Read more from Megan LaRussa at www.southernfemme.com
130,000+ people full of peace, love & music gathered the first weekend of October to be a part of our generation’s very own version of Woodstock - AUSTIN CITY LIMITS. Walking into Zilker Park with 3 of my oldest & best friends I experienced sensory overload. The festival stretched for miles packed with eclectic individuals, bands blaring on 8 stages & the Austin skyline peering over the rolling hills of the park, all in all a surreal experience. We rushed to the nearest stage just in time to catch one of my favorite bands, Phoenix (the French lead singer dates the always stylish Sofia Coppola). The next 3 days were a blur of phenomenal live performances from 130 bands, incredible shopping in Austin’s trendy South Congress (SOCO) area & of course the best Tex-Mex food I’ve ever eaten! The monsoon that let loose over Austin Saturday followed by the insane Zilker Park mud mess of Sunday did not deter us or the 1,000’s of other avid music fans from crowding the stages of some of my favorite bands & musicians-Mute Math, Arctic Monkeys, The Decemberists, Kings of Leon, Girl Talk, Ben Harper, Bon Hiver, K’naan & Birmingham’s very own The Dexateens.
But being the fashion obsessed ‘Southern Femme’ that I am I was easily distracted from the music by the sea of uniquely dressed festival goers. I personally had prepared my ACL wardrobe weeks in advance (just in case The Sartorialist decided to make an appearance in Austin!). Despite the casual nature of the music festival the ensembles I saw honed in on the Fall 2009 trends & even Spring 2010 trends to come. Some of my favorite festival trends included boots of all shapes & sizes, animal print (I sported a vintage Chloe multi-colored animal print button down over shredded leggings one day), statement accessories, menswear touches (think Dr. Martens & Vans mixed with girly dresses) & lastly one of my favorite beauty trends for Spring 2010, braided hair! I think it says it all that Mr. Alexander Wang, the king of Indie fashion, showed all of his models in his Spring 2010 fashion week show with thick braids running down their backs.
With a bit of effort I convinced my friends to leave the music & people watching for a few hours on Sunday to hit up the 2 best shopping areas in Austin-South Congress Street & the Drag of University of Texas at Austin. Here are my Southern Femme shopping picks for Austin, TX:
• Tesoros Trading Company- Complete eye candy for me, full of Mexican Day of the Dead jewelry (I purchased a hand crafted skull necklace for the Day of the Dead celebration at Bare Hands Art Gallery), candles, art & more… I could have spent hours in this store!
• Blackmail- A phenomenal find, so eclectic! You can find everything from colorful vintage cowboy boots to handmade clothing by the stores’ owner in this southern noir boutique. Every year Blackmail hosts a design competition & this year’s challenge was to create a unique little black dress, the competition dresses were so inventive!
• St. Vincent de Paul Vintage Boutique & Thrift Store-The interior & exterior of this store may not look very pretty or fashionable but trust me it is full of treasures if you are willing to dig! I found a fabulous gold brocade dress with flowing bell sleeves for only $8!
• Uncommon Objects-Another store I could literally spend days in! It was full of antique knick knacks (love a good knick knack), books, jewelry, paintings, furniture, furs & SO much more! The store was divided into alcoves & every area was decorated in a different style so it was a constant adventure. It was especially great for antique jewelry; I found a gold pocket watch with a horse engraved on the front that I strung on a gold chain.
• Buffalo Exchange-Let me tell y’all when I spotted this incredible thrift & consignment store driving down the drag of UT Austin I literally shrieked! I frequented this store when I lived in NYC but didn’t know it was a chain. Moral of the story if you see a Buffalo Exchange, wherever you may be, GO immediately! I found a thick mustard yellow vintage coat with antique broach & a black faux-wrap dress with a lace panel across the back & accented shoulders for only $20!
• Cream Vintage-Down the drag from Buffalo Exchange is this popular vintage spot. I personally liked the men’s vintage clothing better than the women’s as it was comprised of great button downs, western shirts, quirky tees, old school Levi’s & cowboy boots. The collection of vintage sunglasses & recycled vintage creations were pretty great too!
