Refinery 29

and

Simon Malls

teamed up this summer to present us with a taste of fashion and music in the best way Austin knows how to kick it up a notch: festival style.

While the rain tried to ruin our little shindig here, it was no match for the fashionistas! The

Refinery 29 Style Fest

at

The Domain

delighted us with a DIY and beauty stations, a stage for the music sets, rides to shops and more!With sweet discounts galore to retailers like

H&M

and

Luxe Apothetique

, it felt like a personal shopping experience. The free rides to the stores made shopping simple, safe and fancy. (We like feeling pampered— admit it.) While the big retailers had their go at shoppers, independent brands like

Style Mafia

and

Soul Rebel Vintage

showcased their bountiful selection of fashion essentials for the style aficionado. If the shopping wasn't enough, the musical sets, crafting and beauty station gave a new meaning to retail therapy.

DJ sets by The Dolls (with

Mia Moretti

) had us jamming out, and

MAGIC!

closed out the stage with their finely tuned Canadian reggae. It’s a pleasant surprise to enjoy an impromptu concert at your local mall. I could see festival goers excitedly dancing and jumping up and down with the same amount of awe.

I’m a big fan of DIY projects, so the t-shirt station beckoned me to sit down and chill out with studs, safety pins, patches, buttons and scissors. I grabbed a tee and noticed the American Apparel label. (And I giddily snipped away, gasped and thought, “Yeah, I just cut up an AA shirt.”) The jersey knit tee is perfect for DIY customizations like this fabulous opportunity.

I studded out the shoulders and cut off the sleeves. Thankfully, I grabbed an XL, so I now have a fun DIY customized t-shirt dress. The universe found its way to say, “You’re welcome.” Now, I’ll be digging through my sewing and fabric boxes, so I can finish my jean jacket. Thanks, Refinery 29. It would seem I’ve become a craft fairy lately, too. This styling station certainly scratched the creative itch!

The beauty station had the lines out the tent, with ladies waiting for flowers and braids in their hair— but not without completing their festival style with adorning themselves in the complimentary gold and silver

flash tattoos

. I slapped on four or five for the hell of it, and now I’m a converted skeptic to believer. These temporary tattoos are styling and profiling.

Although I didn’t get over to the free photo printing machine, I took the liberty to snap some shots around the style festival for kicks and giggles. Usually I take more photos, but for this event, I got to relax and enjoy myself for once. This fashionista needed pampering, so relaxing outside with fashion, music and good company inspired me with something extra special.

I feel charged and ready to style and write away!

To my Miami family and friends, head over to the Dadeland Mall on July 11 from 1-6pm, for your taste of the R29 Style Fest. (RSVP

here

.) You’ll get to dance and party with Twin Shadow, DJ Mia Moretti and Michelle Leshem.

Let us know how you enjoyed your city’s R29 Style Fest in the comment section.