Rock the Casbah: a North Loop Fashion Show.

Last night's Rock the Casbah Fashion Show represented upcoming fall trends, as well as the funkiest shopping district Austin has to offer: North Loop!

Not to be outdone by the recent shows from Austin Fashion Week, locally-owned shops Splendor, Green House, Forbidden Fruit, Ermine Vintage, Blue Velvet, and (my favorite Austin boutique) Blackbird Clothes & Curios all came out to parade their latest looks at Phara's outdoor patio.

Overall, the show was a real treat for a Monday night, and I enjoyed everything from the atmosphere to the free casbah cosmos, which were concocted with Cinco Vodka and made by Blackbird Clothes & Curios' Stacey and Eunice.

Because I took so many photos, I am splitting the entirety of the event into two posts. I hope y'all enjoy the photos I took; the looks are in (an almost complete) order, by boutique.

Splendor:I would sport a cape.

Greenhouse:Staria, with her younger sister.
Her hair reminds me of Stormy, the frenemy of 1980s cartoon Rainbow Brite.
Forbidden Fruit:
Corsets always have such a sexy attitude.
Ermine Vintage:
Somewhere between singer Adele and a 1940s pin-up girl.
Blue Velvet:
At first, I thought this monochromatic jumpsuit was a dress!
This gold, sheer dress was easily my favorite look of the evening!
Blackbird Clothes & Curios:Her bob reminds me of Irene Castle, the early 20th-century ballroom dancer.
This look had Roaring 20s glam all over it!
Sporting the one-suspender look like a true hipster would.
Later this week, I will post individual style photos from the show!

Rock the Casbah on North Loop!

Hey ladies and gents, my friends over at Blackbird Clothes & Curios sent me an e-mail about an event that's going on in Austin's North Loop IBIZ District. It's purr-fect for all the Austinites that still need to feed their fashion addiction after Austin Fashion Week and Le Garage Sale! Sponsored by the Austin Independent Business Alliance in conjuction with the Small Business Development Center, Rock the Casbah is going down Monday, August 29th. It'll feature fashion from all of my favorite North Loop ("NoLo") boutiques: Blue Velvet, Ermine Vintage, Forbidden Fruit, Green House, Splendor, and--obviously!--Blackbird Clothes & Curios. With music provided by Breakaway Records, appetizers served up by Phara's Mediterranean Cuisine & Christopher's Casbah, lighting by ILIOS, and samples of casbah comsos from Cinco Vodka, Rock the Casbah is guaranteed to be a rockin' weird fashion show. They even have KUT's very own Laurie Gallardo as the hostess, folks! Not to mention, Katie Cowden will be behind the camera lens in the hookah lounge-themed photo booth!

Naturally, I'm going (as well as keeping my fingers crossed that my ride doesn't flake). The only other question is, WTF am I going to wear? What?
Rock the Casbah: an exotic sampling of North Loop fashion, food, and music.

Where?
Phara's; 111 E. North Loop Boulevard, Austin, TX, 78751.

When?
8/29/2011; 8-10 pm.

Other Info?
Phara's is B.Y.O.B.

Many thanks to Blackbird Clothes & Curios for the images & info!

A Long Overdue Post: the Austin Bleet-Up.

I was at the Austin Bleet-Up 27 days ago. I know, why I haven't I posted the photos yet?

Because my computer got a virus (it's fixed now!), burst pipe in my bedroom, Christmas, and work.

So exactly what is the Austin Bleet-Up? It is this amazing bi-annual party that Tolly Moseley and Richard Gonzalez put together to unite the bloggers of Austin. December 3rd's Austin Bleet-Up was held on the terrace of the Whole Foods Headquarters (located at 6th and Lamar), and featured Republic of Austin's Austin Blogger Awards, live music, ice-skating, free food, and adult beverages. While the fourth Austin Bleet-Up, this was my first! I was in good comapny, as you can see in the photos.

With Indiana Adams of Adored Austin.

With the original Hipstercrite, Lauren.

Tolly and Chris (Republic of Austin), as they announced the winners of the Austin Blog Awards.

Organic pancakes...from a can! Blueberries sold separately.

About to eat pancakes with Austinite in the Making, Brittney.

With The Austin Eavesdropper herself, Tolly.

At the Bleet-Up, I wore a vintage dress from Blue Velvet, while my bag and booties are both from Maurices. Bracelet came to me via an Urban Outfitters online purchase four years ago, and the necklace is from Cream Vintage.

I hope everyone has a wonderful new year! I will be posting my 2011 Fasholutions soon.

Adventures in NoLo.

Welcome to North Loop!

I've been spending a lot of time recently on North Loop Boulevard, particularly the Highland Plaza area. Technically 53rd Street, North Loop (affectionately shortened to "NoLo") is one of the few neighborhoods in Austin that looks like it hasn't gone through a massive building renovation in recent years. This only adds to its local appeal and vintage charm.

Not too far off the beaten path (one block east of Guadalupe), the NoLo area is home to a hodgepodge of locally-owned businesses, including the darling vintage store Blue Velvet (217 W. North Loop), and new addition Blackbird Clothes & Curios (112 E. North Loop), which is a boutique that serves its customers with the latest trends in women's apparel, menswear, and accessories.

While Blue Velvet is every vintage connoisseur's delight and run by a mother-daughter team, Blackbird is owned by two friends who came up with the tagline "good clothes for bad people" to describe the store's edgy vibe. While each business has a different perspective on fashion, they each make North Loop home and, as the saying goes, keep Austin weird.

This series of photos is comprised of recent visits to both Blue Velvet and Blackbird.

Blue Velvet

Fellow blogger and friend, Lindsey.

Blackbird Clothes & Curios

Juliana Azar and Stacey Breakall, owners of Blackbird Clothes & Curios.