I Went To Austin And Left With This Avocet Ring (And A Hangover). Both Worth It

Hey fashion friends, cat lovers, compulsive shoppers. It's been a minute. Blog and blog people, I love you, but the truth is, I'm a good blogger but a shitty updater. Why? Because I'm in front of a screen pretty much from the minute I wake up to the second my head (and, let's be honest, my drool) hit the pillow. I need a small break from Interneting to put my face in things that matter -- food, yoga mat, cat bellies, husband's neck. So, it's not that I don't love blogging. I do. I just give no fucks about pageviews. Caring about pageviews on your personal blog is like caring about your weight. It's just a number. Why are you worrying about number when you could be... not worrying and eating instead? It's just that I love the sky and talking to people in person, and traveling, and not Instagramming stuff for a second and instead trying to commit things to memory instead of screens. I've written thousands of blog posts in my head that, oddly, didn't make it to the computer tubes. Maybe if I get one of those Google Glass thingies that scream "DON'T HAVE SEX WITH ME PLEASE EVER BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE SEX BECAUSE I'M WEARING THESE COOL VIRTUAL GLASSES AND DON'T NEED SEX OR HUMAN CONTACT. I'M HAVING SEX IN MY MIND."

I digress, as I so often do.

I just got back from a week in Austin for SXSW. I'm sorry, body, for the fried things and nicotine and cider beer or whatever I put in you. I'm sorry. The ciders were free and I was feeling fuck-free.

I worked my ass off, but I had a little downtime which I spent shopping and strolling on South Congress Street, where, at the suggestion of the lovely ladies at Paige Denim (shout to them and the guys of Immaculate, who threw an excellent, definitely not Kosher dinner party), I stopped by Feathers Boutique, which is where this gorgeous Native American tribal head dress ring by Mexico City jeweler Avocet imprinted itself in my mind.

Stunning, right? I haven't worn silver in ages, but this ring, like 75% of jewelry I shouldn't be impulse-buying, did.

Other reasons you should check out Feathers, besides their jewelry selection -- including my girl Katie deGuzman's K/LLER jewelry -- they carry Alchemy tees, which have cool retro-luminati designs on tees softer than the little pinky/ white part of a kitten's ear.

I got this one in black and white:

Also spotted at Feathers: Mustard-colored Mickey and Minnie denim. 1994 me would've creamed my jeans for these.

Buy these? I did not. Missed connection.

Finally, in my South Congress rampage (I gave myself a one-hour break between work and work), I stopped into Prototype Vintage, which is IMPECCABLY organized, super clean and priced to move. Picked up two '80s vintage tees -- an all-over print Mickey shirt and these super '80s illustrated ladies on a Las Vegas souvenier shirt. I wish everything still looked like this.

They were both under $40 -- certainly not thrift store prices, but definitely not New York "vintage" prices, where used things cost more than new things.

On that work tip, I did some interviews for the mtvU Woodies. Jack Antonoff of Bleachers was particularly cool:

Here we are making emoji faces:

That's a Reiss "Springstreen" blouse (it's the most beautiful, breathable and unwrinkable thing in the world) and a Lionette Frida necklace if you give fucks about that sorta thing, and JC Ramos of Blo Austin did my hair, and he's a follicular genius and a total doll. I'm supremely into Jack's grown-up Suddenly Seymour style, by the way.

You need to listen to his song "I Wanna Get Better" RIGHT THE FUCK NOW and see him on tour by any means necessary.

Oh yeah, here's me, and, much more importantly, goddess queen superlatively superior human being Iggy Azalea serving Dolly Parton "9 to 5" realness.

 Finally: DOGS! Austin's got the BEST ONES!

THESE GUYS ARE AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION! Contact AustinPetsAlive.org

+ AUSTIN MUSTS:

SHOP
* Feathers Boutique:
1700 B South Congress Ave. and Milton
Austin, TX 78704
512-912-9779

* Prototype Vintage:
1700 1/2 South Congress Ave and Milton Street
Austin, Texas 78704
512-447-7686

* Uncommon Objects: BEST VINTAGE/ ANTIQUE SHOP IN THE WORLD, NO CONTEST.
512 S Congress Ave
Austin, Texas 78704
512-442-4000

HAIR GAME STRONG:
* JC Ramos/ Blo Dry Austin
1611 W 5th St, Ste 145
Austin, TX 78703
512-355-1256

EATS
* Uchiko
* East Side King
* Liberty Bar
* Lamberts Barbecue
* Houndstooth Coffee
* Flat Track Coffee

MAC x Hayley Williams Collection = All Orange Everything

The MAC x Hayley Williams collection drops April 9, 2013.

MAC just announced their Hayley Williams collection, and it's three of my favorite things (MAC makeup, Paramore, and the color ORANGE) all in one, and my birthday's not for five more months.

Case you've never used Tumblr or watched the VMAs (in which case we probably have zero things in common), Hayley Williams is Paramore's lead singer, and she's about the size of an action figure, with a voice that sounds like she swallowed a megaphone, and her signature hair color is approximately the hue of a parking cone someone set on fire. 

I love the fact that MAC's targeting a younger audience and celebrating a young female artist (Hayley's probably one of MAC's youngest celebrity spokespeople ever) known for her unapologetic love of color --  and unapologetically loud voice. And while Paramore's by no means unknown -- they've sold over 7 million albums and have criss-crossed the world on tour -- they still may be unfamiliar to some consumers given that the pop-punk band's not a trainwreck tabloid fixture, and beyond "Airplanes" and "The Only Exception," you won't hear them on many U.S. terrestrial radio stations (shouts to K Rock). (If you're still totally unfamiliar and need a reference point, then think Garbage meets Fall Out Boy meets No Doubt meets Mary Lou Lord meets Jimmy Eat World.)

So it's very cool -- and forward-thinking -- to observe the interesting intersection of a younger pop-punk act that generally has their boots planted firmly in the music world change lanes and merge with a beauty brand.

Meet Rapper Kellee Maize & Win An Elizabeth & James Crab Ring!

Credit: Laura Petrilla

Ohai! Ever wanna join in a ménage à trois? We're you're about to find yourself in some three-way love because I've got a lot for you to process about an rapper named Kellee Maize, fashion site StyleSegment.com, and a crab ring by Elizabeth and James. MOM I can explain!

Kellee Maize is an indy rapper from Pittsburgh. Like Wiz Khalifa! Except she's a she. And she raps about things like the patriarchy and quantum physics, she does mad yoga, and she founded Nakturnal, a female-owned and operated branding and promotional agency that unites the art world and the corporate world to inspire women, promote independent artists and raise awareness for worthy causes. She also shares serious knowledge like "I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday" and "There is more to life than increasing its speed."
 

She's turned down a handful of record label deals and racked up shiztons of YouTube views on her own with her empowering lyrics, witty wordplay and willingness to have fun with fashion -- case in point, her huh-dorable video "Big Plans," where she plays five different characters (six, if you count herself) and changes clothes about twice that...

Which brings me StyleSegment.com, a site that connects fashion industry insiders to aspiring designers nationwide. They manage the wardrobe at many of Kellee Maize’s video shoots. Which brings me to...

This Elizabeth and James crab ring:

EEEE! He's got little RUBY eyes!

Kellee Maize and StyleSegment.com asked me if I'd like to collaborate on a giveaway. And since this summer is the fifth anniversary of FashionBinge, I said "Lemme think about that..KAY!" 

All you have to do is check out Kellee's video for "All The Way Down," which Kellee performed at Bonnaroo this year.

If you like it, you can download her Aligned Archetype album for free.

To enter the Fashionbinge x Kellee Maizee Elizabeth and James Crab Ring giveaway:

1.) Listen to Kellee’s song "All The Way Down." 

2.) Follow FashionBinge on Twitter.

3.) Leave a comment on this post. 

4.) Tweet FashionBinge the message below: 

"I <3 @FashionBinge x @KELLEEMAIZE"

I’ll choose my favorite comment and contact you via Twitter by Tuesday, July 12 at 8pm ET. Good luck!

** Disclosure: I was compensated for hosting this giveaway.

Stop Me Oh Stop Me... Before I Buy These Leopard Print Chiffon Pants

($60, Play Me Jeans, Karmaloop)

Despite the fact that these leopard print pants might make me look like an extra in the live-action version of "Aladdin" that hasn't been made yet, but owncare. They look sooo comfortable. Stop me oh oh oh stop me... before I buy them.

What do you think, Morrissey?

What's that? You don't have the time to advise me re: these pants?...

... Because you have a cat on your head? Well I'll take that as a ringing endorsement.

Mark Ronson - Music - More Music Videos

Non-Fash-Related Info: VCR Show Tonight @ Cake Shop

We interrupt the ushe fash blogging to report on a non-fash event.

Super fun dance-punk band VCR (FULL discloshe: Tamron Lohan's sister is in the band) is playing tonight at Cake Shop in the Lower East Side. It's a paltry $7 for a sickeningly, almost obscenely good time. They go on sometime after 10, so BE THERE!

Listen to the goods here.