Austin Style Watch

New photos week of March 23

Tue, 27 Mar 2007 22:43:10 GMT

Gallery 10

Wed, 21 Mar 2007 15:35:16 GMT

Wed, 21 Mar 2007 15:33:11 GMT

http://www.austinstylewatch.com/pics/10/1.jpg

Gallery 10

Wed, 21 Mar 2007 15:32:14 GMT

Spin's guide to Austin

Wed, 21 Mar 2007 15:30:19 GMT

3/21/07
Spin's guide to Austin

In their March issue, Spin magazine features Austin for their regular "72 hours in:..." article. So what has Spin elected to include in their vacation itinerary for the live-music capital? (I'll give you a hint, it's about what you would expect):
Day 1
Breakfast: Curra's Grill
Afternoon activity: Shopping on Soco: Amy's, Jo's, Lucy in Disguise, Uncommon Objects, Blackmail and Southside tattoo
Lunch: Guero's, Homeslice pizza, Zen, Doc's Motorworks or Magnolia Cafe
Dinner: Casino El Camino
Evening activity: Red River Street (which they describe as CBGB-inspired): Beerland, Room 710, Elysium, Headhunter's, Stubb's, Emo's, Club DeVille, Mohawk and Red Eyed Fly
Nightcap: Star seeds cafe

Day 2
Breakfast: Taco Xpress
Afternoon activity: Waterloo Records and The Mean Eyed Cat
Lunch/Dinner: Threadgill's
Evening activity: Antone's and The Parish

Day 3
Breakfast: Hoover's Cooking
Dinner: Hill's Cafe
Evening activity: Continental Club and The Red Fez
Nightcap: Kerbey Lane Cafe

Spin's choices for "most promising locals":
New Disaster
Voxtrot
The Octopus Project
The Gentleman's social club
What Made Milwaukee famous
Ghostland Observatory
Adrenaline Factor
Sound Team
The Ugly Beats
The Addictions
RACHEL

Robots invade Austin

Wed, 21 Mar 2007 15:29:47 GMT

3/21/07
Robots invade Austin

I saw these mail boxes on Boing Boing a few weeks ago, but I hardly thought they would be turning up on Austin streets. Much to my surprise I found this one down on 5th street last weekend. The R2D2 box honors Star Wars 30th anniversary.

RACHEL

Schwag

Wed, 21 Mar 2007 15:28:54 GMT

3/13/07
Schwag

SXSW is about music, but it's also about selling shit. Whether that product is a drink, a TV show, a website or band you can bet they'll be someone on the street wanting to hand you a sticker or a button with the logo emblazoned on it. Companies really bust out the big guns in creative marketing for SXSW and now there's a blog dedicated to this facet of the festival. The blog is run by local advertising firm Door Number 3 and one of the bloggers is Misprint Magazine's own "Chadwick Pennyrich III".

On a similar note The Austinist published a video this week interviewing some of the promotional models that are out on the street. Having done this job one year and had the humility of watching people throw down my flyers like a ticker tape parade, this footage makes me a little sad.
RACHEL

I'm still the master of my domain

Wed, 21 Mar 2007 15:27:59 GMT

3/10/07
I'm still the master of my Domain

North Austin is my hood, it's where I grew up, and for a long time the Arboretum was the extent of our cultural offerings. But for its lack of culture, North Austin carries much of Austin's tech industry; Dell, Samsung, IBM, and Texas Instruments all have a base in the area. So it's intriguing that the biggest development to hit North Austin in years should marry the area's tech history and cultured future. The Domain "lifestyle center" repurposes IBM's old property for high end shopping and awesome apartments, and when the rail comes in 2008 it will become the hub for the Northside.

So enough with the history lesson, let's talk shop(ping)

Michael Knight, from last season's Project Runway, looked really bored as he walked in the Macy's fashion show. I guess Macy's didn't really dig his blinged out safari shirt look either so they stuck with their own formal and spring line.

Props to Macy's for not falling victim to the achilles heel of most Austin fashion shows, which is overweight models who walk like they're in their mom's high heels and then put the icing on the cake by winking or blowing kisses to the audience. The models were professional and gorgeous. The UT school of apparel design also showcased some of their best work.

Many of the stores in the Domain are new to Austin, and some even new to Texas. Let's meet our new neighbors.

Martin & Osa
I don't like to think of Martin and Osa as a store so much as a publis service. This offshoot of American Eagle Outfitters helps the post collegiate crowd transition from keg stands to water coolers with tasteful chinos, cashmere blends and a pallete of colors that suits everyone. The chain currently only has seven locations nationwide and so it's exciting that Austin should be one of their first markets.

In the dressing rooms they offer pictures of some of the season's looks to give a visual aide to the fashion impaired. They also offer free alterations, and a little button in the dressing room to call for assistance sort of like an airline..and hell, they may not bring you peanuts but they will bring you free Fiji water for all you suckers who are too good for the mall water fountain.
You can also tell that American Eagle is aiming for the older crowd when you see the free recipes that the store hands out, since they're assuming their customers have a real kitchen and the skill to cook something besides ramen. Travel is one of their themes, so they broadcast a travel film in-store and feature a recipe from the film and ingredients to cook it.

Betsey Johnson
Remember all those trampy, super girly clothes you used to dress Barbie in? Well Betsey Johnson's got your life size versions. There's nothing on the racks here that's less than awesome (but also nothing on the racks here costing less than $200)

Barney's Co-op
This youthful line from Barney's could somewhat be compared to Austin's own Factory People or Gomi. They carry some unique products such as toy store-turned-clothing designer Kid Robot's badass hoodies (speaking of which, how does Austin not have a Kid Robot location yet?)

Macy's
If you're going to go for a department store, Macy's is probably your best bet nowadays. They seem to be staying ahead of the dying department store culture by keeping contemporary, quality designs in all departments. They're carrying some exclusive brands like INC and Michael Kors. Plus, they have some of the hottest, tatted and dredded mannequins I've ever seen.

Juicy Couture
Seems neat, they're decked out with giant cotton candy, a pink suit of armor and girly streetwear. However some jackass in management decided it wasn't worth their time to stay open late on opening night, so ASW has decided it's not worth our time to talk about Juicy.

Also of note, the North Loop neighborhood lost one of its beloved vintage stores recently. Slinky Whistle Bait shut its doors, but it's a happy occasion since co-owner Donna Barton closed the shop to do displays and designs for the Domain's Neiman Marcus.
RACHEL

Give the north side its due

Sun, 18 Feb 2007 21:31:05 GMT

Everyone knows that the south side is keeping it weird, and we couldn't go a day without hearing about east side gentrification, the west side is where all the rich folks and celebs live, so what about the north side? Everyone treats north austin like it's some strange foreign town but in the past few months this area has been getting its own version of many downtown bars and its own unique clubs. Bet you didn't even know.

Opal Divine's
In what used to be a sea food shack, the pub has opened a location in north Austin quite close to where mopac turns into a toll road. With over 60 varieties of single malt scotch and 36 craft-brewed and imported draught beers, it's a great place to break a five dollar bill for change before you go through the toll plaza.

Little Woodrow's
This bar is not native to Austin, but it is an Austin favorite where people go for a chilled out west 6th happy hour. The north Austin location is situated with perfect access near Dell and other Round Rock high tech businesses.

Merkaba Lounge
I have a very talented DJ friend who spins her regularly so I can, at the very least, assure you that the music don't suck. Merkaba is a great happy hour location, and if you end up really scoring big you can just walk two stores down to Cindie's and buy some lube.

Hanover's
This giant live music venue is great, think of it as a Stubb's for the north side. Hanover's regularly draws Austin favorites such as Pushmonkey and Guy Forsyth. With poker, volley ball courts and a cool old feel, Hanover's is a nice weekend location.
RACHEL

Laura Hall and I both think men aren't necessary!

Sun, 18 Feb 2007 21:30:10 GMT

OMG University of Texas student turned body dismembering psychopath Laura Hall showed up to court prominently displaying the same book that I'm reading..what does this mean?!

RACHEL

Rachel + Will Wynn + City Hall = Love

Tue, 13 Feb 2007 20:02:47 GMT

Tomorrow is Valentine's day, and I'm spending the special holiday with my Valentine, Austin Mayor Will Wynn.

Okay..so it's strictly a business meeting and William (I like to call him William) doesn't TECHNICALLY know he's my Valentine, but I gotta say, I love this mayor. He's a real visionary for Austin, he's introduced some real people / environment / economy friendly projects. He's got a bad ass book club, he's single and he's made downtown a great place to be (like Giuliani..but..not lame). He's the mayor and his name is Will WIN

But one of my favorite things about William is his office. My friends, Austin has an unbelievable city hall. In fact you could really just call it an art museum that the city offices out of. Besides the incredible contemporary architecture that incorporates an amphitheater, the insides are just covered in art. And not on just the public walls..EVERY WALL. Sculpture, painting, mixed media, phtography. I encourage everyone to not let the imposing title of "city hall" intimidate them..walk on in, they want you to.

So William, if you do by chance read this love letter to you and your fabulous city, will you be my valentine?
RACHEL

An education in Austin screen printer

Mon, 12 Feb 2007 23:09:09 GMT

I love screen printing, and it's always exciting to be able to create a professional product out of a garage. But we all have to admit that much of it's getting old..if I have to see another clever little phrase, ironic design (ala Delias) or hip illustration using skulls I'll puke. Thankfully I live in a city whose garages are spewing out quality, not crap. Here's a few.

Model Citizen
This two-woman company is Bonnie Rue and Maggie Allen. They draw pictures that involve scooters and tigers andd then they put them on shirts.
Rural Rooster
I interviewed RR owner J.J. Campbell a while back, and along with the garage theme, he runs his badass shirt studio out of his house. He's really honed his skill and his designs are some of my favorite. On top of being good with the actual process of screen printing, RR also employs great design. I like RR so much that I will forgive their occasional use of skulls.
Snook11
These guys were nice enough to let me flash my camera at their developing screens and ask them dozens of questions about how screen printing works. We screwed up about 12 transparencies and and took about five hours to print one shirt. But they've assured me they are much faster now.
Reckon Worldwide
This company must have a garage stacked full of screens because they have about a million designs covering the most popular and most obscure literary, film, musical and historical icons. That baby jumper is so cute I almost wish I was knocked up. RACHEL

RSS readers, Bear with us

Sun, 11 Feb 2007 17:17:22 GMT
We're figuring out our feed and running some tests, so if you see that ASW had 3,542 updates this weekend...we didn't. Stick around, you're going to start getting you ASW feed.

Thanks

Hey all you ritch bitches, buy Michael Knight some bling at Tiffany's!

Sun, 11 Feb 2007 17:11:13 GMT

It's hard for me to believe that there are still so many people who haven't heard about the Domain, but then I keep finding that no one has.

Basically the Domain is a new high-end mixed use development that stacks apartments atop retail stores and places them all near offices. What does all this mean to you?
Louis Vuitton
Neiman Marcus
Tiffany & Co.
Betsey Johnson
RELOCATION of St.Thomas
SECOND LOCATION for Bettysport

Hey and guess what else? Michael Knight, the finalist from last season's Project Runway is going to be there for the opening ceremony! I'm going to ask him what was up with all those sequined safari shirts..ugh.
RACHEL

Never underestimate the power of women in numbers

Sun, 11 Feb 2007 17:09:41 GMT

I've joined a double dutch group called Double Dutch Will Take You Higher. I'm only in my first weeks of training, but I'll be sure to advertise any shows. Fashion is a large part of the DDWTYH.
But in Austin, there's really no shortage of dancing/skating/biking/jumping girl groups. I'm introducing the world to a few of them here.

Super Sonic Soul Squad

This frequently rotating and growing group of dancers do everything from indie rock to the electric slide. They've performed at fashion shows, art gallerys and concerts and many of the dancers double as Austin Craft Mafia. That accounts for the emphasis on jazzy costumes.

The Boom Chica Boom Girls

Wherever there is rock n roll music to shake to, these girls are shaking. They do their own booking, costuming and chereography and they've performed for the likes of DFA and The Hives.

Satan's Cheerleaders

This pleather wearing, Red River frequenting band of naughty cheerleaders hold their own in shows alongside Austin bands.
RACHEL