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Joah Spearman
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Joah Spearman is the co-founder and executive producer of Style X, SXSW's official style showcase. His first book, Real Role Models (UT Press), was released in 2010 and his next book, Indisputable: A Fan's Guide to the Live Music Capital, is due out this year. He lives in Austin where he works with Bazaarvoice, a company that counts Macy's, LL Bean and other fashion retail and manufacturing brands as clients, and consults companies on social media strategies. He also owns Sneak Attack, a pop-up sneaker boutique based in Austin, Texas. His personal blog is found at joah.typepad.com

Blog Entries by Joah Spearman

The World's Best Merchandisers & America's Close Second(s)

Posted January 24, 2012 | 01/24/12 04:46 PM ET

I spent the last week of 2011 and first week of 2012 in Japan traveling between Nagano, Kyoto and Tokyo employing roughly one-fifth of my college education, a minor in Japanese, as best I could.

In between snowboarding in Nagano, seeing temples and shrines in Kyoto and riding trains...

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Black Friday or Green Monday... Holiday Shoppers Ride the Rainbow

Posted December 12, 2011 | 12/12/11 10:42 AM ET

It's not just Santa coming to town, but an epic transformation in commerce. The holiday season gives us a glimpse into the future of shopping behavior, and we're not too far from online shopping becoming the modus operandi of American consumers. Strip malls may never be the same.

According to...

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Broadening Your Music Festival Horizons

Posted November 7, 2011 | 11/07/11 01:32 PM ET

After back-to-back years attending Coachella, it was plain for me to see that festival fashion was at a premium in the California desert every April. But where can a style-savvy festival fan go to get their fix the rest of the year? Here's a hint: book a flight to Austin...

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Americans and Australians: Make Room for the Euros!

Posted September 23, 2011 | 09/23/11 06:32 PM ET

Americans and Aussies alike should make room in their closets for some European style. Allsaints, ASOS.com, Topshop and Zara are sending shipments across the Atlantic and down under with a great sense of urgency sure to impact your wallet.

"European brands invented high street fashion," said Ari Goldberg, CEO of...

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Hey GQ Readers: Here Are 9 American Cities Where the Best-Dressed People Shop

Posted August 30, 2011 | 08/30/11 05:40 PM ET

When GQ recently published its list of the "40 Worst Dressed Cities in America" naming cities from Manhattan (#5) to Portland (#36), I wasn't sure what I should be upset by the most. Austin, the city I live in, was 18th, just ahead of (or was it just behind?) Jersey...

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Fashion Brands: Stir the Pot, Or Get Burned

Posted August 1, 2011 | 08/01/11 01:49 PM ET

They all say no... until they say yes.

This line has resonated for years with former high school nerds -- I'd count myself as one -- who were once passed over for the jocks, until those jocks failed to make the NFL and we, their nerdy counterparts, graduated from college...

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Fashion Weeks and Trade Shows: The Has-Beens of the Fashion Industry?

Posted June 30, 2011 | 06/30/11 01:14 PM ET

There's a sentiment on the fringes of the fashion industry that is picking up steam and now fully seeping into the industry's most coveted position: the inside.

The sentiment I speak of is that big city fashion weeks and major trade shows are not what they once were. It's...

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Don't Just Travel Shop, Travel Shop Locally

Posted May 26, 2011 | 05/26/11 11:21 PM ET

It's Memorial Day Weekend, which means two things: it's the beginning of summer travel season, and it's time to get some travel shopping in, too.

Summer vacations usually involve going to warm places with beaches; Miami and L.A. are two of the cities I'm likely headed this summer. Others...

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Fashion and Technology Just Became Facebook Friends

Posted April 6, 2011 | 04/06/11 04:16 PM ET

If you've shopped through Gilt Groupe, bought a Groupon for a local boutique or The Gap or used online reviews to help make clothing purchases, you've experienced the revolutionary ways that technology has impacted the fashion industry.

I have done all three, but it has actually been two recent...

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South by Southwest: Trending Toward Fashion

Posted March 14, 2011 | 03/14/11 08:02 PM ET

It's the week of South by Southwest which means music festival season is fully upon us and tour schedules are being booked by the hour. This brings to mind a shift that has been happening in the music industry for the last half-decade if not longer: fewer and fewer arena-level...

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Why Style Is More Miles Davis Than Justin Bieber

Posted February 6, 2011 | 02/06/11 03:02 PM ET

This March, South by Southwest will introduce Style X (pronounced "By"), an event aimed at showcasing emerging designers from around the country. Over the last few years, SXSW participants have gotten accustomed to fashion brands having a presence in Austin during that eventful week in March. American Apparel is known...

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