How often I’m posting on the blog is a good gauge of how I’m doing in my life. Perhaps then the lack of posts will let you all know that things have been complicated and chaotic for a little while now.
I apologize.
There are lots of fashion stories happening and although I haven’t been posting them, I have been collecting them, and I’m going to begin the process of getting all this information up.
I appreciate everyone’s patience with the sudden disappearance of updates and hope you will return to find new content this week.
Ugh, I’ve been the laziest blogger lately. I should be fired. Fortunately this is a blog, so that’s not possible. Actually I’ve been ridiculously busy under a mound of SXSW content but I have to get the stuff I’m paid for out of the way before I can start getting to my personal content, so that’s why things have been a bit sparse. However, there has been fashion news this week once already that has made me stand at attention and just now a really tasty Friday tidbit just appeared in my email box that made me drop everything and blog.
Now if you have ever tried to read one of Love’s blog post before, they are about as lucid as she is and are pretty much ramblings speckled with caps lock, punctuation and misspellings. But here’s a bit I took from Love’s myspace blog on this topic (and I’m copying this verbatim..typos and all):
imnot going to deal with this issue until after my lawyer and the Austin Police deal with it, but my etsy adventures are about to end period, if it turns out as i suspect i have been stolen from on a level…
But im ussually preety chiled out MAN OH MAN AM I ANGRY!i thin it may work out and we can be “friends” again,
she has received a VAST amount of money from me over 40,000 dollars and i do not make people famous and get raped TOO! besides Etsy is great but they need to get thier admin together,i hve been asured they will they will remove her store completely so she cant icitmise anyone else,
my aassnt cals me cos etsy vendors have called her cryong fpr usingthe owrd “flapper” sje says its everyday and i dont like a BULLY and noone else in the fashion industry does either shes a geniunly nasty person so i dont kow what makinh her “fakous ” willactuaLLY DO FOR HER AT SOME POINT SHELL HAVE TO SHOW SHER FACT AND THAT BLACK CLPUD OF VAMPITIC ENERGY THAT IS AROUND PEOPLE WHO SOLD DRUGS OR WERE MOLESTED OR its that grey and biyts of black in the aura, im toomuch of aa apussy about people withthis enercy nd the thing i have GIT to learnis this UNLESS THY A HAVE SOME INSANELY BRILLIANT INFRASTRUCTURE AND THEY DONT EVER SOEAK EVER. those people NEVER MAKE IT IN THEREAL WORLD EVER>
ive beeen assured from etsy she’ll be removed and banished but its not enough , we had a dal i gave her a VAST amount of money
clothes id been collecting for 8 years and 40,000$
Um..yeeah. Cray cray much there Courtney? Seriously, I think a lobster girl after a fifth of vodka could type better than that. I hit the translate button at the bottom the myspace post and they had “Spanish” and “French” but not “Junkie” so your guess is as good as mine at figuring out just what is going on here. The post goes on for literally thousands of words and also includes a shout out to Austin photographers 666 photography.
Now, my first reaction was that Dawn shouldn’t worry and that no one can understand Cort’s drunken tripe let alone would they believe it but lo and behold I find 58 comments on that entry split about 20/80 between people wondering what the fuck she’s talking about and people totally swallowing every word.
Over at the site Chart Attack they have posted a copy of the lawsuit, filed in LA, which gives a little bit clearer picture of what’s going on here (or at least a better written one.) From what I can gather, Cort was a fan of Dawn’s and flew her out to LA to talk about designs. She gave Dawn a collection of remnants and fabrics with which to make a design (Dawn did have photos of this on her blog, which I linked to in an old post, but it appears she has now taken them down.) Dawn designed her several garments and sent her an invoice, which she claims Cort has refused to pay. Since then Cort went on a rampage apparently talking about Dawn on Twitter, myspace, Etsy feedback and more and harassing her via email and voicemail. The lawsuit literally goes on for 48 pages and includes accusations of libel, emotional distress and breach of contract. If you have an hour to spare, it’s actually quite worth the read as Cort’s statements put into a legal context are particularly hilarious.
I do pity Dawn for getting caught up in a shitstorm while just trying to pursue her fashion line, but people like Cort are dangerous to tangle with (and mind you it could all be that Dawn is in the wrong and Cort is right but….I don’t think so.)
Ho-lee-crap
So a full 24 hours have not yet passed since we learned that Austin Chronicle society/fashion columnist Stephen Moser has been jailed and charged with arson, with other possible charges pending, and details of the evening are trickling in. My favorite thus far? That he was wearing a full-length white fur coat and leather pants as he did the deed inside the parking garage of City Hall. Honestly I can hardly wrap my head around this story, it’s scandalous all around. He even mentioned the evening in his most recent column, but naturally, failed to include how his fabulous evening was capped off with a car fire.
I just picked through the affidavit for any other juicy tidbits that hadn’t been picked over by the media, but there isn’t much left and I’ve been poking about the blogosphere looking for some insider info to no avail. I’m sure there is more information to come out (not to mention some incredible video), and I strongly question why, when there was so much evidence, that it took police over a week to arrest Moser. As I’ve mention before, I work at a news station and was actually on staff in the early hours that that car fire occurred. Our reporter talked to Stephen’s roommate Nicholas Hill but he never once mentioned Stephen by name, only as his roommate which I find remarkably discreet for someone who just torched your vehicle.
I’ve made no secret that I don’t always agree with Moser’s style (both of writing and of dressing), but I’m going to keep it classy here. Stephen is a fiercely loyal man who has cultivated a strong group of friends, and I think now we’ve witnessed where the passion and ferocity goes to when it turns dark. I’m sure he has been in an enormous amount of emotional turmoil first undergoing major weight-loss surgery, then discovering he has inoperable cancer, then succumbing to violence and drug addiction and now this. I’m interested to see what the response of the Chronicle will be as the weekly paper is tied to Stephen not only in a professional sense but in a family sense (his sister Margaret is a senior editor there.)
Nylon Magazine is throwing its support behind one of its own who is showing a short film in this year’s SXSW film festival. 27-year-old Rebecca Rodriguez originally hails from San Antonio and graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in creative writing before moving to New York to work with Nylon in 2007 doing video editing and production for the magazine’s online network. Now Rebecca has returned back to her Texan roots to compete in the narrative short division with a 15 minute film based around a man, a pair of mannequin legs and the question “can you ever have all of someone.” There are still two more opportunities to catch the film at SXSW today and on Thursday.
I’m also including one more piece of Rebecca’s work with Nylon based on a new pair of Converse.
It’s amazing how many Austin subgroups spawn from bicycles. We have snot-nosed fixed-gear punks who somehow manage to pedal in skin-tight jeans, we have shiny low-rider bikes that crawl their way down to Festival Beach for the weekly Sunday show and we have sport cyclists who worship at the church of Armstrong and live inside spandex. It’s not my normal cup of tea, but I can really appreciate a lot of bicycle fashion in that it really speaks to function and apparently it’s a broader industry than I ever knew. Apparently there are special jeans made specifically for bikers? Browsing through the photos from the fashion show at the Bike Hugger mobile bike social held Saturday at Mellow Johnny’s was a brief education in bike style (photo courtesy of Dapper Lad Cycles.) Now I even know what a Crumpler bag is, since I’m the proud owner of one courtesy of my SXSW shwag bag and since one was given as a prize at the bike social. Oh! and I also noticed another instance of my mustache/cupcake obsession observation as there is another local mustache event coming up next Thurday.
By and by, Crumpler isn’t the only bike brand getting in on SXSW. Keen Footwear has been all over Austin for quite a while now passing out free coffee and branded mugs. The athletic company has been present at SXSW handing out free goodies, particularly to those they find wearing Keen. Follow their twitter to find out where they are.
As I mentioned earlier in the week, there was a 20 minute screening for the SXSW film festival of the new Sacha Baron Cohen flick, Bruno, based on his fashion-obsessed faux-hawked character. I desperately wanted to be there, but the fact of the matter was that I had three drink tickets in hand in the lobby of the Hilton and wasn’t going to gamble on driving across town and not getting in (especially when there were so many good conversations to be had about Vice Magazine and QR Codes.) I trusted the power of the interwebs to deliver me some youtube clips by this morning and unfortunately the interwebs have let me down. However, there are plenty of text recaps that tell of a plot based on Hollywood’s newest hobby, foreign baby collection, as well as a cameo from the lone star state.
Over at Harry Knowles’ Aint it Cool News, Quint says:
“an audience is brought in to watch an episode being taped featuring Bruno, who has adopted his African baby and is now looking for a well-equipped black man to be his partner so he doesn’t have to raise his new child in a single-parent household.”
“Bruno reveals he got little O.J. (his traditional African name) in Africa, trading an iPod for the baby. The audience has completely turned on him at this point….Oh, and the best part… The baby is wearing gay clothes, including a mid-riff exposing shirt with sparkle letters spelling out GAYBY.”
“But then he shows pictures of his baby… one is from the photo-shoot where his adopted baby is crucified, surrounded by other little babies in guard uniforms, with swords. When this image hit I was just waiting for someone to rush the stage and try to take the baby away.”
It was a prodigious start (and I’m sure not at ALL a coincidental one) that SXSW interactive week should see the launch of two local interactive fashion initiatives unlike anything else I’ve seen in Austin.
Heritage Boots has already participated in some creative marketing, such as sending out press releases when celebrity shoppers stopped in (Claire Danes) but their new marketing gimmick breaks away from the store’s traditional western image and gets guerrilla, viral and anything besides your average print ad. Remember that old fairy tale about the shoe cobbler and elves? It appears Heritage Boots has its own elves, a sassy band of Mexican-themed roustabouts who, when not busy twittering (that’s right, each of the four have their own twitter), make all of the fabulous boots at Heritage. I was pretty shocked that within six hours of getting a press release about the campaign I had a twitter @reply from elf El Pepe and had spotted two different stickers downtown featuring elves making clever quips. I like seeing local retailers using interactive advertising, but I seriously challenge Heritage to maintain the four twitters, flickr, facebook, myspace, delicious and stumbleupon accounts they have created based around the characters.
Our second interactive fashion project brings a new fashion authority to the streets of Austin. The Fashion Popo is a new web series that introduces us to Cleopatra Jones, an afroed Jackie-Brown style fashion cop who patrols the city of Austin busting fashion victims. I’m not sure about taking fashion advice from a be-wigged woman in a red jumpsuit, but at least it’s a clever character and will do the tough job with humor. Those sort of ambush shows always make me a bit uncomfortable, though I don’t think it’s much nicer to let those poor people suffer in silence, I just hate tearing someone to pieces on camera. The series premiers from 2 to 4 Sunday at the Hideout, but there are already a few trailers and previews on the Fashion Popo Youtube page.
I know SXSW Interactive is still somewhat the redheaded stepchild of the SXSW trio and fashion-wise conjures ideas of thick boxy glasses, Doritos-stained Tshirts and hoodies but I’m here to bust your misconceptions and tell you that forward-thinking brands are making SXSW Interactive a must-attend event. SXSW Music simply does not have the monopoly on fashion, and while brands that come out for that event may be looking to cultivate their image, brands coming out to interactive are looking to cultivate their business. Last year Moods of Norway presented looks at a show sponsored by online browser Opera, a steampunk ball was held and I was lucky enough to be able to attend a fashion and DIY-centric panel featuring Diana Eng of Project Runway in which panelists talked about the blending of technology and fashion.
The festival is colored by a slew of apparel companies who want to be on the cutting edge of marketing and distribution. Threadless, Zappos, Nordstrom and Hot Topic are all present. On a local level Erin Portman (Birds Barbershop) and Karly Hand (Identity Crisis designer, Stitch Organizer, Design Crisis Blogger) will be presenting a session on PR in the digital media era and local designer Loves Mariessa will be participating a a multimedia fashion show.
Posts on Austin Style Watch may be inconsistent this week but we’re going to be bringing you a series of video interviews with Trendhunter.com, Iheartswitch.com, choiceshirts.com and, god willing, Threadless and Zappos as well as coverage of Karly Hand and Erin Portman’s panel and a panel on the mix of high end fashion and technology. Through the week we will also be trend hunting around SXSW interactive for snapshots of geek chic ( such as these foot-shaped shoes courtesy of Misprint’s Bryan Keplesky). Join Austin Style Watch on twitter to find where I’m at around the festival and check out my schedule at my.sxsw for an approximation of what panel I’ll be at.
Coming into SXSW music, expect posts on what brands are putting their name into the festival and a slew of street fashion photos. That’s right, ASW is finally getting off its lazy ass and back into the street fashion game. We’ve been taking photos for the past few weeks and will start posting them on the main ASW site soon.
It’s not news that Highland Mall has been in a slow decline for quite a while now and the economy is dealing an already-suffering complex an especially hard blow. It was reported last Tuesday that now Dillard’s will be shutting its doors costing 130 people their jobs. No word yet on exactly when that closing will occur, but a Dillard’s spokesman has said “in the next few months.”
In an article in the University of Texas’ Daily Texan they reported that five shops inside the mall, including Rave and Image, did not meet their sales goals for January and at Rave they only exceeded their daily goal four times in the month of January.
What, if anything, can bring this mall a comeback? I’ve been hedging my bets on the nearby MetroRail stop bringing new money and traffic into the area, but it would take a major overhaul to capitalize on the traffic hub. If the mall could be changed into a center that would cater to commuters eating lunch, picking up dry cleaning and prescriptions and small necessities then maybe it could start winning back some of the shoppers. Because I definitley know all the money at the new La Bare across the street sure aint going to be putting clothes on ANYONE.
Read some of Austin Style Watch’s previous posts on Highland mall:
If you haven’t noticed, times is tough. Although no economic hardship can curb genuine style (if anything it will encourage more inventive forms) it will absolutely curb spending. I’ll confess that part of why I haven’t been updating as much lately is my own depression about the economy. During my day job I work as a journalist and 45 hours a week of having to report on layoffs, foreclosures and poverty while simultaneously having to worry about my own job has really taken a toll on my emotional state. I also have questioned the role of a fashion blog in a time when most people are more worried about keeping a roof over their head than they are keeping trendy clothes on their backs.
I’m not going to stick Austin Style Watch’s head in the sand and pretend we can all spend willy nilly like it’s the halcyon days, but I’m also not going to fail to support those local businesses that so many Austinites are relying on. So, now that I’ve excused myself from writing about high-end boutiques in the midst of recession, let’s get to what this blog entry is really about: the Domain’s spring fashion show.
The Domain has had a tempestuous few months. In November the mixed-use development faced city-wide scrutiny when the city voted to decide whether or not the developers should get the subsidies promised to them. Then in December it was announced that Nordstom, Saks Fifth Avenue and other retail expansion were going to be pushed back for another year (and I’d bet you a million bucks that that year deadline grows.) Personally I’m glad the city kept its promised subsidy investment in the Domain, but I’m not sure how well that investment might pan out if the economy continues to tank and luxury goods become more of a stigma.
But beyond its Louis Vuitton and Tiffanys, the Domain has a number of outstanding local shops and if you can’t find it in yourself right now to chalk up the big bucks to fill the pockets of these fashion conglomerates, then try taking a look around businesses like Luxe Apothetique and St.Thomas. The press release this year contains a large number of “free”, “budget savvy” and “affordable” buzz words which is in sharp contrast to past years that focused on “high end” and “luxury.”
The Simon Fashion Now event happens March 27 and 28, and while I’m having trouble finding specific details, they are promising fashion shows, product demonstrations and some of the state’s most gorgeous and professional models from the Page Parkes agency. I made it out to last year’s Fashion Now and while it was lovely it was FAR from the “front row” experience Simon seems to be promising last year as the minuscule tent where the fashion show was pretty much limited to those who worked at the Domain and those whose daddy’s were sponsors. My “front row” was actually about about 100 feet back behind a crowd and a sidewalk and a garden. So I guess we’ll see how exclusive the Domain wants to be now that the economy is in the crapper.
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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It’s amazing how many Austin subgroups spawn from bicycles. We have snot-nosed fixed-gear punks who somehow manage to pedal in skin-tight jeans, we have shiny low-rider bikes that crawl their way down to Festival Beach for the weekly Sunday show and we have sport cyclists who worship at the church of Armstrong and live inside spandex. It’s not my normal cup of tea, but I can really appreciate a lot of bicycle fashion in that it really speaks to function and apparently it’s a broader industry than I ever knew. Apparently there are special jeans made specifically for bikers? Browsing through the photos from the fashion show at the 
As I mentioned earlier in the week, there was a 20 minute screening for the SXSW film festival of the new Sacha Baron Cohen flick, Bruno, based on his fashion-obsessed faux-hawked character. I desperately wanted to be there, but the fact of the matter was that I had three drink tickets in hand in the lobby of the Hilton and wasn’t going to gamble on driving across town and not getting in (especially when there were so many good conversations to be had about Vice Magazine and QR Codes.) I trusted the power of the interwebs to deliver me some youtube clips by this morning and unfortunately the interwebs have let me down. However, there are plenty of text recaps that tell of a plot based on Hollywood’s newest hobby, foreign baby collection, as well as a cameo from the lone star state.
I know SXSW Interactive is still somewhat the redheaded stepchild of the SXSW trio and fashion-wise conjures ideas of thick boxy glasses, Doritos-stained Tshirts and hoodies but I’m here to bust your misconceptions and tell you that forward-thinking brands are making SXSW Interactive a must-attend event. SXSW Music simply does not have the monopoly on fashion, and while brands that come out for that event may be looking to cultivate their image, brands coming out to interactive are looking to cultivate their business. Last year 
steampunk
It’s not news that Highland Mall has been in a slow decline for quite a while now and the economy is dealing an already-suffering complex an especially hard blow. 
