Celebrities get paid to look good and serve as a style guide to all us common folk, and part of looking good is flaunting their (or sometimes in their cases, their stylist’s) totally awesome fashion sense. Each week, I will be highlighting my Style Idol of the week: a celebrity who consistently shows keen fashion sense and whose closet I would raid in a heartbeat.

Of course, no celebs are immune to the occasional “what the hell were they thinking?” moment, but for the most part, these celebs look foxy and fabulous and inspire us all to do the same.
My Style Idol of the week is someone who is one of the most popular young faces in Hollywood/the music scene right now. She does a great job of playing up her personality and youth whether she is heading to a red carpet event, or just hangin’ out.

Rihanna. Read More »

Some people say these dresses make you look like you wrapped yourself in a shiny bandage. To those people I say booooo (a strong comeback, I know).

I would have these glorious Herve Leger frocks as total staples if I could afford to buy thousand dollar dresses by the handful. But until I master that plan I will have to stick to my Herve Leger perfume and, like you, buy the cheaper versions of these so-hot-right-now dresses.

Every celebrity and “celebrity” under the sun has been seen in this Herve Leger Style - from Christina to Becks to Jenny McCarthy, and from the A list aaaaall the way down.

I’m sure we will be seeing many more a-knock-off on these dresses, but in the meantime I bring you:

Celebrity Chic on the Cheap: Herve Leger On a College Girl’s Budget. Read More »

Tell me if this sounds familiar: you’re relaxing in bed on a Sunday with a cup of coffee, coaxing the knot out of your brain left after five margaritas at Cabo Cantina, and flipping through the latest issue of Vogue, Bazaar, or Elle. After two hundred pages of Zac Posen dresses, Louboutin heels, Marc Jacobs bags, and “Smart Splurges Under $500,” you begin to cry.

Even if you traded in that hard-earned internship for a paid job delivering pizzas; even if you dropped out of school and stopped paying tuition; even if you sold a kidney, maybe two, on the black market in Thailand you still wouldn’t be able to afford a pair of $14,000 knee high alligator boots from Manolo Blahnik, or a $20,000 Hermes “Birkin” bag.

If you’re a dedicated follower of fashion like me, but poor as hell (like me), you need to know about these discount shopping websites: (In alphabetical order.)

amazon.com This site isn’t just for discounted books anymore. Amazon’s apparel and accessories department offers equally amazing deals on clothing, bags, and shoes from all the top labels. There are deals for every price range from over-the-knee patent boots from Jimmy Choo for $379 ($620 off the original price) to Seven7 skinny jeans for $18, a 70% mark down.

asos.com As Seen on Screen is a British company that specializes in trendy fashion items that are based on (or the same as) items worn by your favorite celebrities. They’ve got ASOS brand leather knee-high gladiators in the style of Ashley Olsen for £55 (about $102), a studded belt identical to the one Carrie wore in the “Sex and the City” movie for £15 (about $28), and an amazing selection of items from independent designers like a sheer chiffon floral top by To Love Kuvaa for £30 (about $56). Read More »

So we’ve all seen the trends for the fall.

Every time I’m in a store, I feel like I was thrown back into my time machine and should be busting out a version of High School Musical of my very own: The 1990’s edition. Okay well, actually, I was in middle school when plaid/flannels and all that other 90’s garb was popular, which left everyone questioning if that girl in the flannel button down and the hiking boots was actually a girl.

But at least this time around some of the 90’s fashions are coming back with a feminine twist. Like Vanessa’s plaid dress: it’s edgy, yes it’s plaid, but it’s gives you a waist AND shows some cleavage (cuz we know V. Hudge wouldn’t go out in public in a drabby table cloth-y thing).

So this week I bring you: Celebrity Chic On The Cheap: Punk-Rock Plaid Goes Glam. I never thought those words would come out of my mouth (much like, “I really like the taste of beer”), but the world of fashion is always surprising me.

Plaid Dress: So this dress isn’t plaid, but it’s tweed and has the adorable bow. Throw it on with some pumps or some chunky black tights and, as it gets colder, a black or white longsleeve shirt under it to give it some texture. It’s adorable and afforadable. (and the same price as a High School Musical DVD)

Other plaid Options: The neckline is on this fabulously plaid dress is retro, the plaid pattern is discreet, and the dress is rockin. Rock it out with a leather jacket in the fall, or keep it sweet with dainty shoes and delicate jewwlry. Read More »

I. Love. Plaid.

I don’t know what it is about that winsome pattern, but I can’t get enough.

I suspect it has something to do with the years I spent looking at fashion magazines with my mother. Every September, from the time I was 11 until I was 17, my mom would come home with a copy of the Seventeen: Back To School issue. And we devoured that sh*t.

And for some reason, every September without fail, that magazine would be busting at the seams with plaid. Plaid dresses, plaid shirts, plaid fricking socks–is plaid in every fall? The answer, my friends, is yes.

I don’t read Seventeen’s Back to School issue anymore (although my mother still does), but plaid don’t fade and neither do my love.

So here, for your viewing pleasure, is the creme of the crop of this season’s fall plaids. Pair with otherwise simple pieces, a smile, and a nostalgia that time will never defeat. Ahhhh. Plaid. Read More »

If you’re a fashion fanatic like myself, then you’re always on the look out for the latest trends and the hottest new designers. Perhaps, like me, you’ve dreamed of being able to design your own clothes, but (also like me), don’t possess the craftiness to do so. Well, thanks to Andrea Marron, now you can.

Andrea Marron, a recent graduate of the University of Rochester, is already on the road to success in the fashion world. She got a headstart, having started Studio 28 Couture while she was still in school. Andrea is different from most up and coming designers, not only because her website is a unique concept in the world of fashion, but because she graduated from school with a degree in optical engineering, not exactly the norm for fashion designers out there.

Andrea took the scientific approach she learned in her studies and mixed it with her passion for fashion and her entrepreneurial attitude in order to create Studio 28 Couture, a company that lets you design your own one-of-a-kind dress and have it custom made for you. The dresses are vintage-inspired, handmade by local seamstresses and delivered to you within three weeks. Read More »

There are some attributes to the summer season that make it less than perfect. One of these is the prevalence of muffin top sightings, and I’ve just got to vent.

It’s not so much the muffin top in and of itself that irks me. It is OSTS, or One-Size-Too-Small Syndrome, afflicting so many girls that just baffles me.

Why do I refer to this…issue… as OSTS instead of the popular, Muffin Top? Well, in my humble opinion, the phrase “muffin top” implies that the offender is what she eats, and likely has a fondness for Oreos and Taco Bell. This simply is not always true. Skin hanging over your waistband does not mean fatness. I’ve seen girls who can’t possibly be any bigger than a size 4 with a muffin top, and it’s not that they’re at all chubby. Instead, it’s that they insist they’re a size two, and the end result in the obvious: OSTS. It’s not pretty. Read More »

Historically, women have always been shoved into a little feminine box. We have always had to be proper - pinky out when drinking tea, crossing our legs at the ankle when sitting on the couch, letting the man make all the first moves. That trend has made its exit in the past 10 or so years, but for some reason, it still stuck around in the fashion world. Frilly dresses, delicate fabrics and beautifully crafted footwear are the staple of many women’s wardrobes.

But that custom’s days are also fleeting.

There is a new look making its way on runways from Paris to New York that is pairing the daintiness of yesteryear with the attitude of the modern day woman. And it is easy to do: the trick is to pump up the hardware on your feet and temper the volume of your dress so you look fresh and strong - not like Avril Lavigne. Read More »