Wild about Feathers

Last year I visited Austin briefly when I was about 4 months pregnant. My boyfriend and I literally just stopped for lunch at the local restaurant Enoteca Vespaio. It was slightly windy, but the breeze felt good...so we decided to sit outside on the patio. I remember now, that was the first time I tried quail, which was, in retrospect...let's just say - way too rich for my liking...

Anyhow - across the street there was a bright teal store with the words "feathers" plastered very clearly across the top. As we sat there and ate, knowing we were in a hurry...I started to subtley let my boyfriend know that I would love a souvenir of my first trip to Texas. As soon as he said sure and the meal was paid for, I practically bolted across the street.

When I walked in I was impressed...this was no "hole in the wall". This was a small, yet beautifully edited and laid out vintage store with an amazing selection of beautiful clothes, shoes, sunglasses, scarves, belts and local artisan crafted jewelry.

As I walked by the counter I saw a proudly mounted feature of the store in LUCKY magazine and that's when I knew that my initial reason for wanting to stop in was that I had read about this place and how it was the hottest vintage boutique around, it was coming back to me now.

Well, I wasn't let down...

I could not get over the selection or the reasonable price points. I mean, an YSL vintage black boyfriend blazer for $79.99. Are you kidding me!? If it hadn't been XS I would have snatched that find up in a heart beat or as fast as plastic can slide and you can enter your pin number. No doubt about it.

I spent at least an hour browsing, trying things on. Unfortunately, nothing fit quite right as I was at that pregnancy stage where the belly was big

and the boobs were even bigger. My normal size 4-6 was no more...

So...I quickly decided I wanted a piece of jewelry and that's when I saw some of the best selection since a recent trip to Barneys and the best part, it was almost all made by local artists and in my opinion, the prices were a steal.

I spent quite awhile trying things on and finally decided on a vintage "watch parts" type necklace in gold. Turns out as I go to pay for it that it was made by the co-owner of the store, Masha Poloskova. On a large chunky gold chain, the piece was heavy and just right, I put that necklace to good use over the last year...

Then when we recently decided to move here, I went into town several times just to pop in and shop and I have never been disappointed. The way the clothes is hung by color, easily draws your eye to that which you love and knows looks good on you. And the taste level, superb!

During SXSW, I was in the store shopping when I happened to met the other co-owner Emily Hoover. I got to speaking with her and she told me her inspiration behind the vintage boutique. I loved how she told it, very real,

very genuine. She explained that as a really young kid she would shop at thrift stores and for less than $10 she could put an entire new outfit together, kids wouldn't believe her

 - having just spent $10 on one thing from places like Wet Seal. As she got older, she continued this trend and now travels all over the US searching and finding amazing vintage finds to resale in her store. Needless to say, she has spot on taste. And she was very nice to boot.

So the moral of this story is that the next time, you're in Austin...please stop by this treasure chest and shop. You'll always find something special...something you really could not find anywhere else. And that is why I am wild about Feathers....

You can follow their blog, run mainly by the Store Manager, Nikki at: http://feathersboutiquevintage.blogspot.com/ 

Or if you're in town stop in at: 1700b South Congress, Austin, TX - or call 512.912.9779.

Love, Kristina 

Soco a.k.a South Congress

Back in February my boyfriend, the father of my beautiful baby daughter, RC - asked me if I wanted to go out to Texas to visit his mother. He asked me this question around 11am, by mid after noon - we were packing, by 5am the next day we were on the road. That's just the nature of how we do things...spontaneously.

Well, in retrospect - that one spontaneous, "yeah, that sounds like fun"...would turn into a life changing trip and the beginning of a whole new life adventure.

When we got to his mother's ranch, we were greeted with a loving "granny" who was so happy and willing to play babysitter to her newly born baby granddaughter. Considering she was not even 3 months old at the time, it was a welcome opportunity to go on a day date.

RC drove me into Austin...the nearest major city, determined to show me around where he had once lived. We did some sight seeing and then it hit him...he knew just where to take me...a little gem, a budding district called "Soco" or as the locals know it by "South Congress".

Well, it was love at first sight.

Imagine if you can a mixture of Los Feliz and Melrose, all rolled into this mile or so long bustling, yet not crowded, strip. The energy, the vibe - man I could just tell something exciting was happening here. And well, turns out - something is...

South Congress many moons ago was a shady part of town, just south of the State Capitol. I still don't have the entire history, but the basic gist is that a lot of Government officials used to get caught hanging out there...with their pants down....

Then about 10 years ago a revitalization project began and it's a completely different scene. Boutiques, vintage, high-end, new developments, a wealth of amazing little holes in the wall - each with their own personal touch and style, diners, cafes, you name it, they have it...

One of the things that I found charming were the vintage "silver bullet" trailers up and down the street that have been converted into cupcake stands, hot dog stands and good ole' fashion BBQ joints. This being no small business indeed...one of the cupcake trailers has blossomed into a nationwide business and was just featured in Forbes magazine. And I will attest, their red velvet cupcake was off the charts.

But I want to say this, that even amongst all this expansion...every single person I met, every place I went was real, down to earth and still had that "big hearted" Texas feel.

Well, there I was walking down the street and I just felt this sense of peace. The kind you feel when you receive a heartfelt hug or when you've just gone out of your way to do a good deed. And it was at the defining moment that I knew I was happy here, this place had changed me and as it turns out there was no going back.

And so my friends, my South Congress adventures began...

Love, Kristina