of year in Austin where downtown is a cluster f*ck of people.  And with this cluster, comes a variety of fashion senses and an interesting collection of style photos.  Some popular trends for SXSW this year seemed to be: high waisted jorts, crop tops, plaid, loafers, feather hair extensions, and Native American inspired clothing and accessories.  What trends did y'all notice out and about during southby?

Fashion FAIL: Pajamas in Public

Pajamas in public sadly is a common fashion FAIL for Austinites.  However, this time is particularly bad for several reasons:
1) The pajama pants are Christmas themed...
2) She is walking with not one but two other people, which proves that she clearly is not ashamed of this look and her friends and/or family let her walk out of the house like this.
3) Visible bra straps lead one to believe that she had time to put on a bra.  If you have time to put on a bra, then you should have time to put on real pants.
4) This photo wasn't even taken in the middle of the night or super early in the morning.  It was taken at 1:00 in the afternoon.

If I have to put on real clothes, then so do YOU.

Joanna
keep austin stylish

Fun Fashion Find: Yoda Backpack

I laughed out loud when I saw this Yoda backpack and had to put it on the blog.  But this is actually not the first Star Wars themed fun fashion find I have posted on this blog.  The first Fun Fashion Find I ever posted was also Star Wars themed (nerd alert).  

Found in the Austin Convention Center during SXSW

Joanna

keep austin stylish

American Apparel Flea Market

What:

• American Apparel Factory Flea Market
• up to 70% off American Apparel
• free admission

Where:

• Austin Convention Center
• 1st, floor, exhibit hall 4

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When:

• Friday Mar.18    2 - 8 pm
• Saturday Mar.19    11am -8

Joanna

keep austin stylish

Treaty Oak Festival

Stag Presents Topman

Dad

Today is the only day I have ever felt a need to write about something on my blog that is completely personal and in no way related to fashion or anything that my blog is normally about.

One of the things I luckily inherited from my dad was his love and ability to write.  Normally, words flow from my fingertips much easier than they do from my lips.  This is one time, however, where I find it hard to express what I want to say with words, even in the written form. 

It’s hard to know what memories I should share of my dad, because the truth is, every memory of my dad is special.  This is because my dad was an incredibly special dad.  They say that every girl wants to marry a boy who reminds her of her dad.  It shouldn’t be much of a surprise then, that I am still single. The selflessness of my dad was something I probably took for granted when I was younger.  But the older I got, the more I realized how rare of a quality this was.  Taking care of my family and I was always priority number one.  When I graduated from college, my dad bought me a brand new Lexus, while he was still driving an old Suburban.  The reason was not necessarily to spoil me (although he liked to do that as well) the real reason was to make sure I was driving a safe car. 

Our safety was always of great importance to my dad.  It’s the reason why he made sure I always had a flashlight next to my bed.  It’s why he would always inspect my car before I drove back to Austin.  It’s why he insisted we watch the opening scene of the movie Disturbia, to make sure we would drive safely and not tailgate other cars.

SXSW Fashion Events

SXSW is upon us, and I'm sure everyone has been RSVPing to stuff like crazy.  It's all a little overwhelming...actually it's very overwhelming.  But I'm here to at least break down for you the events happening during SXSW that are fashion related and don't need a wristband, including Texas Style Council stuff. Registration for the actual conference part of The Texas Style Council Conference is closed, but there are still plenty of events going on during SXSW that are open to the public:

TX Style Council Clothing Swap
Friday March 11
7:00 pm
located at 201 W.2nd St.
$5 cover
more info here
RSVP here

Trend Alert: Pimp My Hair

If you are going to San Francisco be sure to wear some flowers in your hair.  But if you are going to Austin, you might want to wear some feathers.  By now I'm sure all of you have seen girls (and a few guys) with feather hair extensions.  The feather trend has been really popular this year, and in fact, you might already be tired of this fad.  I think my first moment of "when will this die" for this trend was a couple of months ago when I met a guy with feathers in his hair who raises chickens in his backyard.  When half the human population of Austin has actually turned into birds, it will be time for this trend to be put to rest.  So, what's the next big thing for hair pimping?

Store Review: Austin Sin & Style

I have to admit, as curious as I was to see what new boutique Austin Sin & Style had to offer in the style department, I was equally if not more curious to see what the "sin" of Sin & Style would be.  Did y'all know that Fleshlight was invented in Austin?  Do y'all even know what a Fleshlight is?  Kids reading my blog (and my mom) please do NOT google this.

But among the sex toys, masks, and cigars, (yes even the cigars are Austin made) at Sin & Style, there is also a smörgåsbord of locally designed clothing and accessories (more accessories than clothing) that put the style in Sin & Style.  

Austin Sin & Style Peep Show

There is a new boutique opening today on the East side.   From 6 - 8 tonight you can get a peek at what Sin & Style has to offer to us Austin shoppers.  There will be a grand opening party to come soon, so if you want to wait to check out Sin & Style you can.  But if you are like me and the curiosity overtakes you, you can check out Sin & Style tonight.

Outfit: Happy Birthday Tribeza

The fabulous Tribeza magazine celebrated their 10th anniversary Friday night with an awesome and exclusive party.   The party was "cocktail attire" which is always fun because you never know what you are going to see people in Austin wear when a party is cocktail attire.  It's pretty much a free for all.  Jeans? Sure! Nice dress? Sure! Cowboy hat? Yep.  T-shirt? Yes, they were all there.  I didn't take any style photos at this event because I just wanted to relax and have fun.  I did however snap a few really quick photos of what I wore before I headed out the door:

This headband was one of my few finds at the latest Le Garage Sale that took place at the end of January.

NV 21 Fashion Show and Launch Party

March: TIKKR and SoLa

Spring has almost sprung, and when the weather gets warmer, everything becomes a little brighter.  One of the major trends this Spring is bright bold colors.  So for this month's photo shoot it seemed more than appropriate to feature the locally based watch company, TIKKR.  With their interchangeable colored bands, one day you can be a little "Plum Crazy" and the next in "The Limelight."

Another friend to color, local clothing boutique SoLa, is always stocked with a rainbow of colorful tanks, tees, and cotton skirts.  The two seem like a perfect match.

Keep reading for your special TIKKR promo code...