Totally a Lemming for Leggings

Comfort before fashion? NEVER.
We have all suffered for fashion at some point.  Whether it be some blistering high heels or a pair of the tightest jeans you own, sometimes it does in fact hurt to look that good.

A  few years ago however leggings made their way back into the fashions front lines.  Out of no where suddenly girls were pairing them under their mini skirts.
Then before you knew it the skirts were gone and ladies just rocked them and a shirt.  And how can we forget when Lindsey Lohan wore leggings everyday for two years straight?

 Lohan and Ronson.  Such a simpler time...

So its been about 6 years since leggings began making it "ok" to wear tights as pants.  That is quite a long time for a trend to be around.

Why the longevity?  Comfort and variations.

Leggings are like wearing PJs in public.  They are cozy as hell (well most..)  Now even though they have been around for a bit, the trend has shifted.

Check out my leggings in time line to see their changes through the years:

 

So it is 2011 and we are getting funky with our leg wear.  Time for some print and texture.  I hope as the years go on the gods of fashion keep leggings around, because if I can't parade around in comfy pants that actually look sexy, I won't know what to do.

Check out SWAYCHIC.com for some fantastic leggings

Magical Colored Lights

Most events I experience in my life I am able to reference by what I was wearing.

For instance:
Friend:"Do you remember that night we met those guys and they asked to go on their yacht and they were total babes and we went to their private island?" (a sliggght stretch)
Me: ""No.  What was I wearing?"
Friend: "That blue dress with gold flowers on it with with those crazy platforms"
Me: "Oh ya! That night was soo much fun!"

It is important not to dress in the same dull thing day after day.  Make your outfits memorable.  Not just to yourself but others too.  Cuz why not?

How do you make your outfits memorable?  You got to stand out!

And do you know who stands out?  Traffic directors.

Did you know November 2nd is National Traffic Directors Day?  No you didn't.

Know who else?  Chain gang-ers.

This pictures proves you can be arrested for looking too good.

Wanna know why?

Day Glo!! Colors so bright they glow in the light!


Well guess what guys?  We are all in luck because bright colors are WHAT IS UP for 2012.
NeOFF? NeON!  Prepare yourslef to find tons of awesome goodies in the luscious bright colors that will make everyday unforgetable.


 Click below to check out the latest in bright fashion on SWAYCHIC

Audrey 3+1/The Buyer's Dilemma Part 3

Recap of Part 1 - Part 2
Being a buyer is AWESOME, but there is a lot of stuff you need to sift through to find things that are cute, inexpensive, and fit well.
So far we have outlined two of our favorite brands that we carry- now it is time for a third.
Welcome Audrey 3+1!

Audrey 3+1 does an amazing job of putting together some hip, on trend, sometimes slightly ahead of trend styles.  Their prints are not shy and they know how to make something that you will feel "cool" in. 

Something you will want to wear to prove to all your friends, that YOU, are the best dressed of the bunch.  That YOU know what is up.  That YOU have the most raid-worthy closet.  Yes you may have to eat ramen every night for dinner to afford said closet, but you know what?  You look sooo damn cool sippin' on them noodles- and that's whats important!

So check out the video below (I'm not sure why the editor of the videos is so insistent on making sure the still shots on my videos make me look like a goober.  Ian this an awkward way to tell you...but you're fired)

Cute Animals! Clothes! Shoes!

Fashion is such a funny thing.  As humans, we are the only animal who gets to participate in it (well some do unfortunately- but it's completely against their will: owner's dressing them up, or being slaughtered for their fur/hides)  If they could participate voluntarily and get to dress up, I think they would.  I mean, they are so cute, they'd look good in anything. For many fashion falls somewhere between breathing and sleeping on their basic needs scale.  I mean who doesn't love cute dresses?  So I took sometime to put together some outfits that I think certain animals would wear if a magical fairy gave them powers to become human.

Also its been awhile since I had fun putting outfits together with technology- gracious Polyvore!

Happy Weekend!

What are You Wearing This Holiday?

I am wearing this:

 

First of all, it's Champagne color, so if I spill Champagne on it no one will know (that's how it works right?)

Secondly it is $34, which is a super awesome price for such a sweet dress.

Thirdly, it has pockets!

Fourthly (is Fourthly legal? I know Thirdly is cool....) it has a high neckline, which I am kind of obsessed with right now.

The plan is to pair it with black tights and some black vintage heels I have.

Do you have an outfit for the Holidays picked out yet??

If not you should check this deal out:

Click the photo to see what other styles we have available for the Holiday season and you might just find your perfect Holiday dress and perhaps your friend will too.  And remember: You can pick your friends, and your can pick your clothes, but you can't pick your friends nose.  Happy Shopping!

Note:: All you have to do is purchase an item in our Holiday section and we will email you a code your friend can then use to get 50% any Holiday item.  It is really, really, really cool.

How to Turn A Drug Rug into Something You Can Wear and Still Look at Yourself in the Mirror

The Baja Hoodie, or as it is better known the "Drug Rug" has been commonplace among the hippie subculture for years now.  It was pretty run of the mill  to find a group of high school stoner's outside the mall wearing their drug rugs, which I am assuming smell of its name sake and also patchouli oil, playing with hacky sacks and sporting some really comfortable foot gear.

However the poncho hoodie has made a resurgence, showing up on hip young folks around the world as of late.

-

Proenza Resort 2012

Curious about the trend, I went and bought myself a used Drug Rug.  Took it home.
Febreezed it.
Febreezed it again.
Then I tried it on.
Not a good look.
I can definitely see it looking good on the college age I-just-rolled-outta-bed-to-get-to-class-hip-chick paired with some shorts and some combat boots.  But on this aging 20-something I looked like I spent the night with Ras Trent and needed a warm jacket to wear home.

"Excuse I Ras, but do  you have a Jacket?"

Not one to waste I decided I would re-work it to make it into something more appropriate and  awesome.

It is important to keep in mind I hate sewing.  I love sewing but I hate sewing.  I have broken two sewing machines.  I am too aggressive and impatient for the craft.  So if you are like myself, you are in luck.  This is a super fast and easy DIY project that only requires scissors, a pair of stud earrings, two pencils and an awesome old pin.

The cool thing about Drug Rugs are they are almost all alike- so the directions apply to almost all styles.  However they come in a large variety of colors (mostly neutrals).  So go to a vintage or thrift store and find your favorite design and follow these 4 easy steps.

First Step: Cut Down the Middle. 

Most Drug Rugs have a slight dip on the neckline (where the arrow is pointing)- This is in the exact center so it makes a great point to start.

Next: Get rid of those pockets!!

So the fabric of Drug Rugs is super thick and the pockets come off pretty easily with a little tug and a couple snips of some scissors.

Next: Get rid of that Hood!

So remember where that little dip in the neckline was?  There is actually a placket there where the fabric is doubled- this makes for a most awesome cutting line.  Just simply cut along the side of the placket and along the edge of the hood and the jacket- till your hood is no more and you have a a deeper neckline.  (Note: Do not toss the hood!  I know you want to- but hold tight)

Final Step: Make the Sleeves Cool!
So drug rugs have a super boxy fit.  The sleeves can be slightly awkward when taken out of Drug Rug context. This is where your pencils and stud earrings come into play!

Now you want to fold the sleeves up ever so slightly to make one large cuff (about two inches)- Now to keep the cuff tacked in place, use an old pair of stud earrings (you can find really cool ones at thrift store for under a buck) pierce the cuff and hold the earring in place by putting the eraser on the other side of the pin (Note:: take the eraser off the pencil- a nice heavy nudge usually works.)  The result should look something like this.

You are now good to go!  The end result is a slightly oversize boxy jacket in a really awesome fabric that goes along with two separate Fall trends: Boxy 60's Jackets & the controversial "Native" Prints trend.

So you may be wondering what to do with your hood and that awesome old pin...
Now we have slayed the Drug Rug beast and should "Use All of the Buffalo" as they say.  It is time to make good of the hood.

First Step: Cut it in Half!

The funny thing about the Drug Rug hood is its a rectangle- so all you need to do is cut from one corner and make a slight angle then cut straight, leaving about 3 inches at the widest part.  Unfold the piece, wrap the fabric around your head and fasten with your cool pin.  Ta-Da, an awesome winter head wrap.

Cross Off Your Holiday Gift List!!

We scoured our website looking for items we thought would make some pretty sweet gifts.

Because no one wants that clearance stationary set you got at TJ Maxx. No One.

Upon second thought, I would take it.  Only so I could re-gift it back to you next year.  So then you know how it feels to get crummy stationary.

This Just In!

Late last week we loaded up the site with tons of new goodies!
We try to give a wide variety of styles to choose from so that way, no matter you're preferred method of getting dressed, you can find a style that is right for you.

Styles for me fall into 4 categories, of which I have nicknamed VTEC (Sounds like a nice budget college you could attend to study AC repair at!)

VTEC, for me, stands for
Vintage- has a familiar look similar to styles popularized in past decades. 
Trendy- the latest print, cuts and styles.
Edgy- something more unique that will stand out, might be slightly ahead of trend. (if it actually ever makes it....)
Classic- has a timeless look that will never go out of style.

Here is a visual representation of what I actually see in my mind (note the fuzzy pastel colors... that's how you can tell it's in my mind!)

 
Now the fun thing about this type of acronym is that you can mix it up to represent your own taste.  For instance when I shop I opt for VE (Vintage and Edgy)

You can be 1, 2 3, or even 4 of these styles. (CE, E, VC, VCE, this could go on for like...ever?  No, not ever... more like..........OH MY GOD I HATE MATH)

Whats your style acronym?

Find your style and shop the latest and greatest looks now on Swaychic.com

Final Touch Love/The Buyer's Dilemma Part 2

So as I mentioned in my previous post, finding the perfect items to carry on our website and in our stores can be kind of on the more difficult side.  It is of course fun and exciting, but there is a lot of bad to look past to find the good.  I find all my years of thrift shopping for sweet tops and dresses has paid off,  looking through a bunch of unfortunate things to find the babes amongst the duds.  Again,  I am not saying there is not a plethora of adorable items out there, they just sometimes are really expensive or do not have the best fit.

One brand we have stumbled across in our years of trying to find good stuff is Final Touch clothing.

Their styles are simple, classic and easy to wear.

Check out the video below, ignore the horrible still frame, and listen up to find out more about them:

 

Peppermint Love/The Buyer's Dilemma

As a buyer I run across new brands all the time.  For me the brands have to reach certain criteria in order for me to even consider buying them in:

1.) Gotta be cute
2.) Gotta be affordable
3.) Gotta have a good fit


Here is Venn diagram (hands-down the best way to get any point across) to show you the "buyer's dilemma":

Figure A

So as you can see by looking at Figure A, there is plenty of goods out there- the problem is a lot of it isn't all that good.  And if it is- it is usually more expensive than people want to pay.

However there are brands out there who fit into that tiny pink part of Figure A, and we do our darnedest to bring them to you.


One of those said brands is Peppermint.  They do an amazing job of putting together an affordable line that is super cute!  Almost all of their items are vintage inspired, which I personally love.
Their fabrication in a lot of items are very unique-using vintage inspired prints and textures.  Some items look like they could be an awesome find at your local vintage shop (minus the moth ball aroma, of course.)


Check out the video below to see my spiel on the brand:

Don't Be So Cold Girl

I have been buying jackets for the Sway stores for years now.  When it comes time to bring some warmth to our ladies at an affordable price I head straight to talk to the people at BB Dakota.

BB Dakota knows not just how to make a cozy jacket, but also how to make it irresistible and affordable.

Here is a round-up of Swaychic.com's finest jackets of the season, courtesy of BB Dakota:

This Stripe Bottom Jacket is super cozy and warm.  Love the length too.

Pair this Contrast Collar jacket with almost anything for a chic look

We love the classic style of this Tie Waist Jacket

Looking for some warmth this Fall?  Head over to swaychic.com to check out these, and tons of other Fall Styles.

Vacation (All I Ever Wanted)

Every now and again it is a dang nice thing to treat yourself to a small get away.  Something to take your mind of of your day to day life and to add a little excitement to your year.  (On a fashion note, Vacations are also excellent excuses to buy new clothes and dress up.)

A few weeks back I needed a break so I got my lady friends together and we headed north to San Louis Obiso (SLO, as the locals say.)
Why SLO? Well I happened  upon a place, no, a miracle rather, a few months ago.  This miracle is called the Madonna Inn.  If you haven't heard of it yet, you will thank me by the end of this post.

Madona Inn's hotel bar.  The bartender was wearing a piano key neck tie and made us a German Chocolate Cake Martini

The Madonna Inn is quite possibly the greatest place on earth.  It is a kitschy feast of imagination and design.   Keeping in the wonder of the place my friends and I all dressed up (our walls were glitter wallpaper, so what choice did we have really?).  We also played a new game I invented called "Nailed It"- this requires getting Dollar Store stick-on 1" nails and seeing who can keep all them on the longest.

Yes, we had a 70's style oversize stone fireplace

Needless to say I think we scared half the town of SLO.  Running around all dolled up with crazy long nails, half on half off our finger tips.

In our surf around town we spotted this awesome cafe also called Kreuzberg, CA.  It was huge.  I think they must have knocked down one of the walls because the cafe I went into could have been a middle school gymnasium- which is not what you would expect for a cozy hip cafe.  Aside from a great variety of vegan treats, they had my heart at upside down antique lamps as light fixtures.

Why are you so far away, awesome cafe?

Venture up north one hour and you will find yourself at Hearst Castle.  For a little more than 20 bucks they will take you on a tour of the place. Bonus: The bus ride up to the castle includes an audio tour done by my favorite former mustachioed man- Alex Trebek (Fun Fact : his real name is George)

The indoor pool alone made me want to put my morals aside and marry an old rich man- sadly Mr. George "Alex"Trebek is off the market

So if you are looking for cool vacation spots to check out or find yourself in central CA- don't overlook the amazingness that exists.  Looking for some hot items to wear on your trip?  Look at this website.  Heading to the Madonna Inn?  You will need these Can't get any time off?  Give yourself 2 hours and look at this website.  You're welcome!

Get Your Sweater On....

Now everyone has their favorite sweater.  Their go to piece that they can throw on when there is a little tiny cold weather fairy pinching your skin (that is how it works, right?)

My favorite sweater has been in my closet since I was 16.  Not saying hold old I am, but if this sweater and I were married for as long as I have had it around, we would be expecting a wonderful Tin gift from our friends in honor of our anniversary this year.

My lovely was bought at a thrift store.  It has ribbons woven into the front and is the most perfect shade of Lagoon Blue.

Pardon the crude Ipad photo- I left the camera at home.

I wore it today and it got me thinking about girls' love affair with autumn and clothes.

Autumn? More like Aut-some.
There is something about the world's exact distance and tilt from the sun that occurs for roughly 91 days each year that makes people happy.

If Fall was a guy I'd bet his name would be Luke or Blake. And I'd marry him.

Here is Luke-Blake, picking me up on September 23rd. Right on time for our 3 month date!

One of multiple, multiple, multiple reasons I love Fall is because I also love clothes.  And Fashion and Fall got together like ramma lamma lamma ka dinga da dinga dong (remembered forever as shoo-bop sha whada whadda yippidy boom da boom...respectively.)

My favorite Fall Fashion items are sweaters.  They keep you warm and looking fresh.  You can never have enough of them because they are a true necessity, and variety is the spice of life.

So if you yourself have a favorite sweater- give it the props it deserves. It may stay hidden in your closet most of the year, but when the temperature drops it makes its way to the front of your closet and back into your heart.

Don't have a favorite sweater, or looking for a new one to add to your collection? 

Click below to see our selection of this season's must have knits.

A Saturday at The March Aux Puces

Sway (the actually physical stores) are now bringing their flavor down my way and opening their doors to Southern California, which brings me great joy.

I have opened a few Sway stores in my time and love to furnish and decorate them more than words can express.

I like the idea that being in a Sway store should be more than just a "pop into a boutique with some cute clothes" and more of a "Controlled Sensory Explosion" (Scared?......you should be.)

We want to inspire and make you feel happy.  What is the point of having  some square feet if you can't beautify it (or "Swayify" it, as I like to say) as much as humanly possible?

I have hated the term "flea market" since I first heard of it.  It makes my skin itch.
So after looking for other terms, aside from the obvious Swap Meet, I decided the direct French translation, The March Aux Puces, sounds a little bit more appropriate.  The French can make anything sound beautiful and awesome, and that is exactly what flea markets are, beautiful and awesome.


So The March Aux Puces is a must for getting our Sway Store looking amazing. Full of so much character and wonderful things to look at, I could spend the whole day perusing the outdoor market (plus the vintage clothes- my OH my)


I brought my camera to share with you my wonderful views.

I have a slight obsession with needlepoint art

 I <3 florescent green glass. PS been seeing a lot of this color in clothes for spring- I'm excited.

My boss would kill me if I put this in a store.  But this horse is so chill!

I don't know what is happening here, but I think that's why I love it so much.

Um, treats!

Every store needs just the right amount of disco and a gallon of kitsch

 

Want this on my desk to keep me motivated

Unfortunately we can't have it all.  But we did find this awesome stadium seating bench that will work well for some sitting space:

Want to paint this something amazing.  Yellow and Pink?

Speaking of interior decorating, I saw a semi-celebrity at The March Aux Puces.  These little old ladies were all "I love your show" to this cute tall blond.  Having no idea what was going on I did some internet stalking and found out this lady apparently knows whats up with The March Aux Puces as well. I happened to take a photo of the goodies she was buying because they were awesome and all I could look at while waiting for my ride to swing by and grab my bench and I.

Look for them on her show!

It was hard to say au revioir to the March Aux Puces, which was so je ne sais quoi, but I needed to grab a café au lait and go write up the reportage you just read.

A Beginner's Guide to Mixing it Up

I am a sucker for an awesome print.  Whether it be on a top, dress, skirt or shoes- I cannot say no to a killer design.  Thus my closet has become one giant fun-fest of prints.

The Punky Brewster in me wants to wear whatever I want, whenever I want, which is true most of the time.  So I have no problem throwing my zig-zag print shorts on with a vintage tank blouse covered in a gold medallion and pretty paisleys print. 

In the back of my mind however I have a nagging voice-(maybe that of my mother?)- saying "Are you really going out of the house looking like that??  They will straight-up throw you in a state hospital, I am not kidding!"

So with some hesitanceI leave the house, half thinking I look like a million bucks, half thinking I look like I have a million different voices in my head.

But for the last few seasons designers have given us the "A-Ok" to mix up our prints, and not shy away from wearing just one at a time.  And if they say it's okay, that little nagging voice gets quieter and quieter... (Thanks Moschino! Thanks Comme de Garcons!)

Feeling a little iffy about it still?  Well here are some hints to help get you started:



1. Look in your closet.  Find your favorite printed piece, whether it is a top or bottom, or even a dress.

2.Next gather all your other printed lovelies that you could possible pair with it (for example- if you chose a top, look for all your printed bottoms, if it is a dress look for printed tights)

3.Finally put the prints up to each other and see what duo make a "do."

I find that it is usually easier to pair prints in the same color family together.  For example a black and white daisy crop top with  a black and white stripe mini skirt. 

Now to finish off the outfit I opt for simple solid items to balance out the print madness.  Like in the example above I would wear some black tights and black booties.

No matter what you go with have fun with it.

This trend definitely gets the Soleil Moon Frye Seal Of Approval