Music Monday: Sky Ferreira.

I'm stepping outside of my cozy fashion bubble. So here we are, on my first of many Music Mondays, starring the highly talented, and yet still slightly unknown, singer-songwriter Sky Ferreira.

Maybe you've seen her around; she's been featured in countless magazines and ad campaigns, including the current festival collection for Forever 21.

But have you heard her?

Sky Ferreira.

I first heard of Sky Ferreira in 2009, when reading a post on WGSN about up-and-coming musical acts. At the age of 16, the singer had recently been signed by Parlophone and was a YouTube sensation: on "Happy Dre," she sang The Beatles' "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" over beats from Dr. Dre's "Still D.R.E.". She recorded a stripped-down cover of "Animal," which was originally recorded as electro pop by Miike Snow. And she isn't just a singer: Ms. Ferreira made her film debut in 2010's Putty Hill.

Ferreira then released three singles: "17," a cautionary tale of an out-of-control teen; "Obsession," a catchy ditty detailing one girl's one-sided devotion; and "One," a poppy and unadulterated dance track. 

Ms. Ferreira on the set of her video "One". 

With her popularity rising, you would think by now there would have been an album release. For whatever reason, her record label decided to push back her debut LP, and opted to released two EPs, As If! and Ghost. As If! was originally released on iTunes in March of 2011. However, since Ghost's release in October of last year, all of the tracks on As If! and the EP itself have been removed. This is likely due to Sky Ferreira's ever-changing sound that appears on Ghost.

Ghost EP; cover shot by Hedi Slimane, creative director of Saint Laurent.

Ghost has received generally favorable reviews, particularly the single "Everything Is Embarrassing". Pitchfork named it one of the best new singles of 2012, and New York Magazine named it Song Of The Year for 2012. An 80's throwback to the extreme, the dreamy pop song has the singer lament over a failed relationship. 

Other singles from Ghost include "Red Lips" and "Lost In My Bedroom," a song that was featured in a recent episode of Grey's Anatomy.

Ferreira is currently touring in support of her upcoming LP I'm Not Alright. She will be at South By Southwest for the music portion of the festival in Austin, TX, March 12th-17th.

Needless to say, she is undoubtedly one to watch in the coming months.

Image Credit: All photos were sourced from Sky Ferreira's official Facebook page.

SXSW Street Style: Texas Style Council.

I've been putting off this post in hopes of getting my laptop, but I've had no such luck! So here it is, via Blogger for iPhone. Hope y'all enjoy these photos from South By and Texas Style Council.

Testing...Testing...Is this thing on?

I didn't think until 15 minutes ago that there may be an iPhone app for Blogger. So here I am, via an Apple product!

Hopefully, I will not be communicating in this capacity for long. But South by Southwest is hitting Austin next week, and I have a slew of events to attend, including Texas Style Council. I'll be posting street style photos from both TxSC and the SXSW festival.

Can you dig it?

Right now I'm testing out the app, so bear with me. Enjoy the photo of TxSC swag from In Pink Jewelry.

On that note...the photo resizer apps are proving to be difficult. Please let me know if there are any ridiculously-sized images on your browser. Everything seems to be okay on my end.

Texas Style Council Conference.

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to go to the Texas Style Council Conference: a weekend event for fashion bloggers, readers, and shop owners in Austin, TX. Attendees were not limited to Texans, as Jennine Jacob of The Coveted and IFB proved.

Jennine Jacob, during her keynote speech.

The conference, broken down over the weekend, focused on one key event each day: on Friday, Swap.com and The Swapaholics hosted one of the most amazing swap meets I have ever been to.

I don't know how many people were there, but there was definitely a lot of clothing! Despite the large amount of clothes, the swap was organized. I made off with several amazing items, including a Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress.

Swap Madness!

The DVF dress.

My WikiFashion Goodies Bag had coupons!

On Saturday, before the Scavenger Hunt, local jewelry store Charming Charlie brought in damaged jewelry so that we could create beautiful collages. I made two. Standing around the jewelry table was a great way to meet other bloggers.

TxSCCers surround the jewelry table.
One of my collages.

After the jewelry sesh, the attendees split into teams for the Scavenger Hunt. With instructions from The Go Game, teams of 3-4 descended on the 2nd Street District with smart phones in hand and lunchboxes with information.

Team Fashism's lunchbox.

Prizes for the scavenger hunt? Grand Prize was a $100 gift card from Lulu's, a $50 gift card from local boutique Langford Market, a purse from Modcloth, jewelry from local jewelry shop Eliza Page, a collection of items from Peyton's Place, a scarf, and a really good smelling 12 oz. candle.

So, you bet that my teammates kept their eyes on the prize: we literally ran from mission to mission. Missions included making up funny pick-up lines, making a child laugh, and styling outfits. The running did the job, as Team Fashism--myself, Ashlee, and Julie--won!The winnings.

The next day was business...mostly. We met for breakfast at BoConcept, a modern furniture store breakfast tacos. Next door, at the boutique Plain Ivey Jane, were morning cocktails. More networking ensued!

Coffee was provided by Austin Java.Attendees on a BoConcept couch.

After breakfast, we got down to business: I attended five panels, which followed the keynote speech by Ms. Jacob. The conference was greeted by Indiana Adams, one of the organizers for the conference. Joah, of StyleX, also came to talk about the fashion happenings during SXSW.

The panels covered Going Pro, Careers, Longevity, Authenticity, and Community.

Joah. Indiana of Adored Austin.

With Jennine Jacob.

In all, I learned a lot of information: to not suffer from burnout, it's a good idea to make a calendar for your posts. If you make a lot of posts that are then separated by long periods of absence, write when you are inspired and save them for later. Also, to keep your voice to yourself, it may be a good idea to write like you talk to your friends. However, don't post your dirty details, as you'll regret it later. Interaction is made through posting content that makes an impression. It's a good rule of thumb that you may have to give more comments than you receive. Lastly, if you're planning to to make a career out of your blog, it's important to network and prioritize.

Here are a few photos of the panelists:

Panel 1--Going Pro: Grechen, Patty, and Eliza.

Panel 2--Careers: Pamela, Brooke, and Kendra.

Panel 3--Longevity: Kyla, Katy, and Jennine.

Panel 4--Authenticity: Jen, Indiana, and James.

Panel 5--Community: Dave, Susan, and Kendi.

SXSW Street Style: Color Me Darkly.

At Bo Concept during the Texas Style Council Conference.

I am gathering up all my notes and photos from this past weekend's events, and will try to get a summarization post out in the next few days. The whole entire Texas Style Council Conference--from the swap to scavenger hunt to yesterday's panels--was absolutely amazing. Grechen and Indiana pulled it off flawlessly. Their hard work paid off.

So this week, I will definitely post about the conference, along with more style posts from South By Southwest. I cannot wait for StyleX! On top of all these plans, I am also studying for finals. But in two weeks' time, I'll be in total spring break mode.

Until then, have a lovely Monday!

SXSW Street Style: Pretty In Pink.

During the Texas Style Council Conference today in Austin.

SXSW Street Style: September.

This is September; I met her while waiting in line for the Texas Style Council Conference Clothing Swap last night.

Can you believe she made her handbag completely from recycled fabrics? The blue flower on the top right corner is from an old dress that September had grown tired of. Wish I could be that crafty! I have been at the Texas Style Council Conference all weekend, and will probably summarize the experience later next week. Stay tuned!

I'm excited for SXSW, but until then, Free People!

I'm counting the days for South By Southwest. I've already filled about a bagillion RSVPs for free shows and parties. I'm stoked to see The Strokes play a free show at Auditorium Shores on Thursday, March 18th. The Texas Style Council Conference takes place this weekend, and I cannot wait to see all the fashion bloggers, designers, and leaders alike who will be attending.

Until then, here's this gorgeous video by one of my favorite stores, Free People:

Free People March from FreePeople on Vimeo.

SXSW 2010 Adventures

I've been putting off writing this post because I am in the midst of finals...but I have something else I want to post, and I don't want to get out-of-order on anything.

My South By Southwest experience this years was amazing, to say the least.

From volunteering (hospitality--feeding volunteers) to walking around town and actually going to shows...I had a blast.

After my first day of volunteering.

Last Wednesday I wrote about local band Brazos, and I was lucky enough to get in a few more events and shows.

On Thursday, I went to the American Apparel SXSW Flea Market with my friend Megan.
Megan, if you'll remember, might as well be my partner-in-crime: we've gotten lost together, have shopped vintage together, and have now skipped class together (we were caught up in the class, but still).

This time around, we also met boys from Jersey...

We talked about their hair.

At the Flea Market, I ended up buying a red swimsuit top and a blue "Legalize America Now." tee for 12 bucks. Megan found a dress, a duffel bag, and a shirt for less than $50.

The Flea Market was held in a tent outside the Mexican Cultural Center (600 River Street).

With Megan later that night.

On Friday, I heard a drive-by snippet of Cheap Trick(not pictured--we only saw them because we were stuck in traffic), locals Meggan Carney & the Flying Trapeze, saw a set at Valhalla with Japanese rockers Geeks, heard the only Miike Snow song I know and ran into the Mohawk just to catch the band do the song, and saw Ra Ra Riot for the second time (they opened for Death Cab For Cutie last May).


On Saturday night, I caught the end of Justin Townes Earl (not pictured; ridiculously dirty lyrics), learned She&Him didn't get a sound check, went back to Valhalla to see the London-based Stricken City, the Virginian band Gifts From Enola, and rounded the evening out with Boston's Caspian.

I can't even begin to express the craziness of SXSW2010, but if you ever get a chance to attend, you should. Next year, I'll have a Platinum Badge and I'll be 21 (less than a month--April 21st!), so I'm already planning my schedule accordingly.

Thanks to SXSW for the YouTube clip.