Attention All Shoppers: Austin’s Calling

ABC News On Campus reporter Cate Smithson blogs:

Economic crisis be damned! In Austin, Texas, the South By Southwest (SXSW) music, film and interactive festival is just around the corner, and with it comes an influx of consumerism that makes the day after Thanksgiving look like just another Friday. The entire event runs today through March 22, but the music festival is scheduled from Wednesday to March 22.

Each year, music lovers young and old (well, mostly just young) make the trek to Texas for music, free beer and the shopping, apparently. Whether it’s Austin locals adding last-minute pieces to their festival wardrobes or out-of-towners taking advantage of the largest number of vintage shops in the country, SXSW never fails to put people in the mood to burn a much-needed hole in their pockets.

“We get more and more customers as people start trickling into town the week before the music kicks in, and it lasts into the beginning of the week following the festival,” said Rachel Zacharias, a sales associate at the Barney’s New York Co-Op.

According to Zacharias, the Co-Op expects about a 30 percent increase in foot traffic during SXSW. Those customers typically look for casual, albeit costly — designer pieces at Barney’s don’t run cheap — clothing and accessories.

Near the University of Texas campus, vintage clothing store Cream reportedly gets about three times more customers during SXSW and the month of March in general than any other time of the year. It even stays open an hour later than usual.

“People love that we’re an affordable and organized vintage store,” said Shannon Weiting, a sales associate at Cream. “And that we do custom alterations.”

Brandy Lee, a seamstress at Cream, said the influx of customers is equal parts good and bad, as it brings in more money but more work as well.

“It’s really more stressful than anything else,” she said.

Talk about stress: The throngs of people crowding the streets downtown somehow manage, with the help of Cream, the Co-Op and others, to perfectly accessorize outfits with their festival wristbands and badges.

Looking good in the Texas heat isn’t easy. It’s almost enough to make a person swear off music festivals entirely and stop showering to prep for Burning Man. Fight the urge! The show must go on.