SwayChic Goes to Camp!!

John Waters: The king of camp, the tailor of trashy, and the god of the beautiful gross has been inspiring and creating unique art since the early 70's.  He spread his cheesy punchy imagery across 4 awesome decades, always keeping true to himself and his art.

Film and fashion seems to always go hand in hand.  Watching films with awesome clothes involved can really get your fashion imagination brewing.  Pink Flamingos really makes you want to wear cheesy clothes and be fantastically trashy, Hairspray makes you want to own everything campy made in the 60's-  in fact I never understood Rockabilly style until I watched Cry Baby, then I went to the nearest thrift store and bought some creepers.

Below are some styles on Swaychic that we would cast in the next John Waters cult classic : C'est Sway Chic.  It would be mostly full of awesome floral dresses.  Click the pic to shop our choices:

Winona Forever

 

There are many indie goddess out there: Chloe Sevigny, Zooey Deschanel, and Christina Ricci to name a few.  But no body can hold a candle to Winona. Here's some evidence to back up this claim.

Exhibit A

 

She NAILED the androgynous look

Exhibit B

She knew Greenday when they played for a crowd of 20 including her

 

 

 

 

 

Exhibit C

Um she has these awesome C cups

 

Exhibit D

Big hair, latex bra...do you need more proof?

Exhibit E

I want my daily commute to look exactly like this.  We'd be singing Pixies songs obvs.

So there you have it.  Depp may have replaced her with "Wino" - but no one can ever truly take her place. 
I imagine even Johnny knows that deep down inside.

Waiting for the "wet" look to come back this summer.

 

 

Get to Know a Sway Dude: Ian

Ian has been working at our SwayChic.com Headquarters for almost a year.  He is the man who answers the phone, keeps our customers happy, packs your orders, and maintains our site.

He is also really good at changing light bulbs and bringing a peaceful vibe to our office with his relaxed and cool demeanor.  When he is not answering your phone calls and being more polite than most humans, he likes to spend his spare time making his own clothes and exploring his new hometown of Los Angeles.

"Hey dudes!  I'm Ian!"

Ian is here to answer your questions and mine:

What is your sign?

Libra....remember that Zima commercial? Possibly the only Zima commercial? Wait for it...

What are some trends you are looking forward to seeing girls wearing this summer?

I'm really excited about super saturated brights in creative combinations and loud loud prints: total visual assault. Kickass one-piece bathing suits. Booty shorts/cutoffs (who isn't?). 

90's throwback, duh. Lots of denim, lots of high-waisted, lots of crop tops, lots of chunky heels (double bonus because I'm tall), some studs, some leather, some acid wash, some neon, some big beautiful hair (finally fully moving past ombré).  Also bodycon dresses.

What is your favorite item up on the site now?

The Acid Wash Denim are really rad. Carolina (the model) really nailed that set. 

What do you like most about working for Swaychic.com?

Learning! Seeing the progression of LA fashion up-close. Learning about all the variation in style. Walking through the garment district. Learning the back-end process of the fashion industry. Getting inspired to work on my own clothes. 

If you were a childhood toy, what would you be? - Jazmena via Instagram

Michelangelo TMNT action figure with a grocery bag parachute or 2 tied to my back. Maybe a Super Soaker 50 when it starts to get really hot. 

Why do you have such pretty hair? - Halle Bee via Facebook

I don't wash it very often.. Also Modem Salon in Silverlake! Also my parents. Also possibly eating a shitload of cookies and milk all the time.

When was the last time you shaved your beard?  - Amy Singh via Facebook

Like with a razor? A long time. Years. Clippers are essential. It got pretty over-the-top a few months ago. I trimmed it real short a week or two ago though. The big beard doesn't really fly in LA. 

Will you marry me? - catchingdreamswithcemre via Instagram

Hmmm... Sure.  Meet you in Vegas.  I'll be wearing an Elvis Costume somewhere on the strip.

Dollar Store Haul(ah!)

I have a saying, "if you can't buy it at the dollar store, you don't need it."  I live by this motto for everything, except clothes of course...

I like to hit up my local dollar store at least twice a month to get all my living essentials. Aside from that I also like to get as many strange knick-knacks as I can, and if you are in the market for strange knick-knacks to have around your home or office, the dollar store is the PLACE TO BE.

"Perfect" is how I would describe this place too Coco-Cola.

From plastic flowers, to religious kitsch, and back to undefinable oddities, the dollar store has you covered in cheaply made layers of plastic awesome crap.

Aside from filling my shopaholic needs while spending as little as possible, this store has some fantastic things to look at.  Not buy, just look at.

Here are somethings that made me chuckle- not to the point where I needed to buy it out of pure hilarious joy, but at least put a smile on my face.

Ok so from L to R, T to B, let's talk about this.  First -I had some interest in buying this, but I couldn't understand what is was, and its title "Close relationship between family members" did not help. Next we have someone who hates alcohol, or at least beer making bottle opening magnets.  "Killer Lite"? Ok we get it Drew Downer, we will take it easy on the brewsky.  Next up is El Valle "Toys & Candy" - hoping this haired object is a toy. The item that follows says "Dog Leash", yup it says "Dog Leash". I thought it was some sort of doggy toothbrush, but I guess its a leash. After that you'll see a donut shaped object.  It says "Warm Cover of Toilet Bowl." Yuck. Next we got fake Toe Nails. Yuppp.  And finally we got this sweet bra hanger.  I did not know this was a thing.  Dollar store cleared that up for me, it is a thing  (I could see Katy Perry wearing this with some high waisted shorts)

Ok so onto what I got.  Here is the Haul:

So I got myself a super cheese pink vase, some awesome colored pens for work, a plastic butterfly napkin holder which will make a great mail holder for my desk.  Those two knotted items are curtain holders with tassels, the succulent in the back is fake, so I should be able to keep it alive (?), I have a sparkle headband to wear like I'm MIA, some adorable travel size plastic containers with puppies on them, stick on nails that seriously have brown on the tips of them and smiley faces that say "I  <3 Pudding" (?????? seriously...the implications..) a sports bandaid I made into headband, tweezers hand painted to look like a gypsy, and a tri colored mat for my bathroom floor.  All on  top of a plastic circle mirror that is way better than something you get at Ikea. 

Overall $11 well spent.  So if you are have a couple random bills in your pocket hollah' at the dollah' store.

What People Wore/Did not Wear to Coachella

Ok so Coachella happened.  Tupac hologram, gas explosion, Thom York's DJ set, blah blah blah.

Prior to Coachella I felt that if I had to look at another festival lookbook online again, I would have to burn every fringe dress I own.  Burn!!!

It's like everyone said "What?  It's April?  Then it must be festival time!!!!"  I thought music festivals were for THE MUSIC.  Turns out they're for slashed denim booty shorts, overpriced feather headwear, and side boob.

Don't get me wrong.  Girl's gotta look bangin' anywhere she goes but all these festival lookbooks just had me wanting to go where fringe isn't allowed.

Then beginning last week and going into this week you see fashion blogs talking about what people wore to Coachella.  Well guess what?  I'm sure you found that somewhere else, so in lieu I  will list off some things I am pretty sure people DID NOT wear to Coachella:

I bet no one wore ice skates.  It's totally impractical, and how are you supposed to catch the Black Keys at one stage and run over to see the Artic Monkeys 15 minutes later at another stage?  Impossible.

 

The Hope Diamond.  I am pretty certain no one wore this since there is only one and its super protected by very high tech lasers (or so I learned from the movies).  Show me pics if you did in fact see someone rocking this at Coachella and I will show you a big fat liar.

You would have to be really thick-skulled and confused about how climate works to think wearing a winter jacket to Coachella was a good idea. It was like 570 degrees and dry as hell.

A live, un-sedated King Cobra snake.  Yes it would be totally bad ass but I am pretty sure no one wore one around their neck to Coachella- at last not this year.

Ok but to give you what you want in case you missed it on any other sites,  here were some highlights of what the Celebz (cuz seriously that's all we care about) wore to the music festival of the year:

Oh Rihanna.  She always dresses awesome.  I am in a love/hate relationship with her however.  This move made it love again though- the clever comeback that it is.  Say no to Drugs....

Dita Von Teese.  Really went with her sailing theme... although she is about 150 miles away from the high seas.

 Crochet and tribal?  C'mon Port, aren't you a fashion designer?  These ensembles would be fine on anyone else, but aren't you supposed to be starting trends, not following them? It's like she googled "what do people wear to Coachella" and went with it.

This gem of a lady looking just fine.  I ain't mad atcha.  And who is that guy?  And why does he think he can get this close to Lilo?

Vanessa Hudgens was pretty much the mascot of Coachella this year.  Hippy gear? Check.  Crop top? Check.  Tassels? Check.  Sun Hat? Check.  Rainboots? Check.  Backpack? Check.  Fingers giving the peace sign? Check.  Braids and feathers? Check and double Check.  It's like she was on some sort of Coachella scavenger hunt.  And won obviously.

Kate Bosworth.  I like them boots girl.  And lace is always a festival must-have: breathable and sexy, yet classy.  She played it safe and I can respect that.

Katy Perry.  She had this years festival must have: the floral head gear. Overall she looked cutesy, vintage and I am pretty sure she is wearing creepers in that middle shot so, it's all good in my book.  Love that lace dress.

David Hasselhoff.  The man can do no wrong.

Hope you enjoy our Coachella round up!  If it sounded snarky at any points it's cause we are secretly jealous we didn't get to go...we had way too much work to do.

Discountstripper.com

Last week former Sway employee Andy D came into town and was playing a show at a strip joint.

First of all this is Andy D:

Now imagine that at a strip club.  I obviously had to go.

This was the first time I have ever ventured into a strip club (aside from those 3 rough months back in 04' when someone's mushy balls had to put food on the table.  JK guys) 

I love getting dressed for the occasion and getting dressed to go to a trashy strip joint was especially enjoyable.

I obviously had on some fake fur, a fitted 90's floral top and swaychic.com's teal fitted pencil skirt.  My hair was Susan Lucci-ed circa 1991 and I had to bring out my vintage clear plastic and metallic wedges. 

Once I put on my "casual stripper" shoes I realized how much I loved the clear plastic wedge and I wanted more in  my closet ASAPS.

Before my friend picked me up I googled "stripper shoes" to see if I could find something I liked.

The first results was a site called discountstripper.com.

Now obviously I had to check it out.  I mean, its so sad and beautiful and perfect. Discountstripper.com? 

I wanted to start a band that minute just so I could call it that.

Annnyways I checked it out and OH MUH GAWD- so many gems!

Yes there are obviously some out-of-hand-trashy-never-wear-outside-of-the-house shoes, but there were also some awesome f*cking platforms.  Eat your heart out Jeffrey Campbell these are real stripper shoes!  Perfect to give you some height so your maxi dresses won't drag if you are a shortie like myself.

Also let us not forget DISCOUNT stripper shoes, so the price is right.

So if you have some time shimmy your way over to discountstripper.com and check out the goods and get some deals, ya'll know I did.  

I got these two beauties and it was under $70!:

I discountstrippered it out

So don't forget when you are getting your fashion on don't be scared to look outside the box and find the OG's of the trend du jour.  It will save you some bucks and you may get to experience that awkward moment when the UPS guy goes "I have a delivery from discountstripper.com" in front of all your coworkers...

You Need This Now

ATTENTION SWAYCHIC SHOPPERS

There is a blue light special on aisle everywhere!!

#CRAZYNOTTOBUY!!!!!!!

So last december I was about to leave my office and I was in a pinch. It was 2 days before Christmas and as a workaholic I had no time to shop for an awesome Christmas ensemble.
Then we got a delivery from one of our vendors.

Going through the goods I found a shirt I had preordered months ago. It was form fitting, off the shoulder, slightly cropped, and black. It was a Christmas Miracle!
It was on its way to one of our stores but I snatched a Small out of the pack and brought it home. It looked quite awesome with my gold lamé vintage skirt. Rapidly I became obsessed with this perfect top. It was Friday night... what was I going to wear?? My Christmas Miracle top obviously. It became my new obsession.

A few weeks ago I stopped into the showroom of the designers who made it and found out something quite awesome - they extended my awesome top into a dress! And it came in aqua!!! I ordered it no questions asked and I have been not-so-patiently awaiting its arrival. Well guess what. It came in this morning!

Click To Buy!

AND I am so in love with this dress I want all of you to have it. How can we make this happen? How about it's only $14! Seriously everyone needs this dress. Thanks, we love you too.

This is part of our new series CrazyNotToBuy.  It is kind of the best thing ever- so you really need to be all about it.


Final Sale! Limit 1 per customer, duh!