Snapshots of SXSW 2012

It's hard to believe that SXSW blew into town and is already gone. This last week and a half has been a whirlwind: one of the most challenging and rewarding weeks of my year so far. Here are some of my snapshots of SXSW. I wasn't on Instagram at all, but I did manage to snap some photos and a bit of video on my camera:

Pedicabs: highest recommended form of transportation.

Seth: the only street-style photo I grabbed.

Every surface and every utility pole gets covered with show lists.

Kate Spade pop-up shop bus parked at 2nd & Brazos.

Indiana Adams: speaking expert and microphone hog.

StyleX Snapshots.

Julia from Sephora did my make-up at the Refinery29 Buxom makeover station. She was awesome!

This adorable dog belonged to a little girl named Lola.

Lola set up a lemonade stand on Congress Ave. Genius and too precious to resist.

The early crowd the Perez Hilton show. Perez gave Rachel and I VIP balcony access. It was a great way to end our SXSW, but I called it a night at 10:30 pm.

If you have never been to SXSW before, I recommend you do it at least once in your life. Maybe not while you're in your first trimester of pregnancy, but otherwise, yes, come enjoy Austin during SXSW some time. I'd love to show you around.

I'm great at public speaking but not so great at public dressing.

I am the worst when it comes to dressing myself for high profile events. I always end up leaving it to the very last minute (I'm talking, like, 30 minutes before I have to walk out the door) and because of this, I always feel like I look a little unkempt. During Austin Fashion Week I wore an ill fitting dress that made me look like I was smuggling a pillow underneath and threw my wet hair into a bun. During Texas Style Council's dress-up party last year, I donned a plain black frock with a tank top underneath-- no interesting jewelry, horrible choice of shoes. And although I liked what I wore to my StyleX panel, it wasn't indicative of my own style nor did it photograph well.

Austin Fashion Week | TxSX'11 | StyleX

I am determined to step-up my game this year, but I am also determined not to spend a boat load of money stepping up my game (I'm saving up for an 85mm/ 1.8f camera lens and the iPad 3 when it comes out in the spring). I figured my best bet was to rent, so I turned to (who else?) Rent The Runway. After a lot of thought, here's what I chose:

Mark & James limelight dress | Erin Featherston Running Wild Dress | Jay Godfrey Draped Dress | Shoshanna Basket Weave Dress

March is, once again, going to be a crazy busy month for me, but I am so excited to host The Texas Style Council and be able to speak in public at SXSW and StyleX again. Did I mention I'm going to be on panel with The Man Repeller? This is going to be like when I was on panel with The Glamourai last year. Because so many people will be taking her photo, I'll be stuck in the crossfire. When this happens, I'd like to look good, you know? Anyway, I'm excited to hear her insights on blogging.

I'm also excited that I'm not going to be scrambling the night before (or the hour before?) to figure out what I'm going to wear. My RTR order was placed last night, and now all I have to do is figure out my shoe situation. I even started a new shoe board on Pinterest, and I am going to try really hard to not ruin a perfectly good dress with a bad choice of shoe. Any style suggestions for the above dresses?

Recap: StyleX

I've had plenty of time to decompress from StyleX, but I haven't had a lot of time to go through all the footage and photos we got. Nonetheless, I wanted to go ahead and post the bits I've been able to go over.

The theme for this post is hit and miss.

On Thursday, we did a Style Hop, which was a tour around Austin to a few different shops. Hit! I failed to take an outfit picture and captured really poor sound on my video. Miss!

Friday was the first of the runway shows. I love runway shows. Hit!

Next year I'd like a little more pizazz: give me some going-out wear, dim the audience lights, and teach those musicians how to work the runway (they're obviously pretty comfortable on stage). Can I just say that I loved having the musicians as models? It made for a much more interesting and fun show than I usually see. Hit!

I totally regret what I wore, though. Miss!

date: 18 March 11 | occasion: StyleX Friday
blouse: thrifted (Savers) | skirt: Kenar (c/o Marshalls) | shoes: c/o ThreadSence | necklace: c/o The Jasmine Gallery | watch: thrifted Michael Kors (Goodwill)

What was I thinking?! This outfit is embarrassingly blah. I almost didn't post this photo of it due to me being afraid to admit that I failed at fashion. However, in the spirit of transparency, here it is! The good thing? It made me realize that I need to amp it up in the style department. I need to have some quality, go-to peieces that I can just grab and go for events like this. I like all the pieces individually, but together, it's just a hot mess. I should have done the blouse with trousers and wedges or the skirt with a simple, silky tank and added heels.

Saturday was the panel I was asked to speak on (title: "Technology is cool, but technology + fashion is cooler"), and I was honored to be speaking alongside folks like Kelly from The Glamourai and Devin from Lyst. Hit!

Saturday's outfit was a little better although I spent a lot more money on my dress than I should have. It's still something that I regret buying but only because I;m not a big spender. I had a 20% discount at Plain Ivey Jane, and I love the shop owner to pieces, so I bought it on a whim. The yellow stitching and the pockets really appealed to me. The detailing on the top was great-- I have never seen a dress like it. However, I think that maybe $100 is too much to spend on a day dress that, frankly, I'm likely not going to wear again. The top was ill fitting on me, but the hanger appeal was so great. Hit and miss!

date: 19 March 11 | occasion: StyleX Saturday (panel)
dress: Hype purchased at Plain Ivey Jane | cardigan: c/o Peacock Plume | watch: c/o TIKKR | wedges: c/o Wanted
Overall, StyleX was a hit. It was great seeing so many people come out for a first year event. I know that the organizers worked their tails off, and I'm so proud of Joah and John for that. Can't wait to see what they have up their sleeves for StyleX 2012.

As seen on the StyleX SXSW blog

One really great honor for me was writing the first "style perspective" guest post for the official SXSW StyleX blog. I sang my love for this city, and you can read it here:

StyleX happens March 18 & 19 at the Austin Convention Center. You don't need a SXSW badge to get in, and it's free and open to the public. Just like SXSW is the place to discover new music, movies, and tech trends, SXSW's StyleX is now a place to discover your new favorite designers and brands. I can't wait!