It seems the end of the month always comes upon me so quickly and I’m stuck with a stack of magazine left unreviewed for Mag Hag, the monthly Austin magazine review part of Austin Style Watch. So, while it is technically the first day of the month, I read all these magazine while it was still November, so I’m going to fudge it just a bit. Additionally, there were some good reasons I really wanted to get to some of these issues this month, such as with LG Style, who is celebrating its one year anniversary (they held an event at The Domain in early November.)
So starting with the cover, if you haven’t yet picked up this magazine, it is two sided with one half targeting lesbian and the other gay men. On this month’s cover, Steeping Room owner Emily Morrison and Flower Studio owner Coby Neal.
I loved this feature on Michael Barnes. It is hard for me not to run into this man and it is always a joy when I do. In the article he describes himself as a wallflower, but I think that’s what makes him so good at his job is that he is curious and he listens and pays close attention to the people and events around him.
At one point or another artist Mark Joiner’s work has appeared in about every Austin magazine, but who can blame them? These fused glass belt buckles are ultra hip, and I’m unsure about this year, but in past years have been available at the Blue Genie Art Bazaar.
November was a rough PR month for The Domain with the Prop 2 vote hitting the development hard for being a ritzy strip of chain stores…but the fact is, that is only 75% true. When the city struck its deal with Simon and Endeavor, they required that several local stores be included. The Steeping Room was among those that opened up, and so I’m glad to see the tea shop getting attention at this touchy time. I can’t wrap my head around writer Chantal Outon’s toaster-sized chest tattoo, but I’ll tell you what, the girl can write some compelling features that dig a lot deeper than most I’ve read in this town.
You know, I find it rather funny that Stephen Moser and Michael Barnes should be featured at the opposite ends of this magazine, because they really are the two sides of the coin that is the Austin society columnist. The Austin Chronicle columnist tells his perfectly Valley of the Dolls story (which is also his favorite movie) to LG complete with a drugged out breakdown last July.
Instructional site E-How has been busy in Austin lately filming a series of tourism videos. They cover most of the typical Austin landmarks including the Texas State Cemetery, Mount Bonnell and the Bob Bullock Museum but the cameras also go inside several Austin stores, interviewing owners and giving heed to the idea of the city as a place for retail tourism. The dry narrator is a little hard to handle, but the videos are actually very well researched and worth sending to all your friends coming to town for SXSW so they can see all the stuff they will miss when they spend their entire trip drunk on free booze. The store coverage does have a South Congress focus, but there are enough really interesting stores along that row to make them worth watching. I would especially recommend the Uncommon Objects video, but be warned that while the video will help you get ready for the overwhelming experience of that store, nothing can prepare you for when you open some hat box there and find a string of mink tails or a wreath of human hair. The other videos include Vulcan Video, Eco-wise, Allen Boots, Tesoros Trading Company, Uncommon Objects, Cissis Market and Maya Star.
I had never seen Taste wine bar more crowded than it was for the launch of Tribeza’s November issue. Beyond great wine, the place has an amazing chef and while I haven’t yet sampled their entrees, I did have a nutella panini that about blew my mind. Maybe it was just a few too many of the glasses of vino that had me up in Tribeza editor Lauren Smith Ford’s grill gushing about how amazing the latest issue was: and mind you I hadn’t even cracked the cover yet. What had me pouring out praise was the cover shot, a family portrait of Tribeza’s own version of the Draper family. If you are one of the people not watching Mad Men yet then use this time between seasons to start catching up. Every time I run into Statesman columnist Michael Barnes we gossip about the show and I’m always trying to rip off that Joan Holloway style, which you can see inside the magazine in the form of a banging Diane Von Furstenberg dress available at Fetish.
For the Exposed column (where Misprint’s Brian Keplesky has been interviewed before) the magazine feature’s Currie Person of the boutique Spartan. You can pretty much gather the boutique’s simple and international tastes from the interview.
More and more attention is turning to The Triangle as a shopping location is Austin. Earlier this month new Triangle store Millipede hosted the launch of local brand Shimmer and Bliss’s website. Tribeza turns their attention to a veteran of the Austin fashion scene that has recently opened a second location in the Triangle. It’s still a little weird to me that SoLa, which as I understand it stands for South Lamar, hasn’t altered the name now that they have a non-South Lamar location but I enjoyed learning about the owners’ former jewelry business in the article.
I have to admit, the words “launch party” were actually the second thing to catch my eyes upon looking at this racy Beth Black ad. Beth Black is an Austin musician who is now launching a jewelry line at the Collectic Home store in Bee Caves. I missed the Nov. 12 launch party, but it looks like her pieces are well-suited for that glamorous bohemian look that Austin musicians are famous for.
One of my favorite new blogs, East Austinite, is running a series on East Austinites with Etsy stores and talking with them about how this part of the city inspires their work. Thus far they have covered sellers Rachel Goldstar, Lazy Little Things and Gezellig Print (who even sell an awesome table inspired by East Austin itself.) If you would like your Etsy store to be considered for coverage, check out East Austinite’s original post.
Long before storefronts started to close up and thugs wandered the building, Highland Mall was this city’s premiere mall, and a place that was a large part of my childhood. I grew up in Austin (despite the recent comment telling me to go back to California..ouch) and Highland was where I spent my preteen babysitting money buying body glitter at Claire’s and where more than half of my childhood Santa Claus photos were taken. However, in recent years the mall has been in a visible decline since Barton Creek’s renovation and the introduction of other new shopping centers including the Round Rock outlets and the Domain. Today the mall has devolved into a series of empty storefronts, discount shops and grill and dookie chain kiosks.
Oh, and if you think I’m exaggerating the mall’s crapitude, just check out That Other Paper’s firsthand account from a Highland employee aptly titles Scenes from a Ghetto Mall. If you’re the type that needs visual proof, well here’s a youtube clip of a fight in the mall:
UPDATE: The day after writing this, I got a press release saying that General Growth Properties just a got a loan reprieve that could help them avoid bankruptcy, but the reprieve appears to be for two of the company’s other properties and not necessarily Highland. Read more here: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jj-xRFEtfKFt1tHfd0PrhKyx7oIwD94PTEJG0
Austin’s ritzy shopping districts recognize that you have to spend money to make money and several are trying to court shoppers with fancy Christmas events that rival those sponsored by the city. I know I’m writing this hot on the heels of an entry about the struggle for small, local businesses, but the Simon-owned Domain spent the big bucks to fly out American Idol contestant Jordin Sparks for the Macy’s tree lighting ceremony Nov. 22 (a step up from last year’s reality star, Miranda Lambert, from the show Nashville Star). However, the party continues at the Domain throughout the month of December with Saturday night fireworks displays, strolling carolers, carriage rides and stories from the jolly fat man himself. You can watch more of Jordin’s performance and the Domain party in the youtube clip above.
The 2nd Street District (which we talked about a while back when it was a victim of several robberies) is holding its own ceremony to light the holiday window displays Thurday, December 4th. The event will also feature refreshments as well as a silent auction, and if last year’s holiday celebration was any indicator, this is the place to be if you are in the dire straits of needing a dress for the company Christmas party. I also believe our friend Amber might be designing the window display for jewelry store Beyond Tradition, so keep your eyes peeled.
From the people who brought you dance floor money drops and shark tanks comes the next generation of ostentatious, over priced dance club: Malaia. If you haven’t already had the pleasure of enjoying one of the other Yassine Enterprises line of bars, this newest entry is a nice place to start. The company’s bar, Vicci, really kicked off the luxury club trend in Austin with its two-story design, elevated go go dancers and antics such as dropping snow and, I kid you not, dollar bills. Then the company greatly upped the ante with its fancy sandcastle on 4th Street called Qua. Not only does the place look like somewhere the little mermaid would go for a cocktail, it also has a clear dance floor with live sharks and rays swimming inside.
So really, Malaia blends the most ridiculous of both of these trends. From Vicci, Malaia has stolen the elevated gogo dancers (literally, they actually hired away the club’s dancers) and will have their tribal looking babes suspended from a massive rig that spans the rooftop. From Qua, Malaia has stolen the clear dance floor..only this time, instead of looking down into a fish tank it looks down to the club’s first story where all the pervs are just waiting to see some vajayjay. The general manager (and my longtime friend and first kiss) assures me that in a packed crowd its pretty much impossible to see up skirts..but I wouldn’t want to find out the hard way.
The club opened with some fire spinning and some truly frightening flaming Dr.Pepper performances (hope the fire marshal wasn’t watching) accented by a giant tiki head blowing smoke out its nostrils from behind the bar. You can read my friend Amber’s review over at Yelp where she compares the bar’s gogo dancers to Nick’s Legends of the Hidden Temple.
I really couldn’t imagine any higher compliment than to be featured in the New York Times (okay, well maybe to be on Boing Boing.) An Austin fashion staple was graced with this honor Wednesday in an article on how “mom and pop” boutiques are faring in the present economy. Although By George is technically run by what could be described as a “mom and pop” it is hardly what would usually come to mind with that term. For years, the store has been bringing looks from the runway onto racks in Austin, Texas. This story is particularly interesting in light of the recent Prop. 2 failure, which related to subsidies offered to The Domain. I remember running into Katy and Matthew Culmo at a Stop Domain Subsidies meeting long before the organization had started to collect signatures for the proposition. The article gets a bit depressing as they talk about shoppers looking for less expensive items and big stores closing in local business, but the Culmo’s really showcase what they do best and that is smart selection of unique pieces and being progressive in their relationship with customers through online shopping and an in-store credit card.
Gosh, I’m so excited to see Austin stores getting such positive attention. hopefully this bodes well for how local retailers will fare through this holiday season.
Unfortunately the Grit and Glamour show caught me on a night when I was A) working B) trying to also make it to the King Khan and the Barbeque Show next door at Mohawk and C) feeling a little disillusioned with Austin fashion. I didn’t get to stay for much of this Rare Magazine sponsored event but what from that I gathered by the end of the show’s first half, it was a little ho hum. This isn’t to discount the great retailers involved such as Sana, Slate and Soigne, but I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, some of these stores just show their wares too much. Fashion shows are certainly a great way for designers to get their name out there, but putting your clothes in ever fashion show just gets a little tired. Thankfully Chris Cantoya was there keeping it real and adding a handmade touch to several off-the-rack outfits with his stitched ties from his Mint Owl line. Club Deville’s stone wall was actually a beautiful background for the runway show and altogether the event seemed successful but a bit old hat for those of us who have been to oodles of Austin fashion shows.
If you are interested, you can find more photos here from the show at Austin 360.com.
To be quite honest, the Team Fabrication events are never so much fashion shows as they are a reunion for designers Jen and Erin’s friends. Luckily the two of them have some extremely talented musicians for pals and the music that they pair with their shows serve as an event in their own right. For the second year in a row the team welcomed Til We’re Blue or Destroy (who last year was featured as a street fashion photo on Austin Style Watch) as well as Austin favorites The Lemurs and the The Laughing.
This year the design duo shook things up a bit with a fashion awards ceremony. At the risk of sounding like a total sore loser for not winning most fashionable blog to the Austinist, I’m going to reiterate what I said in the first sentence of this entry and that is that Team Fabrication events are really more a reunion for Team Fab’s buds then they are a gathering of the fashion elite. I think that says enough. That said, the masses did make a few smart choices which included that lovely Yvonne Lambert of the Octopus Project for Austin’s Best Dressed Female and Stitch for Austin’s Best Fashion Event (although I talked to event organizer Karly Hand who said the future of the event, which has officially taken a year off, is still in question). I stand by my vote for Thad Michael Carter for best photographer (especially after that Tribeza Mad Men shoot) but if it couldn’t be him then Cory Ryan (another Style Watch alum and a regular Identity Crisis model) would be the next best choice. I also stand by my vote for Tribeza for most fashionable publication, Misprint is the most hip (and absolutely most snarky) but Tribeza is the crown jewel in this city.
As for the designs, while Erin has a style notorious around Austin (as showcased by That Austin Girl’s stalking) I think Jen is the better seamstress and her pieces have a nice structure which is absolutely showcased on a foxy looking Cory Ryan ( which speaking of Mad Men I was getting a bit of a Joan Holloway vibe) and a Prince-worthy purple on Hope Perkins.
Thanks the Stay Gold DJs, one of which is local music blog Party End’s John Gross, for keeping up the great music.
Austin Style Watch blog is the companion site to www.austinstylewatch.com, a street fashion site showcasing the DIY, indie, punk and rockabilly street styles of Austin Texas.
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Tim Gunn in Austin
Tribeza Style Week 2008
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Recent Comments:
battlecat: I’d be sad to see Highland go. It’s close to home, fits my budget and not all picked-over like...
james: Dude.. I feel sorry for that mall. Wonder if Robyn Sparkles made an appearance there....
Tiffany: While I can’t disagree that the mall is on the decline, it’s still the only mall I’ve...
Austin’s ritzy shopping districts recognize that you have to spend money to make money and several are trying to court shoppers with fancy Christmas events that rival those sponsored by the city. I know I’m writing this hot on the heels of an entry about the struggle for small, local businesses, but the Simon-owned Domain spent the big bucks to fly out American Idol contestant Jordin Sparks for the Macy’s tree lighting ceremony Nov. 22 (a step up from last year’s reality star, Miranda Lambert, from the show Nashville Star). However,
Unfortunately the Grit and Glamour show caught me on a night when I was A) working B) trying to also make it to the King Khan and the Barbeque Show next door at Mohawk and C) feeling a little disillusioned with Austin fashion. I didn’t get to stay for much of this Rare Magazine sponsored event but what from that I gathered by the end of the show’s first half, it was a little ho hum. This isn’t to discount the great retailers involved such as Sana, Slate and Soigne, but
