Fashionation checks out Austin’s Emerging Boutiques at SXSW’s Style X

South by Southwest’s first ever fashion component, Style X, kicked off with a Shop Hop event—a tour of Austin’s emerging boutiques. By the end of the night, and after being shuttled around to several shops, I tallied up my own short list I’m calling Shop Stops: the places you and my friends would actually be interested in stopping by and checking out. Here, in no particular order are the final three, Plain Ivey Jane, Estilo, and Stag—the “boyfriend” store also featured in GQ Magazine:

Surrounded by a variety of landmarks, Plain Ivey Jane is located in Austin’s 2nd street district off Guadalupe and 2nd street. Near other landmarks such as the newest W Hotel in North America, the Austonian, and within walking distance to City Hall, Plain Ivey Jane is a landmark itself as it hosts the infamous feather extensions that are “all-the-rave” in Austin right now, according to a UT broadcast journalism student, named Melanie, and everyone I kept running into wearing this feather extension I just had to get my hands on.

The locally owned boutique’s “overstock” slogan, “It’s okay to be a label snob. Just don’t pay full price for it,” resonates with my motto of making fashion your own at a reasonable price; within the baby-blue painted walls and just below the hanging vinyl records, Marc by Marc and other fave design wear were featured at a reasonable price. The original jewelry designed locally includes thin gold and silver chains, gold cabbage patch kid doll necklaces, and more feathers! This store is all for women, sorry guys. For more info, log on to plainiveyjane.com. Feather extensions are only $20, come in a variety of colors.



Estilo Boutique, located on 2nd Street and Willie Nelson Boulevard, is a fashion gallery for men and women, and is literally a gallery as the clothes hang from elaborate shifting rods fastened into the ceiling to showcase the clothes like art.

A projection screen featuring runway shows flanks the right wall and is a tribute to Austin—I’m told that projection screens are a fetish here, as they’re in homes, venues, and now, I guess, boutiques. Unfortunately though, just like an art gallery, Estilo’s clothes are expensive and you kind of have to wonder if buyers hang the clothes up on their walls at home in order to justify spending $350 on a dress that could probably only be worn a couple of times, on appropriate occasions. Even a fellow Shop Stopper who happened to be a professional, tenured model visiting from NYC remarked on the price point. Nevertheless, designers hanging include Mark Anthony, Nicole Miller, Yoana Baraschi, and more. For silky dresses in an array of colors or unique snake skin and sheath dresses, check out the website: estiloaustin.com.



Last but not least on the Shop Stop list is Stag which is located on South Congress and Elizabeth Street, conveniently next to that yummy walk-up Home Slice Pizza Place, because we all know that most men can only shop for a bit before they need to be fed.

Stag, which I’m also calling the “boyfriend store” as your boyfriend will want to shop there as much as you’ll love shopping there for him, is not only owned and made for men, by men, but according to one of the owners, it caters to the man’s man in every man, “You know how men want what men want, and if they want the table that t-shirt is sitting on, it’s theirs.” As if the three motorcycles sitting outside the front door, deer heads hanging from the wall and an old-fashioned drug store sign aren’t enough to tell you this is a man’s haven. I imagined the conversation that took place in order for the owners to come to the conclusion that everything inside must be on sale: “Yeah, honey. I like the shirt, thanks. But while we’re here I also need a table for my office and this cool ranch-like shelf. Oops. I think I broke it.”

While the store carries a variety of brands, including Baxter, Red Wing, Levis and Life after Denim, the gem of the store are the Helms Boots. Helms, while made by a designer from San Francicso now based in Austin, is often marketed by a Danish photographer who began selling the boots to his European friends a few years ago, only to find that not only was there a demand for the unique and stylish boot abroad, but that they’re actually long-lasting and comfortable to wear years later.

According to one of the owners, that’s one of the points of the store: to sell a piece of clothing that is still a guy’s favorite ten years from now. For more information, or just to be nosey before going, check out their website: www.stagaustin.com.

Positive Pin yourself: Native San Antonian Inspires National Message

Jonathan de la Garza, a real estate broker based in San Antonio, Texas is the creator of the Positive Pin™, a lapel pin meant for everyday wear to remind ourselves and others about the power of positive thinking.

While fashion is as much about making a statement as it is about looking good, who would’ve thought it’s as much about science too? Featured on the Positive Pin™ website is an article from The New York Times concluding that depression and negative thinking can lead to a weak immune system, increasing the risk for heart disease, the cold, the flu and more. It was exactly that feeling of depression that inspired de la Garza to create the pin to begin with. “One morning, when I was having slumping sales and feeling down, I wanted to create something that would remind me to think positive all day,” de la Garza says, “something that other people in a professional environment could also wear.”

Only a year ago de la Garza sat down with a paper and pencil to sketch out thought bubbles and positive signs, however today the demands for his pin has inspired the hat, t-shirt and coffee mugs, “I placed a small order for friends, and then a small business I knew,” de la Garza recalls, “first 100 Positive Pins flew off the shelf, then it was 500, then 1,000, then I placed two more orders of 1,000 and now I’ve just placed an order for 3,000 Positive Pins.” But that’s not all. In May 2010, the Positive Pin was featured nationally in Realtor Magazine, as one of the “Cool Tools,” and eventually companies began to get excited about the product and ordered the Positive Pin in their company colors. Typically a classic white, the lapel pin was created in teal for ExitRealty, and de la Garza created the “Positively Pink” pin for cancer awareness, a message recently swapped with the Komen Foundation. “In February we participated in the 2011 Fight for Air 5k run/walk, which benefits lung cancer research and we’ll showcase the arrival of the organization’s new red positive pin next week,” de la Garza explains. The Positive Pin was also featured on Great Day SA, as its following in San Antonio is strong. The Positive Pin, which began in Houston, where de la Garza lived for several years, can only be purchased on its website and at the Houston Association of Realtors.

However, it’s showing up on collars across the nation. Last week, Berney Dohrmann, founder of CEOSpace International Inc., flew in from San Francisco to address the new San Antonio CEOSpace chapter. Dohrmann was wearing de la Garza’s Positive Pin and was excited about its message. In addition, de la Garza received a hand-signed congratulatory letter from Zig Ziglar, the famous motivational speaker, praising him for the idea. But, while de la Garza is excited about all the hype around the Positive Pin, at the end of the day, it’s the fact that his message of thinking positive is paying off in people’s lives. A portion of the pin’s proceeds go to various charities, including the World Wildlife Fund, Ronald McDonald House, Scouts Honor Rescue, Breast Cancer Research and Habitat for Humanity. And his success stories are inspiring. “I received a story from a lady whose sister passed away from cancer. And while her sister was dying, she wore the pin and stressed upon her family to be positive because her sister’s blood type was BPositive!”




You can read more of the Positive Pin’s testimonials on the website, and order your own as well. The Positive Pin hats, t-shirts, and coffee mugs are also available now and the first five to order a t-shirt and mention this SA Current “Fashionation” story in the comments section of Paypal will get a free Positive Pin as well, in your choice of Keepin’ it Teal, Red E for the World, Positively Pink, or When in White.

Fat Tuesday is Fashion Tuesday Too!

Get out those Masks and Dresses! It began in Italy to celebrate the season of Lent, however today it is celebrated around the world. Whether it’s called Carnevale, Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, it’s a great day to get dressed up, eat too much and have a blast. This weekend, my best friend living in Rome, Araceli, jumped on a train to Venice, where the Carnevale festivities began, and took some pictures for Fashionation readers to ooh and awe, get inspired and—as in my case—get a little jealous.

According to Araceli, the legendary sight included thousands of tourists artistically dressed and embracing overindulgence. It was about class and fashion, creative elegance and—my favorite—people roaming the canals half-naked. Check out the fashion below! Unfortunately we can only post photos featuring individuals in actual clothes. However, we agree that nakedness is a fashion statement too, which probably says, ‘You’ve had too much to drink, it’s time to go home.’

For more of Araceli’s endeavors, you can check out and 'Like' her RomeToday page on facebook.

Gilbert Zarate Jr. Printing ‘Sweet gzas’ Collection On American Apparel Tees

Its popularity rose in the United States during the 19th century when soldiers were given the garments during the Spanish-American war. T-shirts eventually caught on with skilled laborers and basically anybody challenging the heat. But hippies and tie-dyed t-shirts taught us that the garments are as much about comfort as they are about displaying important messages, political statements, and art. While some tees feature a favorite band or quirky slogans such as, “I Write about Fashion, Bitches!” the best t-shirts remain those that are not only comfortable and convey a message, but are real works of art. Sweet gzas (pronounced Sweet Jesus), the art alias and digital signature for an up-and-coming clothing line, is founded by Gilbert Zarate Jr., an award-winning graphic artist and illustrator from Brownsville, Texas.

A graphic artist for over 12 years, Zarate previously worked at the Brownsville Herald, the Express-News, and in advertising. He holds two Associated Press Sports Editors awards (APSE) and an Associated Press Managing Editor (APME) award for his visual journalistic work. Today, Zarate is the senior graphic designer at one of the top multicultural advertising firms in the nation, Interlex, headquartered in San Antonio. The source for Gilbert’s success, however, is his passion for art, which he’s pursued since childhood. “Since I was in junior high, I drew digital mazes, at home, in the classroom, everywhere, and then I began to see M.C. Escher, one of the first artists I was inspired by,” Zarate says. “His pencil drawings of varying shades and textures are incredible. He did a lot of mathematical patterns that were well drawn and penciled in—shaded but it’s almost like his drawings were computer generated before the computer was generated because he had fluid transitions and very intricate designs.”

Zarate is also a fan of Juxtapoz and Empty, two international magazines that taught him about the world for modern artists as the digital age has changed. Today, artists rely more on getting published than the more traditional gallery exposure at exhibits. “It got me thinking,” Zarate says, “my goal is to publish a book of my art work, sort of like how a writer looks to publish a novel.” Zarate is well on his way to achieving that goal. Based in Sydney, Australia, Semi-Permanent is a world-leading design conference (kind of like SXSW) that publishes a book each year featuring the best creative artwork in the industry, and in 2009 Zarate submitted his artwork for publication. He did not get selected.

However, in 2010, he got a call from Semi-Permanent and now his design, Monkeyboy, is published in Semi-Permanent’s 2010 1st Edition Art Book, which is a design you can buy in print and will soon be available on his t-shirts. “It was my proudest moment and makes me believe that I can publish and continue creating artwork,” Zarate says. It is his passion to share his art with the world that inspired Sweet gzas to produce their designs on comfortable American Apparel, 100% combed cotton tees. “My most popular designs are the ‘Jayberd’ and the ‘Elephant’, so I began by printing those on the t-shirts,” Zarate says.

The “Jayberd” and “Elephant” are also a little bit more “mainstream” fashion, a little less urban than some of Zarate’s other designs. A mom and/or the boy and girl next-door can wear them as well. If you’re more of an artist, check out his famous “Monkeyboy” design or one of his intricate, fully-functioning mazes by logging on to sweetgzas.com and make sure you check out the t-shirts — yours truly got to be a model for a day :) . Additionally, check out the designs that are going toward Zarate’s artbook at Behance Network.