Fashion Trends @ South By Southwest

Monday, February 27, 2012

South by Southwest (SXSW) is one of the largest festivals in the country with film, interactive and over 2,000 artists playing in over 90 venues. One of the great secrets about SXSW is that you don't necessarily need a badge to participate in the festival. Check out austin2012.sched.org to see a complete schedule of free events.

Fashion-wise, don't worry we've got you covered and are here to help you prepare for the chilly nights, warm days and crowded events that go until the early morning hours. We want you to feel like a rock star while staying comfortable as you trek all over Austin. 

Austin's motto is "keep austin weird" so you can expect to see a lot of unique fashion statements. While some will make you think of trying a new style yourself, others will leave you wondering how in the world that person thought that looked good when they left the house. Its one of the great things about the festival and our city. Fashion is highly diverse and varies between the bold and the overly feminine. Last year the trends were feather extensions, black rimmed glasses, crop tops, high waisted jean shorts, loafers and Native American inspired patterns. 

This year you can expect to see a lot of light weight blazers, strappy sandals, fur vests, large jewelry, cute bags, bold prints, long skirts and crop tops once again. To help make sure you are fashionable, yet trendy here are some recommendations around some emiLime pieces that will be sure to make you a standout at this year's SXSW street fashion walkways - 

emiLime's fingerless gloves and wrist warmers are great for keeping warm on chilly nights while still being able to text and check your SXSW mobile party apps. Also helpful at holding that cold (usually free) beer! 

Our cross-body purses are not only stylish, but durable, light-weight and a great way to keep all your gear close and  worry-free! 

This versatile scarf can be worn multiple ways to keep you warm! From shawl, to scarf, to hood you'll be prepared for anything SXSW throws your way!

Here are some more ways to help find that perfect SXSW style depending on which part of the conference you plan to attend. 

 If you're all about SXSW Film Festival - 

If you're all about SXSW Interactive -

If you're focusing on the music -

What SXSW styles are you most looking forward to taking advantage of this year? Leave us a comment on how you plan to incorporate emiLime swag into your SXSW plans and receive a 10% discount on your next purchase!

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Arm Warmers: A History

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Some people call them fingerless gloves, texting gloves, wristlets, arm warmers, pulse warmers, but whatever you want to call them, at emiLime, we are huge fans. The design plus the amazing qualities of alpaca have made our arm warmers the most popular product. Many creative people use our alpaca arm warmers to paint, take pictures, play instruments, knit, and lots of people love to wear their in their chilly offices.

Some of our favorites emiLime arm warmers are the classic Star crochet arm warmers and the visually and tactilely interesting Zing and Flow alpaca arm warmers. Most people understand the design because of the popularity of smart phones, but we often hear from people that they don't understand how they keep you warm because your fingers are exposed.

Long before the advent of iPhones and Blackberrys, people were wearing wrist warmers so they could work outdoors while keeping their hands toasty warm while still being able to access their fingers. A customer told us how 30 years ago she bought a pair in Germany, after seeing them on the wrists of every shopkeeper at a Heidelberg farmers market. They were also spotted indoors on mothers doing their knitting or cooking in poorly heated country houses.

People living in the colder mountainous areas of Europe have used wrist [i.e. pulse] warmers for centuries. You often see people wearing felted or knitted cuffs for additional warmth in Austria, Switzerland, southern Germany, Sweden, and Norway.

The key to wrist warmers is their ability to trap the body's natural warmth inside allowing for the hands to be warmed by your own blood. By insulating the vulnerable blood vessels that lie closest to the surface of your wrists, the warmers prevent heat loss letting the warmed blood flow through your hands to keep them toasty. It's sort of like having an internal hot water bottle and using the arm warmers as a knitted coozie.

Alpaca wrist warmers are made from the premium insulating fiber. Alpaca has been keeping the cold away from the rural people of the Andes for centuries and combining it with a classic design from the savvy European shop keepers, it has been an instant success.

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