Sure, you could camp out all night in front of that department store or mall for Black Friday sales (I shutter just thinking about this), or you could casually stroll into your local boutique, sip on some cider champagne (this sounds awesome Blue Elephant) and purchase some unique gifts for your loved ones or yourself. I put together a list of local sales happening this weekend. Check it out!
Splendor(Friday 11/25)
-30% off entire store!
-50% off Clearance rack
SoLa(Friday Nov.25 - Sunday 11/27)
-Buy one get one half off Jewelry Sale
Stella Says Go (Friday 11/25 - Monday 11/28)
-15% - 50% off entire store!
-20% off Sale items
-get a $125 gift card for the price of $100
Cypress Vanguard
-check out their fb page to stay updated on all the deals this collective house has going on this weekend
ATown
-25% off select outerwear (Friday 11/25 - Sunday 11/27)
-Free scarf of your choice with a purchase of $100 or more (Friday 11/25)
-Free select jewelry with a purchase of $50 or more (Friday 11/25)
-buy one get one free OPI nail polish (Friday 11/25)
-free scarf and hat with a purchase of $240 or more (Friday 11/25)
Blue Elephant
-25% off all outerwear (now - 11/27)
-every purchase of $50 or more get a pair of leg warmers or gloves (Friday 11/25 - Sunday 11/27)
-every purchase of $100 or more get a free scarf or wrap (Friday 11/25 - Sunday 11/27)
-every purchase of $200 or more get a free scarf and hat (Friday 11/25 - Sunday 11/27)
-Clearance apparel Buy One Get One Free (Friday 11/25 - Sunday 11/27)
-buy 2 get one free OPI nail polish (Friday 11/25 - Sunday 11/27)
-first 20 shoppers to make a purchase on Friday get a free gift bag
-plus there will be cider champagne cocktails
Feathers
-2 sale racks with brand new markdowns
-get a $20 gift card for every $100 spent (Saturday 11/26)
Adelante(Friday 11/25 - Saturday 11/26)
-30% - 50% off select clothing, jewelry, gifts
-15% off sale items
Hem Jeans(Friday 11/25 - Sunday 11/27)
-20% off entire store
Kendra Scott (now - 11/28)
-20% off (online only) with code 20SITEWIDE
Besides all these awesome local sales, there is also the Vintage Style Fest this weekend AND the Renegade Craft Fair! PLUS this Saturday is Small Business Saturday, which means you can get $25 back when you use your American Express card to buy something at a small business. You can register your card here.
Skip on the malls this weekend because the merchandise they have is a snoozefest. Instead, why not check out all the amazing vintage this town has to offer and go to the Vintage Style Fest.
What:
2 day vintage clothing tour
vendors: Frock On Vintage, Second Time Around Boutique, The Fresh Up, Lovely Austin, Cream Vintage, Hog Wild Vintage, Room Service Vintage, Splendor, Blue Velvet, Flashback Vintage, Bead It, Retro Rubbish, American Icon Austin, My Saucy Mustache, Ermine Vintage, Jewelmint, The Ultimate Message, 5 Stack Vintage, Vagabond Vintage Clothing, Redemption Garb
Admission is free but a wristband will get you free food and beverages, special discounts, a Movember goodie bag, and Free entry to SLACKER Magazine's Movember party
$5 pre sale wristband - you can buy your wristband at any participating vendor
$10 Day of - Tickets day of the event are CASH ONLY and available at each location.
Somewhere on the East side is a girl with a notepad that inside of it says "keep austin stylish" written in cursive. After inquiring about my blog and writing the name of it down in her notepad, she leaned closer to me like she had a secret to tell me on the playground. I thought for sure that I had either time traveled back to the year 1992 or that this girl was a really mature looking 3rd grader with a fake i.d. I was then slapped back to reality when she asked if I wanted to indulge in something that would make me "last all night long" (is it weird that the first thing I thought of was Viagra?)
The Bleach party and Through The Looking Glass launch at the Eastern on Saturday night brought in some interesting kids with interesting fashion. I just hope those who choose to partake in certain bathroom shenanigans don't look back at these kind of nights and wonder where their young looks went. Because whatever you are taking may make you act like a little kid for the night, but, it definitely doesn't make you look like a little kid in the long run.
*Disclaimer: I did not witness anyone pictured in this post using Red Bull*
In this town you can't swing a breakfast taco around without hitting someone who calls themselves an artist. Austin is full of folks working in fashion, music, film, and everything creative. It's no surprise then that Austin is one of 21 cities in which RAW operates. RAW is an independent arts organization for artists by artists that works to provide artists with everything needed to inspire and cultivate creativity.
Every season RAW awards the best artists in the categories of art, fashion, music, film, hair & makeup, photography, and performing art. The voting is left up to each city's local community, and then a panel of judges decides the national winners. This year's RAW Awards Semi Finals Showcase for Austin happened last Thursday at Club de Ville, and I went to check out what local artists had to show and I snapped some photos of all the weirdness.
I knew immediately when I almost missed the Marie Claire Fashion Show because it was actually on time, that I was not attending a normal Austin fashion show. And it's not every day that Marie Claire's Senior Fashion Editor, Zanna Roberts Rassi, in attendance of a fashion show in Austin. Last night's event at Mohawk was impressive, and it's all thanks to local style blogger and UT Chemical Engineering student, Diya Liu. Diya is one of four finalists in the national contest by Marie Claire magazine to find the most stylish college student in America. And seeing as Diya goes to class and chemical engineering lab wearing heels and skirts, I think she deserves to win.
Diya produced and styled last night's show using pieces from the Loft, the sponsor of the Marie Claire challenge. Even though the Loft isn't a store that I would normally think of when I think of Diya and her style, she did a great job of giving the clothes her own special look. The Diya style definitely came through in the show with her use of layering jewelry and bold use of mixing patterns. The show had an eclectic sophistication that Diya is a master at. If Diya wins, she will get an internship at Marie Claire magazine! Let's keep our fingers crossed that our stylish Austinite wins!
"Just don't be the crying girl in the salon" one of my twitter friends warned me. I admit that right before getting into the chair at Topaz Salon, I was getting a little nervous about the big change I had decided to make with my hair. But luckily it was more of an anxious nervousness brought on by excitement versus a scared to death kind of nervousness.
I have never been anything other than a blonde and the most change I have ever made to my hair in the past has been with cuts and highlights. I'm not quite sure why now was the time in my life that I decided to make a drastic change to my appearance, but perhaps it has to do with all the other changes that I have gone through in the past few months. You never really know how much you can handle change until you are forced to deal with losing someone close to you. Change is not always good, but it just is. Sometimes things happen that are completely out of your control and the only thing you can control is how you react and deal with the situation. This is something that is of course easier said than done, and I have been aware of this since I was in middle school and used to watch Oprah after school. But, being in my mid twenties, I feel like I am finally just starting to actually be able to accomplish this task. So, I knew that I would be able to deal with the results of my new hair whether they be good or bad.
I am so excited about this Fashion Show tomorrow night! Mostly because it is hosted by Austin's own Diya Liu, who is an amazing style blogger here in Austin and who also happens to be an overall amazing gal. I continue to be amazed that a chemical engineer student at UT puts in the time and effort to stay super stylish AND blog about it. Come support Diya as she is one of four finalists in the Marie Claire Front Row Challenge!
Star Lee isn't just the owner of local boutique Dog & Pony. She also happens to be a talented DIYer. Star's newest re-worked vintage pieces include some killer spiked and studded garments including everything from tough leather jackets to an ethereal gown. Star was generous enough to let me borrow this brightly colored and gold spiked 80s style dress to wear to a Movember cocktail event. I love the spikes against the floral pattern of this dress because it reminded me of Little Shop of Horrors or those piranha plants in Mario.
You can go check out more of Star's studded one-of-a-kind garb for sale at Dog & Pony. Prices range from around $60-400.
Remember when an airstream trailer was used for traveling down the open road with adventures in sight? Yeah, me either. These days it's highly more likely to find a trailer full of cupcakes rather than a family of four and their border collie. But what about an airstream full of designer shoes? Appropriately located on South Congress, Bootleg is the first shoe boutique run out of a trailer. While I can't picture many Austinites purchasing shoes that cost more than their month's rent, they are definitely fun to look at, drool over, and try on. The good thing about looking at $1,000 shoes is that then the shoes priced at $100 seem like a steal. Or maybe that's a bad thing? I can't decide! But, I'll be coming back to Bootleg when either A) I win the lottery B) Something really bad happens and I need a shopping induced smile or C) I just want to look at really cool shoes.
Sarah Lewis, Owner/Creator of Bootleg, will be rolling her airstream onto the TRACE patio at the W Austin for November’s Sip & Shop. The trailer’s temporary residence at the W begins November 13th through November 15th. This multi-day shopping event will feature TRACE’s happy hour “S.I.P” pricing on drinks and nibbles all day on Monday from the special S.I.P menu.
Every second Sunday of the month, there is a magical event where vintage stores and vendors get together and fill up the Spider House ballroom with tons of goodies from the past. If you haven't made it to the 29th St. Yard Sale presented by American Icon yet, I highly recommend checking it out. The prices and the selection are both great. I have been a few times and so far I have scored: a star spangled button down (how appropriate), a 70's high school band letterman jacket, a suede fringe skirt, annnnnd probably some other items that I can't think of right now.
Some photos below of my last 29th St. Yard Sale trip...
If you are a gal looking for a way to support Movember, I do not suggest skipping the waxing or bleaching this month. I have a better and less creepy idea instead! Buy this super cute mustache necklace made by local designer Jennifer Cunningham of Jen Hearts Art. This necklace costs just $15 and $5 from each sale this month will go directly to the Movember Austin team.
Note: this blog post was written with the assumption that you are cool enough to know what Movember is, but if you have no idea what any of this is about then please check out the Movember website to educate yourself on this awesome cause.
The setting for Gail Chovan's fashion show last Tuesday was absolutely lovely. Justine's provided an intimately casual yet sophisticated backdrop for Gail Chovan's artistic fall/winter collection for Blackmail. What I love about Gail Chovan's designs is that she provides a full collection that tells a story. What's the story told here? To me, I see these girls as dark princesses in a post apocalyptic world fighting for love. For seem reason it wouldn't be surprising to me if these girls had swords or maybe guns (if they are lucky enough to find them), hiding in their dresses. I think it's how Gail uses silhouettes of the past and updates them in a modern way that has me creating these stories. Her clothes are hard while still maintaining a softness, and edgy while still maintaining beauty.
What was equally entertaining as watching Gail Chovan's fashion show on Tuesday, was people watching before and after the show. The attendees were appropriately dressed mostly in black for this Blackmail event, with Stephen Moser in the front and center row donning a black and white wig. A leftover Halloween costume accessory perhaps? Ah, my read of Stephen's Chronicle article this morning proves me right.
I first met Tiffany Tso about a year ago. Both being Austin bloggers, we were seated next to each other at the Austin Fashion Week kick off event where the other Tiffany performed (I will forever associate the two Tiffany's with one another). Tiffany (the one born in the 80s, not the pop star in the 80s) gave me some insight into where I should go shopping in Taiwan, where I was about to take a trip and where Tiffany's family is originally from.
After that, I ran into Tiffany at many stylish events around town where I got a good feel for Tiffany's personal style. The thing that stands out to me about Tiffany among other Austinites is that she gives off a vibe with her outfits that is more urban, downtown, and a bit more rough than what most girls in Austin tend to wear. But what Tiffany does have in common with most of the girls in Austin (that I personally know at least) is that she has about a million projects going on all the time. Tiffany is the Austin Nylon Daily Editor for Nylon Magazine, contributes to Bleach Online and styles for them occasionally, is the manager of BuyDefinition.com, the Editor-in chief of The Horn, works with Star Lee on the denim pieces for Dog & Pony, AND runs her own personal blog Austin is Burning. When she's not working, you might find this East Austin gal getting tacos at Taco-Mex or El Chilito, renting movies at Vulcan, record shopping, going to bars such as The Grand, or vintage shopping.
Check out my photo shoot and Q&A with Tiffany Tso...
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