Street Fashionista: Lindsay Vendetti

It's a magical thing. It's an extraordinary power. It's often discounted just how influential and just how awe-inspiring these talented musicians can be to a fellow young one.

Attending a Taylor Swift concert recently with my favorite girls (Olivia and Marni), I was truly star-struck. Like mouth agape, tears rolling down my cheeks, mind blown, proud to be a girl all rolled up into a heart-shaped-balloon-covered-in-sparkling-red-sequins kind of feeling.

Yeah, it was that deep.

Tiny Miss Swift was a sensation, a lady, a muse, a teacher. Above all, a standup, strong, positive role model for 57,000 women, girls, men, and boys. And what did I take away beside the fact that her performance was stellar? Her costume changes. No words.

Here's what I love about pop culture – everything she will wear on this tour will be huge for fall fashion. Color: RED; Texture: Sequins; Theme: Parisian Carnival; Vibe: Parisian '40s glamour, lady-like softness, goddess-inspired diaphanous gowns.

Just heavenly. Just perfect. Transcendent and superb.

The best part about pop-diva style is anything goes. It is all about you. What makes Taylor is that her style is genuine. Oh sure, performers have stylists (dream job), but much of what they wear comes from their inner fashionista.

So here's what you are going to do to tap into your inner pop diva – be you. Yup. Just you…and maybe some sequins.

Who? Lindsay Vendetti

Where? Stairwell at the Erie Art Museum

Why Lindsay? A local pop diva in her own right, Lindsay has been awarded best female vocalist at the Rock Erie Music Awards. She continues to sing around Erie with such acts as Stiletto (she was one of the original singers) and other fun projects on the rise. Beyond that, the girl loves fashion. Her signature platinum blonde streak and bouffant hair make her immediately recognizable, and her ever-changing styles and trends define her inner pop priestess.

What We Want to Know

Describe your style: I would say my style is a little bit of a lot of things. Comfort to start. I love being comfortable, but I would say soul with a little bit of edge and a lot of girl. I could go on, but in all honestly I'm constantly changing daily.  Sometimes I want to wear a dress with bows and lace and sometimes I want to wear a studded jacket with 5-inch hooker heels. To answer the question, I'd say my style is a smorgasbord of me.

If you were a dress, what kind of dress would you be? Color? Style? Vintage? Party dress? Garden dress? Hmmm, this is a really hard one, but if I had to pick a dress to represent me it would be a '60s Go-Go dress, really short with flared sleeves with black and white polka dots.

Last indulgent purchase? There's way too many of these a week. I just got my hair done, which went along with purchasing hair products. Today I bought two bathing suits and two cover-ups – all of which I already have, but it's a new season, right? I have to restock this closet, ugh, it should be illegal the amount of money I spend on clothes, shoes, hair, makeup, etc. But hey, these are true loves of mine so why not?

How would you describe your closet? A mess! I can't find anything, and once a month I attempt to fold and hang everything; this lasts about 2 to 3 days. Then it's back to crazy town and I have no idea where anything is.

Fashion inspiration: Where does it come from? Celebrity? Art? Landscape? Architecture? I honestly don't know how to answer this question. Music really inspires my wardrobe. A lot of times I'll put on Spotify while I'm getting ready and whatever I'm listening to I tend to dress like. For instance, Patsy Cline will come on and I'll throw on a button-up dress with a collar, high-waisted belt, and some cute flats. Pink will be playing and I'll put on leggings, a tank, a cut-off shirt, big earrings, and studded flats or platform heels. This one happens more often because I'm a raging pop-star lover. Then Bruno Mars will come on and I just won't put any clothes on at all…whoops did I say that out loud?

You just moved back from LA; what was the style vibe out there? What trends have not yet reached the East coast? LA has been very into the floral prints for about two years, bralets, and combat boots with shorts and skirts. I'm just now noticing it here too; Pac Sun at the mall is all LA all day long. The thing that was really awesome about LA was that people just dressed how they wanted. You would go into a ridiculously nice restaurant and see girls completely head to toe decked out in glamour – then you'd see some girls in jeans, a T-shirt, and sneakers. That really allowed everyone to embrace their own style. I felt more comfortable wearing whatever I wanted, wherever I wanted there as opposed to Erie. Here, I feel people put dress codes on different places.

Why do you love Erie? Oh I don't think you want me to give you all the reasons; we would be here for days. I'll give you my shortest answer: I love Erie because it's real. The people are real, the mood is real, and the air smells like home. There is something about this town that somewhere along the way, without me even knowing it, I fell madly in love with. I didn't even realize this until I took myself 3,000 miles away. I love the beauty of the sunsets, the summer night breezes, the beaches, the lake, the gorgeous fall leaves and the first snowfall. I love driving only 15 minutes max to get anywhere and I love seeing familiar faces all the time. The number-one thing I love about Erie is that my family lives here and nothing in the world is better than being close to the ones you love the most and the ones who love you the most.

Any fun summer gigs planned? I took a little break from singing when I moved home just to regroup and get myself settled in. Now I am finally getting into some things and thank God because I have been itching to get back on stage. I will be sitting in with Stiletto on August 1 for the Block Party. I started singing with them before I left for LA, and I love them all dearly, along with the band, so I'm really excited for a reunion gig. Also keep your ears open for an acoustic act I'm putting together with my fellow musician and ridiculously talented Eric Brewer. Some good things are in the works, and I can't wait to get back out and start singing for my amazing city.

Find me out on the town and challenge yourself to get noticed by the Erie Reader!

Leslie McAllister can be contacted at lMcAllister@ErieReader.com, and you can follow her on Twitter @ShopJuJus.