After months of sweltering heat and humidity in New York City, I am officially ready for fall—bring on the pumpkin lattes, cozy sweaters and crisp air. And the best part about the changing seasons? An excuse to go stock up on back to school fall essentials. And I’m not talking about school supplies (though I do miss the thrill of purchasing fresh erasers and binders). I’m talking about some rockin’ new outfits to help start the semester right!

Accessories are the easiest way to keep your rotating pieces looking bold an on-trend. When they’re from Payless, you don’t need to drain your piggy bank for cool new looks. You can mix up your go-to looks with bags, cute new shoes and awesomely glitz and glam jewelry. After a few purchases, you’ll swear you have a whole new wardrobe.

All of the fall finishing-touch accessories in the following looks are available at Payless and brashgirl.com and are from the retailer’s new edgy brand — Brash!

Read More »

Back in the good old days, returning to school meant one thing: new school supplies! Colorful binders, cool erasers and general shenanigans made going back to elementary school that much more exciting. Lisa Frank,  how I’ve missed you. Now, if only I could justify purchasing gel pens and bright colored notecards for college…

initiating the gallery...

What do you miss most from elementary school shopping?

Whether you’re heading back to school, entering the college atmosphere for the first time ever as a freshman, or maybe you’ve already graduated and just wish you were still back at school, CollegeCandy has everything you need to go back to school in the know, in style and with some great conversation starters.

• Need some dorm decorating tips to bring your 10×10 abode to the next level? We’ll get you started.
• Feel like a naive Freshman but don’t want people to see you that way? Take some advice from an upperclassman.
• Want to throw an impressive party to meet some new people (and hopefully some lifelong friends)? We’ve got all the tips on how to dress, how to act, and even how to drink.

I mean, let’s be honest: we all wish it could be summer forever, but eventually the time of papers, lab partners, and sorority sisters returns. Good thing you have all of us here at CollegeCandy to help you get back into the swing of things!

Click right here to check out our back to school section!

It’s the start of a new school year and to honor that, we at CollegeCandy are bringing back our favorite series, “We’ve All Been There.” Every week, Lauren – University of Michigan will comment on the common experiences all college women share, like the dreaded move-in day, including some new ones thrown into the mix.

You’ve spent the last 3 nights enjoying the free booze freedom that Welcome Week allows, but as you wake up with the garbage can next to your bed – again – you realize it might be time to buckle down. Classes are looming ever closer and not only can your body not handle another 12-hour hangover, you’ve got a lot of stuff to prepare before those 18 credits take over your life.

So while your friends watch another SATC marathon/discuss what they’re going to wear to the night’s festivities, you grab your schedule and head out for something a little more….fun: school supplies shopping (!!).

Most people wouldn’t find this particular type of shopping exciting, but back-to-school shopping has been the highlight of your Augusts since you were 6 years old. The smell of fresh books, the feel of a new (medium point) pen as it runs across the pages of a fresh, crisp college-ruled notebook. The richness of a new, juicy highlighter. You can’t wait to get it all home and organized for the first day of classes. Read More »

One of my favorite places to shop before school is J.Crew.  Everything about it is sophisticated, fresh and fabulous.  But my only issue with the store is that all that sophistication doesn’t come cheap. Sometimes I’ll walk in, pick up a cute skinny belt for my new pencil skirt (from Marshalls…), look at the price tag and try not to strangle myself with it.  $89 dollars for a string of leather???

As I repeat to myself, There are people starving in Africa, there are people starving in Africa, I promptly leave the store empty handed, looking wistfully back at the perfectly put together outfits in the window.

But thanks to store turnover and a whole new crop of Fall fashion pouring into J. Crew stock rooms nationwide, I can finally fulfill my J. Crew dreams. Yes, it’s time for their end-of-summer sale they’ve got some really great goodies to offer, all under $20!  I even spotted a leather skinny belt! Let the celebration commence. Read More »

It’s August, which means it’s almost that time of year: back to school. But unlike when we were younger and dreaded the first day, going back to college is exciting, enough to provoke countdowns on Facebook statuses (“Only 236 hours more days until I’m back at school!”), and overall giddiness. You can’t wait to pack up your rooms and your closets and get right back into the college atmosphere – crazy bar nights and frat parties, Wine-Down Wednesdays and Tequila Tuesdays, dorm room gossip sesh’s with your roommates, attempting to wake up for class, and making even more memories with your friends.

However, amidst all that excitement, there’s one gray cloud looming: you’ll be leaving your best friends from home behind.

No matter how much fun we have with our school best friends, it always sucks to leave behind your home BFFs – the girls and guys you grew up with, who know all about the times you made a fool of yourself in 9^th grade homeroom, and whom you can still go out with and have a good time. It especially sucks after a summer spent with them, when you’ve gotten used to seeing them on a daily basis, and you know that when school starts things will be different. Because let’s be honest: despite all of our best intentions to stay in touch with our BFFs during the academic year, it’s usually pretty tough. Between the parties and the actual work, it’s easy to start speaking only once a week or learning about one another’s lives through Newsfeed.

For those of you who are bummed about leaving behind your best girlfriends, don’t worry – you still have a few more weeks of summertime fun left, which means plenty of time to stock up on some serious BFF bonding sessions. So here is a list of things you should make time to do with your girls before you’re all back in school, back in the grind, and back to intermittent IMs. Read More »

I remember the days of running around Bed Bath and Beyond with my parents, frantically scrounging the aisle for that perfect plastic bin to stash all of my Ramen. Talk about a brutally long scene of events.  I stood in the florescent-lit aisles of so many department stores I started dreaming about shower caddies, futon throw blankets and Audrey Hepburn posters.

However, my parents were more than generous when they stashed the cart with college-goodies.  Especially food.  I think my mother thought I was going to eat all my food the first day, never have the desire/money to buy anymore and end up looking like a famished kid come Christmas.  Bless their hearts, ma and pa provided me with everything I would ever need in a my 8X8 dorm room.

And they didn’t even realize the half of it.

Although my parents made sure I had just about everything to satisfy my college-soul when I hightailed it to party-town, there are some sneaky things they didn’t even realize they’d purchased.  I’m not saying I smuggled a box of Trojans in between my binders; I’m simply stating there are some things out there your mama and papa can buy you that serve a college purpose they’ll never know or understand.

Allow me to explain.
Note: I really hope my mother never reads this. I love you, Ma! Read More »

[There are over 100 million sites on the Internet. 100 million! You might think you know about all the important ones (CollegeCandy, Gmail, Google, TFLN…), but there are thousands of other sweet sites out there (like BadDateTV; Beauty Story; and Dear Blank, Please Blank) and more showing up every day! We get it – it’s not easy or fun sifting through the crap and porn to find those gems, so we’re gonna bring the gems to you. Just sit back, kick up those feet and allow us to introduce you to the diamonds in the internet rough.]

It’s already August (I know, where did the summer go?!), and in just a few short weeks, most of you will be heading back to school.  Which means now is the perfect time to start your back-to-school shopping!  Sure, all you new freshmen will definitely have more that you need to buy than those baller upperclassmen, but even if you’ve been at school for year or two, I’m sure there’s still a few new things you’ll need to get before you move back into the dorms or that sick new off-campus party pad.

Pretty much every store has sales on back-to-school essentials this time of year, so you could just head to Bed Bath & Beyond or Walmart to pick up everything you need.  But that’s not always the best option, especially if you go to school in a major city like I did and you don’t have a car. (Or if the people of Walmart scare you…)  Let me tell you, lugging giant Target and JC Penney bags on to the NYC subway and bus wasn’t exactly easy (or fun).  The website Homeslyce, however, makes the whole process a lot easier by helping find the items you’ll need and collaborate with your roommate (or roommates) online. Read More »

I. Heart. School supplies.

Yes, we know summertime can be oh-so-sweet, but now it’s August and summer’s winding down with school just around the corner. As much as summer rules, from the beach to margaritas, there are so many perks to heading back to campus and gearing up for classes.

Here are the top 10 reasons that you can feel good about ditching the bikini for some books!

10. School Supplies
Is there anything sweeter than shopping for new pencils and binders? And highlighters? And an adorable bag to carry it all in? I love back to school shopping for supplies solely because I love thinking of new ways to organize.. and then obviously not following through with any of it come the first day of school. But still – gotta love the crisp pages of a new notebook. Sigh.

9. Dorm/Apartment Shopping
After stocking up on post-its of all colors, there’s no better excuse than back to school to get some brand new decorative pieces for your dorm and apartment. Low on space? Check out the container store, definitely a top fave. Want fun, quirky decorations? Check out Anthropologie’s sales!

8.  School sports
Get pumped for football, hockey and basketball. Even if your school isn’t a Div I college, it’s still amazing to pre-party bond over some sport, even if it’s just squash.

7. Fall clothes
So over shorts and tanks? Slip into some cute new jeans, sweaters, dresses and jackets. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve had it with my gladiator sandals. I can’t wait to bust out my boots and scarves again! Read More »

[Meet Margaret. She's a recent high school grad gearing up for her first year at Yale. We'll check in with her every week to see what she's doing, who she's Facebook stalkin', what she's packing, and what new college surprises she's tackling (or freaking out about) next. Oh, to be an incoming freshman again....]

Dorm shopping is kinda like going on a safari. Not just because there are waaaay too many sheet sets out there with zebra print on them (you guys, zebra print can be totally cute, but no doubt it also is reminiscent of Austin Powers’ sex pad which is kinda less than groovy…unless that’s what you’re into), but also because it is so overwhelming and exhilarating you kinda don’t know what to do with yourself.

I mean, with “I Heart College!” Bed, Bath & Beyond ads hitting your mailbox every week, it’s hard not to buy that cushioned toilet seat or $26 stainless steel trashcan. I just wanna look super fly come college time and every little thing counts, even a steel trash receptacle.

But from the mouth of a wise woman (my mom): “Darling, if you really want it we can get it. But don’t be stupid.” Real talk: We all want to walk into college with swagger, but a steel trash can probably will not accomplish that. Nor will a cushioned toilet seat, much as your ass (or face, after a long night at the frats) would beg to differ.

So fellow freshmen, unless you’re Emma Watson and have Harry Potter cash to blow, let’s consider what we really need before we get sucked into Target’s cute dorm deco displays: Read More »