Though sweatpants are NEVER cool for public wear, our favourite fashion designers scoured locker rooms for inspiration for their fall 2011 collections. And then did a complete 180, cause these looks sure didn’t include the over-sized, inherited from a former FWB t-shirts. No, these looks are much too nice for the college gym.

This is one of the things that I love about fashion. Designers can be “inspired” by something, and then channel it in a way that is on an entirely different planet than the original inspiration. For example, just because the Victorian-era inspired designers this season, doesn’t mean girls are rocking the insane junk-in-yo-trunk bustle. So instead of the clothes you’d sweat-it-out at the gym in, there are chic, sporty clothes for you instead.

Some ways to add a little athletic flair into your wardrobe is through more fashionable items made of typical sports fabric. This includes things that look like they could be surf-wear or jersey items including the pullover.

Outfit 1: Puffer vests are perfect for a walk outside on a fall day, and with this herringbone one, you don’t have to schlep around. If you don’t quite need a full jacket during the fall, a vest on top of a long-sleeve shirt is a nice, cosy substitution. Jeans and tees are casual enough for class, though they don’t have to be boring. Adding a bright coloured scarf is a way to add a pop of colour and some visual interest to an otherwise simple outfit. Read More »

Who or what inspires your style? Many of us use Hollywood A-listers (like Diablo Cody) or movie characters (like Annie Hall) as style inspiration, even though, most of the time, they are being dressed from head to toe by the best stylists.

Which we don’t have.

And sometimes it’s damn near impossible to work their Hollywood looks into our not-so-Hollywood lives. I’ve made it my mission to tap into the mind of a fashion stylist and show you how to take your style inspiration – whatever it may be – and make it more you!

Sometimes in this (awesome) summer heat, the last thing on our minds isn’t what else we can add to an outfit to showcase our style, but how many layers we can remove without flashing too much skin or, worse, a nipple. And if I had to name one person who balances this all out perfectly, it’s Sanoe Lake.

Not familiar with her? Well, this part-surfer part-actress is part-Japanese, part-English and part-Hawaiian, the perfect combo for her breakout role in Blue Crush. (Which, like to admit it or not, you know you stop to watch when it’s on TNT on a Saturday.) In the movie, you don’t get to see much of Sanoe’s style as she’s either wearing a hotel maid uniform or rocking her bathing suits (and the occasional board-short).  But off the movie set, Sanoe takes her cool, laid-back surfer style with her, which makes for some pretty gnarly (in a good way) style. She’s a surfer girl from the waves to the street, and she does it well. Read More »

If you are lucky enough to balance a part-time job with your class sched during the school year, you’ve got it made in the summer: you can pick up extra shifts and make bank, yet request days (or weeks) off to go on vacation without looking for a slacker.  Unfortunately for many of us, when finals week rolls around, we’re stressing about how to land a job and start saving for next fall’s text books (and bar tabs).  It sucks when you’re desperate, because you’re bound to accept any offer that comes your way.

Here are the ten worst summer jobs… which might just make bankruptcy look like the better option.

1.  Amusement Park Attendant
You make minimum wage to stand in the blazing heat all summer, get lobster-red sunburns, and keep little kids in check as they anxiously await their turn on the water slide you’d sell your soul to go down.  You deal with cranky parents demanding that you speed up the line (which you can’t, for everyone’s safety), and clean up puke when the little brats get sick off of the giant ice cream cone they inhaled right before getting in your line.  Oh, and you have to wear a doofy polo with the theme park’s logo.  PASS.

2.  Landscaping and Construction.
These jobs are grueling no matter what time of year.  But when it’s 90 degrees and there’s no shade in sight, you can really do some damage to your body.  Sure, it pays well, but you’re going to constantly battle UV rays, dehydration, and straight up muscle exhaustion.  If you’ve been relatively inactive sitting at your desk and studying all summer, taking on such a physically exhausting job will be brutal.

3.  Flyering.
I wouldn’t include this if I hadn’t done it before, since most of you probably have no clue what “flyering” is.  One summer, I took a one-day job hanging 1,000 door hangers advertising a new ice cream shop on residential doorknobs.  It paid $250 for the day, so I thought it would be cool.  However, that day was spent walking around on concrete for 9 hours (even in sneakers this gets painful), and being paranoid that residents would come out with a shotgun after I left shit on their doorknobs.  Oh, I tried to wear sunscreen, but missed two strips of skin and wore a racer-back tank top.  My sunburns left scars, which look like wings on my back.  No lie. Read More »