[In early adulthood there is an activity that plays a large role in most of our lives; nights out on the town. And with those nights out always comes the question: “What am I gonna wear?!?”

Each week I’ll be putting together a cute and affordable “going out” ensemble guide (that you can tweak to your own personal style and body type, of course) so that maybe that age-old question can be answered a little quicker than usual. And your friends aren’t waiting - for hours - for you to emerge from your room. Just call me your own personal Rachel Zoe.]

This week’s styler puts emphasis on mixing up textures and styles to change the entire look of a piece/give you something fantastic. Liquid leggings became popular earlier this year; they’re leggings that look like leather that you, literally, poured onto your body. To be honest, when I first saw them I thought, “Lord, what is going on in fashion?!?” but once I tried them on, I realized they look pretty dang hot.

I’m a curvy girl who’s got some junk in her trunk and am always worried about stuff making me look bottom heavy, but these slim me down, are fun to wear, and are uber-comfortable to boot. The shirt you wear with them is muy importante, however, because these can go from fab to “Grease Lightning” in an instant. By mixing them up with a flowy chiffon shirt, you put together two really different styles, but the effect is pure magic…

You can find liquid leggings all over the place now. I got mine from American Apparel, but tons of lines carry them. Some of them can be a bit pricey, but look around; I spotted a few pairs at Filene’s Basement a couple weeks ago for just $17. Just make sure you get the right size for you: too tight and you look like a shiny sausage, too loose and you end up with a saggy butt. Read More »

With the economy in a serious downturn (thanks to the Wall Street Hangover, apparently), smart college women like ourselves know better than to hit the malls and stock up on the latest fashion. We have to save! We have to buy gas! We have to invest in our futures!

But, there are just some things out there that are worth a little splurge. Sure, you may not be able to buy corn products next week, but who cares? You have yourself one of these babies:

1. An iPod.
I’m sure half of you already have iPods, but I’m also sure there are a few of you out there who are like me… unwilling to fork over the dough because you’re cheap and/or poor. Well, let me tell you, investing in an iPod is the way to go. After forking over the dough for something REALLY huge (a new computer), I got a free iPod touch, and wow. Just wow. The future is here. I can’t even fathom getting to access the Internet for free on a device that also plays music and lets me take notes, get the weather, and watch movies… it’s so awesome.

2. A new computer.
After eight years (serious) of lugging around an outdated Mac laptop, I took a deep breath and hit the “purchase” button last week for a new MacBook Pro. My old computer was still working… it was like a tortoise in terms of speed, though, and it wasn’t really capable of streaming video. Oh, yeah, and the total hard drive capacity was 9 GB. My new computer, I am already convinced, is the best investment I’ve ever made. I can Skype! I can load Web pages in under the amount of time it takes me to make a sandwich! I can listen to podcasts! With my old Mac, podcasts were something strange and exotic that I had heard about but never experienced. If you too are toiling away on an ancient computer, GET A NEW ONE! It is sooooo worth it! Read More »