I have a confession: I love my snooze button. Unfortunately, though, sleeping in doesn’t always allow me ample time to put together a well-thought-out outfit. Because of my love of both sleeping in and fashion, as soon as I got to college, I knew I needed a plan.

Thus, I developed a formula. And if you’re weary from finals, don’t worry; there are no complicated symbols or numbers involved.

To create a cute, put-together outfit, and be out the door in 10 minutes, invest in a few key items. Then when the time comes for you to get ready in a hurry, all you need to do is follow these three easy steps!

We all have our go-to stores that we, uh, go to when we need to stock up on some new wardrobe essentials (or when we have an hour to kill and the mall reaches out and wraps us in its warm embrace). But what about all those other stores? The ones that you walk past on your way to Auntie Anne’s without a second glance? The “mom” stores, the old department stores, the stores that don’t start with “Forever” and end with “21″? Surprise! Many of those stores are filled with major cuteness that you’re missing out on! (Except Chico’s – keep walking, little lady.) We know you’re not one to pass up a cute cami, so we scoured these under-the-radar shops (Walmart? New York and Company??) and pulled out all the goodness you never realized existed.

Since I live in Canada, and rarely make it down to the US, I haven’t actually stepped foot in a Kohl’s before. There are several similar stores to Kohl’s around me, and one thing I can say is that I would never go browsing the clothing aisles in any of them. I mean, my mom buys sheets there.

However, if you’ve been thinking the same think about Kohl’s, it’s time to throw out the ‘tude and get your shop on.

The Kohl’s online store has become one of my go-tos for Fashion Porn and Shop Your Closet. Every time I pull an item to use in one of these posts, I curse the fact that Kohl’s doesn’t ship to Canada (neither does Target – seriously, what do the discount fashion Gods have against us?) Why such a love for Kohl’s? Well, beyond the fact that everything is c-h-e-a-p and then they throw an additional 30% off on top of that, the stuff is cute. Like their line, Simply Vera by Vera Wang. Unlike most diffusion lines, this one is available 24/7 so you don’t have to fight throngs of women to get the goodies before they all run out. “Fashion designer” (if you can call her that) Lauren Conrad also has her line available at Kohl’s, and while it’s nothing extraordinary, there’s some great pieces to choose from in a reasonable price range.

If I haven’t sold you on checking out Kohl’s next time you need new clothes, maybe these nine items will help.

[The following is a guest post from our gal pals at CollegeFashion.net. They're like college Rachel Zoe (with a little extra meat on their bones). Have you checked them out yet?!]

Stripes can be intimidating. They’re bold, they’re brazen and they can be a little difficult to wear. Some people fear that horizontal stripes make you look wider (totally not true!!) and they can be a little too bold for the wallflowers among us. So it’s understandable that some would be hesitant about them.

But stripes can also be fun and exciting, injecting a little bit of punk rock into an everyday outfit. Stripes were a big trend on the Spring/Summer 2011 catwalks, and they’re an easy way to get a next season feel right now. 

6 Tips and Tricks for Wearing Stripes:

1. Ignore the myth that horizontal stripes make you look wider.
Recent studies have proved this to be false, so if this is the only thing making you put down that breton-striped top, your fears are unfounded!

2. The wider the stripe, the bolder the statement.
If you’re nervous about stripes, try pinstripes at first and then work your way up to wider stripes. Pinstripes are especially cute for business-casual wear and on shorts and trousers. They add a bit of flare to an otherwise-plain piece.

3. Pair stripes with a neutral if you want to play it safe.
If you’re a beginner with stripes, wear them with a block of color on your other half. A striped skirt with a plain top can look fab, as can a striped top with a plain skirt or jeans.

4. Black and white is classic, but don’t be afraid of other combinations.
Of course, you can go as bright or clashing as you like if you’re daring, but one brightly colored stripe next to a neutral stripe can look fantastic. I love camel with reds and blues, or grays and creams with reds or pinks.

5. To add fun to an otherwise-plain outfit, swap a block-color top for stripes.
This is the easiest way to add stripes to your wardrobe. Swap a plain tank for a striped one; also, a striped sweater or cardigan can add an interesting touch to a simple dress.

6. Stripes are a great base for experimenting with mixed prints.
I love to wear black and white stripes with florals or plaid. The stripes act like a neutral (in the same way that leopard print does) so they can go with anything in your closet.

Whew! Now that we’ve got all that out of they way, the stylists over at CollegeFashion have created four very different and very adorable looks to inspire us all.

Get your stripey on right here.

The mere thought of shopping for college fills me with a great deal of excitement. I picture myself hopping from Bed, Bath and Beyond to Target to Harmon Beauty Supply, loading up a shopping cart with the essentials, some indulgences, and those must-have cutesy items to make my dorm room feel like home. My mother and I are all smiles and giggles as we go from aisle to aisle, looking like we walked straight out of The Donna Reed Show (except with up-to-date outfits, of course).

And then we actually go shopping.

You see, my mother is the Jewish mother. She makes all other Jewish mothers look negligent. Although it is purely out of the kindness of her heart, when we go shopping, she seems to be stocking up for an underground bomb shelter. She goes for the ultra-massive-enormous bulk pack instead of the three or four I’ll actually use during the school year. She does not seem to understand that I’m not going away forever; there will be times during the year when I’ll come home with an empty suitcase, only to fill it up with more supplies for my room. Plus, every store I could possibly need is within walking distance from campus.

Don’t get me wrong: I love my mother and appreciate all that she does for me. But the words “restraint” and “reasonable” are not part of her vocabulary when we go shopping. For example, an exchange in the middle of Harmon Beauty Supply on the subject of Q-Tips:

Me: Picks up 375 count box
Mom: Get two more boxes.
Me: …but I won’t need that many.
Mom: You don’t want to have to come back here and buy more to bring up after Thanksgiving.
Me: Wonders how anyone can go through 375+ Q-Tips in three months
Me: If I really need more, I can buy them up at school.
Mom: Long-winded speech about being over-prepared and not underestimating one’s needs, followed by “Now, let’s get four or five big pumps of Purell for your room.”
Me: Dumbfounded

This may seem like a very trivial conversation, but it’s just one of the many that I was forced to endure as we strolled through the aisles at Harmon. Now, like many, I subscribe to the belief that it’s better to be safe than sorry, but there is a difference between caution and irrationality. Whenever I try to steer my mother away from toeing the line between the two (or, rather, completely crossing it), I always end up with three boxes of 375 count Q-Tips and four pumps of Purell. Jewish mother-y-ness wins.

I guess this is just my mother’s last mothery hurrah, since I’ll be leaving soon and she won’t have a child at home anymore (unless you count my dog, whom we’ve spoiled for years). I try to look at it as an annoying yet endearing habit, proof that my mother cares deeply for my welfare at school and doesn’t just see this as shipping me off in September and severing all ties and responsibilities to me. But, really, three boxes of 375 Q-Tips? I love you, Mom, but how dirty do you think my inner-ears really are?