Video: One Question For Erica Dasher

Still no news on who won the Jane By Design Style Challenge, but I was pleasantly surprised when the star of the show was chosen to answer any question of my choosing. I was tempted to ask something completely non sequitur, like... do you run water over your toothbrush before or after you squirt on the toothpaste, but the ex-actress and current clothes wearer in me just had to ask a relevant question:
Speaking of relevant questions, I'm taking submissions for questions to ask Perez Hilton. I have a little phone interview coming up with him before SXSW. I was just going to get him to sing with me (maybe some Glee duets?) but I thought if there were anything you'd like to ask him, I'll do it for you.

Jane By Design Style Challenge: Task seven

Whew! I did it! I completed all seven of my Jane By Design Style Challenges. What a relief! This last one is due by midnight tonight and because I love living on the edge I decided to get it done in the last hour. Hey, I work best under pressure, okay? This is good because Gray puts on a lot of pressure, as you can tell by her most recent email:

I’m astonished we’re still communicating, but don’t be fooled. Just because you’ve made it this far doesn’t mean you’ve gotten the job. There is one final phase of the interview process. I have a very important premiere tonight and I need you there with me. You must take careful notes on what everyone is wearing because, at the end of the day, what people are wearing is our business. If you want to work for Donovan Decker, you must prove that you have keen powers of observation. And remember, you can’t be everywhere, but I must know everything, so you must ask your readers to help you if you hope to succeed.

Then show me that you can become a trusted fashion source for masses of people who have less style than I do. Choose one person you have observed and write a “get the look” entry on your blog. Tell your readers to share their “get the look” tips here and mention the name of your blog.

And remember, don’t be late. If you miss the premiere, you miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime. If all of your assignments are not completed by tomorrow, January 4 at 11:59pm PST, you will be out of the running.

Watch this video for additional inspiration into this phase of the interview process, and make sure your readers get a chance to watch as well.

Gray

I watched the premiere (psst... it's on Hulu if you missed it on ABCFamily), and I thought the show was adorable. Jane wore a lot of Betsey Johnson and Anthropologie (they don't call me "Keen Eye Adams" for nothing. Okay, no one calls me "Keen Eye Adams", but maybe they should!), and she definitely has her signature style:

Puffy skirts, high heels, and belted cardigans. Are those pigeon toes I spy in the third photo? If I didn't know any better, I'd think that Jane had a personal style blog herself... or at least a Chictopia account.

To get Jane's go-to look, grab a short, tiered skirt, a bright top or two, some interesting heels, and an eye catching belt:

To do a more muted version of Jane's look, stick with all neutrals but keep the basic silhouette the same:

If you watched the premiere, you'll know that animal (and bug) brooches are going to be hot this year. This look was inspired by the one Jane wears to her job interview.

Get my look inspired by Jane's look:

skirt: F21 | blouse: thrifted, Savers | pin: surprise Christmas gift from Accessorize (they know I love animal jewelry!) | blazer: Langford Market | loafers: c/o Francesca's | tights: Target | belt: Hey, Meg, is this your belt? I think I borrowed it from you in college and never gave it back because I wore it all the time. Five years later... I still wear it all the time.

Dear Gray,

Thank you so much for the opportunity to interview with Donovan Decker. Seven interviews! Wow! Surely that's some sort of record for (fictional) job interviews, right?

I think by now you have a good idea of who I am and how I work, and you have a well rounded view of my style aesthetic. You say you're looking for a blogger who has a "sparkling personality, impressive creativity, and the ability to influence the masses". I hope I've shown you that I have those traits, but most of all, I hope you can see that I took on all of these challenges and did them to my fullest ability. You helped me create better content for my own blog over the holidays, you've given me an ego boost regarding my own DIY skills, and you gave me a dress form. I hope I don't have to mail that back because I've kind of fallen in love with her and like having her around, plus I imagine that the shipping on that thing is extraordinary.

Congrats on a great premiere!

Most sincerely,

Indiana

See my other Jane By Design Style Challenges: one | two | three | four | five | six

Jane By Design Style Challenge: Task six

Tonight was the premiere of Jane By Design and tomorrow is my final deadline and interview for the (fictional) blogger position at Donovan Decker. Our sixth challenge came in on Friday from Jane:

Hi Again! You did it! Gray said my assignment was not entirely ridiculous and that your day-to-night styles were not horrific. So we’re both still here! Still, I made sure I did not misplace your next assignment! This is one that will really make you think. Here’s what Gray wants you to do next.

"2012 is almost upon us. What does the future hold for the world of fashion? That will depend on people like you. It’s time to take a long hard look at yourself and the world around you. What do you see & how does it make you feel? The ability to be inspired by everyday life is an essential skill. The ability to translate your inspiration into something fresh and unexpected that takes the fashion world by storm is a rare gift. Rumor has it that one of the most coveted designer bags of all time was inspired by a roll of tape.

Find the bag of pretzels in your trunk. Get inspired and create something that will amaze me. Post a photo to your blog and write an entry explaining your design. Ask your readers to share ways in which they were inspired to make fashion out of unexpected items here and mention the name of your blog."

Yes, she did say “bag of pretzels.” I double-checked that. I don’t envy you, but you’ve made it this far, so just give it everything you’ve got and hope for the best! That usually works for me.

Watch this video for additional inspiration into this phase of the interview process, and make sure your readers get a chance to watch as well.

Pretzels. Yes, pretzels. For pete's sake, this challenge made me feel like one of those flummoxed designers on Project Runway. You want me to make something inspired by that?

Because I've been so busy launching the TxSC'12 website, I considered phoning it in. String + pretzels= alternative to a candy necklace. I'd totally wear this during SXSW and nibble on it as the day went on.
But I figured since I have given my all for the other challenges that I owed it to Jane and Gray and you and ABC Family and me to actually do this challenge. So, off to Home Depot I went for rope. I got some white rope and some yellow mason twine. I needed tape, scissors, and a lighter to complete this challenge.

Simple instructions (first part per Love Meagan):

1. Cut two lengths of rope about 3.5 feet long. Tape the ends to prevent fraying while you work. | 2. loop the middle of the ropes together | 3. tie them in a pretzel shaped knot | 4. flank them with other knots

You can stop here because it's pretty cute as is, but I did not stop here. Inspired by my mustard (what? I can't eat pretzels without yellow mustard, okay?) I added some mason twine as an accent color and tied off the back with the same twine (you can use white dental floss for this part if you can't find any mason twine- -mmm, minty!):

I know the back doesn't look the greatest, but it does stop the fraying. Next you can snip off the frayed white part from the ends and burn them to make sure no more fraying occurs. Add more twine or floss to cover up the burnt ends.

Ta-da! Now you have a simple to make, completely adorable, pretzel inspired rope necklace. So much better than a string with pretzels on it, right?

Dear Jane,

Wow! I am thrilled to have made it this far in the interview process. This was the toughest challenge, yet. It was important to me to not go too literal with the this pretzel inspiration, so I took the iconic twist of a pretzel and built on that for a nautical rope necklace. This is an easy DIY and I hope you and Gray like it. Thanks for the snack and congrats on the big premiere tonight!

Most sincerely,

Indiana

I have one more challenge left in this Jane By Design Style Challenge. This has been so much fun for me, and I really appreciate all the love and support you've shown me here on Adored Austin and on Instagram, Twitter, and the Jane By Design Facebook page.

See my other Jane By Design Style Challenges: one | two | three | four | five

Jane By Design Style Challenge: Task five

Whew! Let's go ahead and knock my fifth Jane By Design Style Challenge out, shall we? Five down, two more to go! I found this email from Jane in my inbox tonight, and I am absolutely thrilled to still be in the running for this thing:

Your next assignment is inspired by my life. I’m actually a very busy person. My life is a constant juggling act and I’m just hoping I don’t blow it. Sometimes I don’t even have time to change my clothes, so I have to figure out how to change my look in a flash. If you want to work at Donovan Decker, you’ll need this skill in order to survive. Let’s see if you can do it!

Take the white shirt out of your trunk and put it on your dress form. Using accessories from your own collection (or anything else you can think of), show how you would style the shirt for a day at the office. Then, change the look entirely and show me how you would style the same shirt for a dressy cocktail party. Post photos of both styles to your blog, and write an entry explaining what you did to create each look. Ask your readers to share their day-to-night styling tips here and mention the name of your blog. I can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with!

Watch this video for additional inspiration into this phase of the interview process, and make sure your readers get a chance to watch as well.

Good luck!
Happy New Year!

Jane

I wanted to dye the shirt a different color or to cut it up, but I do think the point of this challenge was to incorporate a basic white shirt into two different looks vs. turning the basic white shirt into a funky black shirt or a fur shirt. I do want to take the back out of this and replace it with lace, but alas, that's a whole different blog post, my friends. Without further ado, here's my attempt at styling:

blazer: vintage Christian Dior via Andrea & D12 | skirt: F21 | necklace: InPink | shoes: found on the "free stuff" table at my Grandma's assisted living facility (yes, really!)
dress: work in progress/ DIY via A Pair and A Spare | necklace: Buffalo Exchange (new merch) | bag: prize from Grace's Birdcage | shoes: DSW

Hi, Jane.
I hope you were able to get at least a little time off from Gray during the holidays. I've created two fun looks for you. The day look is a take on the classic skirt/ blazer combo, but I've switched the expected pencil skirt out for a soft tulle skirt. The gold chain necklace tucked under the collar and chunky navy and gold belt add visual interest and keeps the vintage blazer current. As for the night look, since it's for a "dressy cocktail party", I had to choose something with lots and lots of shine. I'm in the middle of making Geneva's wrap mini dress in this crazy gold jersey knit that I have, but I thought that the white shirt underneath was the perfect way to winterize it. Who says a white button down has to be boring?
Excited to still be in the running,
Indiana

Again, I really appreciate everyone's patience and support with these Jane By Design blog posts. Only two more to go! If I win, they'll mention my blog on the show (and also, I got a dress form! Woot!) but better than that is the fact that I get to choose an Adored Austin reader to be featured on ABCFamily.com as the "trendsetter of the week".

See my other Jane By Design Style Challenges: one | two | three | four

Jane By Design Style Challenge: Task four

I left my laptop at home during my quick Christmas vacation, but the minute my plane landed, my mind was off and running with regards to this blog. We grabbed our luggage, Bee came and picked us up from the airport, and then I immediately went to Jo-Ann to get some supplies for the fourth Jane By Design Style Challenge that landed in my inbox last Friday:

The holidays are upon us. Your gift? You’ve made it to the next phase of the interview process. And while you may be in the mood to take some time off, there’s one thing you need to remember—fashion never takes a vacation.

Fashion happens when reinvention is combined with exceptional vision. Look inside your trunk and take out the holiday sweater. You must use every ounce of creativity you have to turn the holiday sweater into something special. Turn that sweater into something fresh & exciting that could be the next big trend for Holiday 2012.

When you think you’ve created something innovative and amazing, whether it’s a bracelet or a mini skirt, post before and after photos to your blog. Ask your readers to share their own inspired creations here and mention the name of your blog.

If you truly want to have a happy holiday season, you must hope against hope that you have the vision it takes to impress me. Otherwise, it’s quite possible that this will be our last correspondence.

Gray

This is the sweater Gray was referring to. Behold my canvas:

I had no idea what to do with this sweater vest. The only thing I liked about it was the fact that it was a vest. Hunter green may be my least favorite color on the planet and there was no way I could turn this into a Christmas skirt and call it a day, so in the end, I decided to scrap everything about it... except the fact that it was a vest.

For the last two years, I've had a brown fur vest near the top of my winter wardrobe wants list. I had thought about making this shrug into a vest, but it was too short. I even contemplated turning my Halloween costume into a vest, but it wasn't the color I wanted. I decided to check out Jo-Ann to see what they had in stock, and I was happy to find a very soft, fake mink in a rich, chocolate brown. While I was waiting at the cut counter, I installed the Jo-Ann iPhone app and snagged a 50% off mobile coupon and got the yard of faux mink for $7.99. High five!

Using the original vest as a pattern and adding 1/4'' all the way around, I cut out a back and an identical front from the fabric:

The Christmas vest would now be serving as the foundation of the fur vest. I snipped off all the beads to make sure the fur would lay flat against the knit vest:

Then using my sewing machine, I sewed up the shoulders and the sides to make a shapeless fur tank:

I then layered the Christmas vest (right side out) inside the fur tank (also right side out) and sewed along the shoulder seams and armpit holes, turning the extra fabric to the inside of the seams. Next I followed the lines of the original vest and made a cut up the front of the fur tank to mimic the front of the original vest. Then I flipped the extra fabric (remember that extra 1/4''?) and sewed all around the hem, front flap openings, and neck. That sounds complicated, but these next two photos explain it a little better:


I started to put buttons up the front of the sweater but after I tacked on the first one, I immediately regretted it.

I snipped it off and opted for (what else?) a simple grosgrain ribbon belt, instead. This will be held in place with simple belt loops fashioned from brown embroidery thread:

And those beads that I removed? I strung 'em together to make a simple, understated necklace:

There it is! A pretty fur vest in under an hour. Because the original vest is now acting as the liner, it's quite a bit sturdier and much warmer than it would be had I made it without the Christmas canvas. Best of all? I can check the brown fur vest off my winter wants list now.

Happy holidays, Gray. That was the tackiest Christmas sweater vest I have ever seen, and there was no way I could have worn that without a heavy dose of hipster irony and perhaps even a shot of tequila and a dare from a friend. Because fur vests are a much better cool weather alternative to hunter green sweater vests bedazzled and bedecked with embroidered presents, rather than toss this gem of yours into my Goodwill bin, I transformed it into a darling fur vest that would work with classics like jeans and ankle boots just as well as with this season's military inspired button down dresses. What's your size? Extra small? I'll whip one up for you tomorrow if you'd like. If I can do this to a vest in an hour, imagine what I could do for Donovan Decker for the duration of my career.

-Indiana

See my other Jane By Design Style Challenges: one | two | three

Jane By Design Style Challenge: Task three

I've made it to the next round in the Jane By Design Style Challenge. Holla! The new emails come in on Tuesdays and Fridays, and this little gem from (the Miranda Priestly-like) Gray Chandler Murray was in my inbox yesterday:

You are moving on to round three of the interview process. You haven’t quit yet, nor have you embarrassed yourself beyond repair, so that says something. What exactly does it say? It says you still have a lot to prove before I’m ready to make a decision.

I often say you can judge a person based on the purse they carry. A sloppy bag shows the world that you are a disheveled mess, very likely in need of group therapy. A matronly purse says you are uptight, humorless and quite possibly spending your nights alone, with only your cat for company. But the right bag represents you better than any other accessory can. The right bag reveals the best aspects of your personality, winning you affection and admiration wherever you go.

Post a photo on your blog of the bag that best represents you and tell your readers why this purse conveys the very essence of who you are. Then ask your readers to share the bags that best represent them here and mention the name of your blog.

And remember—choose carefully. An expensive purse might reveal that you are really just a shallow tart. A cheap purse might reveal that you are a miserly malcontent. To make it to the next phase of the interview process, you will need to convince me that you are an interesting person with a unique point of view. If you’re just another sheep following the masses, you’ll stay in the barnyard where you belong.

Watch this video for additional inspiration into this phase of the interview process, and make sure your readers get a chance to watch as well.

It may sound easy to simply choose a bag and photograph it and post it on the blog, but I hemmed and hawed over this for quite some time. My mom's Gucci bag has a lot of sentimental value to me, but it is falling apart and I only use it when I need a large bag and I don't care if it gets scuffed up. My little Louis Vuitton pouchette means a lot to me, too. It was a graduation gift from my mom and her best friend and was my first (and only) new-to-me, "grown up" bag. Also, I recently bought a rubber chicken purse on South Congress that I think is hilarious, and I have a great collection of tiny, vintage clutches that I've scoured from estate sales and resale shops, and I really like those, too.

Although some of these bags are nice and some are funny and some were excellent thrifting finds, none of these bags "convey the essence of who I am". So after really, really thinking about it, I came to realize that the bag that best conveys who I am (especially my shopping philosophies) right now is the Purse and Clutch charming chevron clutch.
Chervon is so on-trend right now. Don't believe me? Just ask Pinterest. I wear a fair amount of chevron prints,
and even did Jude's room in yellow chevron a while back. That's why I was so excited to see that Purse and Clutch added a chevron line to their offerings yesterday. I emailed Jen, the owner of Purse and Clutch, invited myself over to her house (meeting her for the first time!) and promptly bought myself one of these beauties:
I got the chocolate brown one today but only because the gray was all sold out (the one I photographed had just been ordered).

I chose this bag for this Jane By Design Style Challenge because 1) I am still digging chevrons, 2) I appreciate the tiny, handmade imperfections of the print, and 3) I couldn't think of a better product that falls perfectly into my "I Shop With Heart" guidelines. Purse and Clutch offers bags exclusively made by the Joyn India project. From the JOYN website:

In June of 2010 Mel Murray and her family packed up and moved to a little town in the mountains of northern India to assess business needs and opportunities in the community. It was there that JOYN was born, a company with a vision to connect the poor with Western markets. You get beautiful handmade home furnishings and accessories, and the people of northern India have the joy of working in a great environment and providing for their families. It’s a relationship where the joy flows both ways.

Our passion is for people. One of our favorite things to do is to spend time daily with the artisans who make our products. In the summer of 2010, Mel began working with local cooperatives, training them in developing products for Western Markets. [The JOYN teams builds] relationships with local entrepreneurs and artisans. An amazing local woman has started a vocational training center for battered and abused women – these women stitch all of our bags and make our jewelry. A local cooperative was formed for those affected by leprosy, they hand weave all of our incredible cotton fabric. A beautiful 70 year old artisan who has a passion for helping people and keeping traditional Indian art alive, has allowed us to build up her block print shop and create more jobs. Each day we get to give a hug, a smile, a word, a job. That’s why we do what we do.

[photos from the JOYN facebook]

While it's no orange ostrich Birkin (like the one Gray Chandler Murray gives Jane) Mel Murray at JOYN and Jen Ardill at Purse and Clutch have introduced me to a bag that packs a whole lotta heart and one that I'm proud to carry daily.

If you have a favorite bag and you want to share that with Jane By Design, please go to their Facebook page and tell 'em all about it and mention that Adored Austin sent you. One reader from the winning blog will be featured on the ABC Family page, so if you want in on that action, FB away.

Three challenges down, four to go! After the series premiere on Tuesday, January 3rd, we'll be back to our regular content. I don't know about you guys, but I'm really appreciating this challenge during this busy holiday season. It's helping me come up with fun and fresh blog content, and it's encouraging me to think outside the box. Thanks for supporting me so far.

Hi, Gray.
I am so excited to still be in the running for a blogger position at Donovan Decker. I agree that a person's bag says a lot about them. I hope that by choosing a Purse and Clutch charming chevron bag to represent me, you'll see that I'm a blogger who isn't (in your words) "just another sheep following the masses". Since you travel a lot, I'm sure you've witnessed, first-hand, the impoverished conditions of northern India. By purchasing a Purse and Clutch bag, I'm helping to lessen the hold that poverty has on a group of local artisans and women there. Plus, isn't it the cutest thing, ever? If I get the job, you can borrow it whenever you'd like.
-Indiana

See my other Jane By Design Style Challenges: one | two

Jane By Design Style Challenge: Task two

My second task for the Jane By Design Style Challenge arrived in my inbox last Friday:

Hi There!

My name is Jane Quimby and I’m Gray’s assistant. Nice to meet you by e-mail! Gray is out of the office and asked me to tell you that you’ve made it to the next phase of the interview process. Barely. Umm, that was her word, not mine. I think you’re doing great so far!

Gray asked me to brief you on your next challenge. Style icons can be an important source of inspiration. Who is your style icon? Is it your mother or a favorite aunt? A celebrity or an athlete? A world leader or rock star?

Find the plain white t-shirt in your trunk. Using items around your house or your office, create a design on the t-shirt inspired by your fashion icon. Then, put the shirt on your dress form and post a photo of it to your blog, along with an entry that talks about how your design was inspired by your fashion icon. Ask your readers to tell you about their style icons here and mention the name of your blog.

If Gray can tolerate your writing style & appreciates your ingenuity, you will proceed to the next phase of the interview process.

Good luck with the assignment!
Jane

Since the shirt came with a pack of fabric markers, I thought for sure I'd be forced to draw. Thank goodness that wasn't the case. I am the worst at drawing! I used my fabric markers to make templates for this project, instead.

Initially, I planned to turn my t-shirt into a lacy, feathery bohemian dream inspired by Nicole Richie and Grechen Jones but when I really stopped to think about it, the person who has had the most influence on my style is my grandmother.
After my dad died when I was three, his parents raised me. My grandmother is full-blooded Native American and is the one I credit for my thrift store love and my desire to do DIY's. She used to own a resale shop in our small town and was a maven at amping up boring clothing. When I begged and pleaded to do my first pageant (it was in a mall, okay?), she took me to Goodwill and had me pick out any dress I wanted. She then took it home and embellished it by tacking on strands of beads to the skirt and making matching hair bows and jewelry for me. She wasn't the best seamstress (I can't recall her ever using a sewing machine) but she did have a talent for taking something plain, adding a little bit to it, and making it into something fresh. She still does this! The next time I see her, I'll have to snap some photos of her creations for you guys.

This task was precisely that: take something plain and turn it into a fresh creation. Since I had been meaning to try Geneva's leather collar tutorial, right off the bat I knew that I wanted to dye the t-shirt and add a collar.
Needs: 15- 18 inches of faux leather, scissors, a pack of gunmetal gray iDye, and some hook and eye closures or long ribbon.
I got the water and salt going for the dye, traced a collar and a pocket onto some heavy duty felt (for templates), put the shirt in the water, and cut out the collar and the pocket from the faux leather.
Dying cotton only takes about 30 minutes. Then you have to wash and dry it which takes around an hour.

After my shirt was dry, I used my sewing machine and sewed on the pocket and fashioned a collar. I ended up disregarding the hook and eye closures and opted to do a thick ribbon tie closure, instead. I added the same ribbon to the top of the pocket to cover up a seaming mistake I had made:

Since I had such a hard time with the pocket in the sewing machine, I decided to put the collar together using only fabric glue. (BTW- I found that covering the presser foot with Scotch Tape and sewing a layer of tissue paper on the bottom is the best way to get leather through your sewing machine. The tissue paper tears right out. You can pick stubborn pieces of tissue out from the threads with a needle if need be... or you can just use fabric glue). The end result: basic black t-shirt with pebbled "leather" collar and pocket and ribbon details:

I thought about cutting the sleeves off or making this a halter-top, but I think I'll get more wear out of it as is.

It's super cute with a skirt, but I would totally wear this with boyfriend jeans and oxfords, too. I don't think my Grandma would ever wear anything like this, but I think she'd approve of my DIY'ing.

Now I'd like to know: who is your style icon? Jaunt on over to the Jane By Design Facebook page and declare your love for someone who has influenced your style and tell them that Adored Austin sent you. If I happen to win this thing, they're going to mention Adored Austin on the show and I get to choose one Adored Austin reader to be the "Trend Setter of the Week" on ABCFamily.com. Pretty cool, huh?

Dear Jane,
Whew! So glad Gray is still considering me for the blogger position at Donovan Decker. I hope she digs this DIY. I love what you did with your prom dress, and I hope we'll be able to work together one day. In the meantime, keep me posted about the next round of interviews. I'm ready to be sent through the ringer! -Indiana

Jane By Design Style Challenge: Task one

Have you heard of the show Jane By Design, yet? It's going to premiere on ABC Family on January 3rd, and I've been invited to participate in the Jane By Design blogger challenges in the weeks leading up to the series premiere.

"Jane By Design follows Jane Quimby (Erica Dasher), a quirky teen with an eclectic chic fashion sense, who lands a job at a hip design studio when they mistake her for an adult. Torn between her love of fashion and the need to finish high school, Jane conceals her true age to assist the demanding, but talented Gray Chandler Murray (Andie MacDowell), who travels the world in search of the next big style trend. Jane quickly learns that working for a successful executive in the cutthroat world of fashion is not as glamorous as she once thought. But with help from her best friend Billy Nutter (Nicholas Roux), Jane tries to keep up appearances as she toggles between two lives and guard her secret. Even with Billy’s support, will Jane’s ruse be a passing fad, or will she be able to fashion a career in the design business?" -official site

Sounds like The Devil Wears Prada mixed with Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead. In other words: sounds adorable and I can't wait to tune in. (Psst... here's a clip to pique your interest).

ABC Family reached out to a large number of bloggers (including my friends Tieka and Katy) last week asking if we'd be interested in competing in seven challenges for the chance for our blog to be mentioned on the new show. Regardless of the prize, I'm usually up for a challenge, and I read the fine print and saw that I don't have to go beg for Facebook votes or eat anything weird or sign people up for an email list or anything super annoying like that, so I thought this could be a fun thing.

A few days later the largest, heaviest package I have ever received showed up at my house:
Inside the box was a trunk. Inside the trunk was another box. Inside that box was a bunch of random items with challenge number tags on them, and (yay!) a really great, legit dress form (which, coincidentally, was at the top of this year's Christmas list):
The day after my package arrived, we all got our first email from Jane's boss Gray:

By now you should have received the trunk I sent you and you should be ready to begin the interview process.

The blogger we are looking for at Donovan Decker must have a sparkling personality, impressive creativity and the ability to influence the masses. You must also be an expert shopper with a trained eye for what’s new & unique.

For this phase of the interview process, take the $50 gift card I sent you and go shopping. When you return, shoot a video of your shopping haul and post it to your own blog. Then show me that you can engage your readers. Tell them to share their own haul videos here and mention the name of your blog.

Impress me with your originality. A video of what you bought at the most fabulous boutique could bore me to tears. A video of what you bought at the grocery store could fascinate me. Or bore me to tears. I shop around the world from Mumbai to Tokyo to Sydney looking for inspiration, and sometimes I don’t know what I’m looking for until I see it. -Gray

So I'm the idiot (and ex-actress) who thought we were supposed to do our challenge video as if we really were applying for a blog position at this fictitious company Donovan Decker. This means I did this whole video "in character". And according to my research (i.e. 25 minutes spent on YouTube and Twitter), I'm the only idiot who addressed her video to Gray... as if she really wrote me that email and I'm really up for a blog position.

Kicking myself a little. Anyway... we got a $50 gift card with instructions to shop and I immediately considered buying shoes. I have a well documented problem, people. But then I thought that in order to truly, for real, for real showcase my own personal style and to find unique items that I'd have to thrift. So, off to Buffalo Exchange I went:

[music credit: Dream City by Free Energy]

And, holy smokes, did I clean up. I did do a return and had a bit of store credit, so in a full disclosure I had a little more than $50 to spend, but nonetheless, be prepared to be impressed with my haul. Folks, this video is for you, not just "Gray":
Can you believe that coat? And that gown? I'm kinda of still on a shopping high from those finds!

Okay, now I say we show Jane By Design that Adored Austin readers and blog friends are thrifty to the max. If you want to shoot and upload a video or photo of your own shopping haul to the Jane By Design Facebook page, please do so. It could be great exposure for your own blog. You can even mention Adored Austin if you want to throw me a bone in this contest (no obligations, though!). I just thought it'd be neat to show that just because we have a budget, we can still find amazing things and fully stretch our dollars by shopping second-hand. Would someone like Gray Chandler Murray ever shop at a place like Buffalo Exchange? I doubt it. But I do think that someone like Jane would.

Stay tuned for the next challenge. I get to test my absurdly terrible drawing skills (Heidi, you're going to love this). It's going to be an unintentional laugh riot, so be sure to check back in with me on Tuesday for part two of the Jane By Design Style Challenge.