In case you haven’t heard, it’s New York Fashion Week! Sadly, we’re not all celebs and fashion VIPs, so most of us won’t be making it into the runway shows. But that doesn’t mean we can’t ogle the designs from afar once the pictures come out! The designers that are showing their work this week cover a wide range of styles and looks. There’s a little something for everyone. Click through the gallery to find out whose clothes would be perfect for you…if you had a few thousand extra dollars to spend.

initiating the gallery...

Garnet is a student at Columbia University in New York City. She is “that person” who starts dancing at a party when everyone else is standing around, and if there were a Facebook stalking Olympics, she would be a gold medalist. She also loves cheesy 90s music, and almost died of happiness when Vanilla Ice retweeted her. Once. Follow her on Twitter @garnethenderson.

[Lead image via NataliaYeromina/Shutterstock]

Ruffles are my latest obsession and they should be yours, too!  They are not only a soft detail that instantly feminizes a piece, but they are also ultra forgiving when worn in the right place (there’s nothing like a tiered-ruffle top to camouflage your over-indulgence at the end of ’09). And they can be worn just about EVERYWHERE – on your tops, cardigans, dresses, and even bags and shoes! Meaning that there are many, many ways to incorporate ruffles into your everyday outfits.

And why wouldn’t you want to? Soft ruffled details add a romantic feel to the most basic of pieces, while the sculptural ruffles on skirts and dresses make a bold statement. As ruffles have been popular in seasons past, you probably have a few pieces you can bust out again this season. But with all that holiday money burning a hole in your pocket (not to mention the holiday sales that are still going on right now), how could you not afford to pick up a few new ruffles for your winter wardrobe?

Yes, you can afford to wear this dress!

The basement of my parents’ house is a graveyard of dresses from years gone by.  Prom dresses, formal dresses, dresses worn to weddings – you name it, and you can find it down there. Seriously, I put Katherine Heigl’s 27 dresses to shame. And the worst part of it all is that these precious and costly dresses only saw the light of day once in their entire existence. They got all prettied up, made their debut, and then got stuffed back in the closet never to be seen again. Honestly, it’s a little heart-breaking.

In this day and age of recession and cutbacks on my wardrobe, I simply can’t afford to keep on living this way. Which is why RentTheRunway.com is saving my life. Their slogan is “Love. Wear. Return.” and one look at their website will have you fashion-orgasming, I promise.

This mail-order service allows women to rent high-end fashions for one-tenth of the retail price. Running from $50 to $200 for a four-night loan, that Diane Von Furstenberg dress you’ve been eyeing will be delivered to your doorstep, in TWO SIZES just in case. After you’ve had your fun, you simply mail it back to the company, and they take care of the dry-cleaning. It’s so effortless I may slip into a fashion coma.

Do you know what this means? Never spending a fortune on a dress you’ll probably wear once before it goes out of style. Always looking better than everyone else at the party because you’re in the latest Christian Siriano design. And finally, the end of outfit-repeating. I’m literally hyperventilating at the thought.

Praise be couture, Rent the Runway is mecca. Now I just need somewhere to go. If only it were acceptable to wear Chanel to a frat party.

Fashion Week, a sort-of welcome week for the rich and stylish, has come to an end. Come tomorrow, a construction crew will be taking the tents at Bryant Park down, models will hop on planes to London and editors will finally get more than three hours of sleep per night. This week’s had it all: appearances by D-List Celebrities (hello, Kelly Bensimon,) crazy parties (Alexander Wang rented out a gas station) and clothes, clothes, clothes. Ready to stock your closet for spring?

Here are the top trends for Spring 2010:

ASYMMETRICAL

Malandrino, Rebecca Taylor, BCBG Max Azria

Work out those triceps, ladies, because the one-shoulder dress is back in for spring. This trend seems tough to pull off, but a dress like this can literally be worn anywhere. Pair it with flats and a cardigan and you’re perfect for class; add a pair of heels and statement earrings and you’re set for a party. Too lazy to make a toga for that Grecian party? I can tell you from personal experience that these sorts of dresses look much classier than an XL-twin sheet wrapped around you. If only getting that Adonis was this easy…

ORANGE

Yigal Azrouel, Jason Wu, Vena Cava

We’ve all heard it: White is the new pink, pink is the new black, and black is the new Kelly green. In 2010, thought, we’ll all be wearing… orange. Although wearing this color head-to-toe might be a little extreme, wearing an orange tank-top with jeans would look great as a daytime look, while an orange mini-dress will make everyone look at you twice (in a good way!) at a bar. Just make sure your dress doesn’t match your tan…

BELTED

Rag & Bone, Alexander Wang, Proenza Schouler

There’s been some crazy-ugly trends going on lately: harem pants, muumuus, massive shoulder pads… But that’s (mostly) over. Almost every single designer sent looks down the runway that were accessorized with belts. Not only is this the easiest trend to re-create (find a belt, loop it around the smallest part of your waist and BAM!), but it’s also super-flattering on every single body type. Seriously, if there is one trend to go for this spring, it’s this one. After all, who doesn’t want Kim Kardashian curves?

SHEER

Ruffian, Badgley Mischka, 3.1 Phillip Lim

Obviously, this is a tougher trend to follow. Wearing that Ruffian look in 8 AM psychology will probably have some classmates wondering exactly what you do when you “study” off-campus. A more appropriate way to work this trend is a la Badgley Mischka. Shorter dresses instantly look classier with a layer of sheer fabric on top. If you’re extra-daring and want to try the 3.1 Phillip Lim version… take it from me and just don’t go with the white bra underneath. Your older self will thank you.

PRINTS

Charlotte Ronson, Diane Von Furstenberg, Nanette Lepore.

Come spring, all you’ll be seeing in stores are prints, prints and more prints. These aren’t your average polka dots and stripes either; this year, geometric patterns rule. To avoid looking like a fashion wannabe, stick to one print per outfit. Again, you can style this as casual or as fancy as you want. I’d pair a patterned skirt with a solid-colored tee shirt or a printed tank with a pair of jeans. A dress with a pattern will command attention when you walk in the room. By the end of the night, I promise you’ll be so sick of saying “yeah, I got it from Forever 21” to the girls who ask where you got such an adoooooooooooorable top.

Spring fashion is lookin’ good and I can’t wait to load up on all of these trends. Too bad there’s a whole lot of fall and winter to get through first. (But on the flip side, this gives Target/Forever 21 plenty of time to create more wallet-friendly options for all of us.)

[All photos via style.com]

OMG. I am afraid to admit this, but I actually yelped at the end of tonight’s episode of The City. I also may or may not have jumped out of my seat and given Whitney a “You go, girl!”

Ok, I definitely did. Our secret?

I know that most of this show is scripted and it’s all a bunch of crap, but the scene between Jay and Whitney really tugged at my heart. I can’t even tell you how many times a guy has treated me like utter crap and I’ve immediately turned around and rolled out the red carpet for him to do it again.

Not Whit, though. I don’t know if it was finding out that Olivia stole her London gig, the conversation with Lauren, or the sage advice from DVF herself (we’ll get back to that later), but Whitney was not about to let Jay run her life and her emotions.  Even if he performed the grand gesture of flying back to NY and calling her from the street corner. Looking hot. In a suit. Mmmm.

Whitney finally stood up for herself and took her NY life into her own hands. And for that, she gets a standing “You Go, Girl” from this girl.

But Jay isn’t the only one Whitney stood up to; she finally (attempted to) confront Olivia about her stealing all the credit for Whit’s work on the Vogue cover. Not that it did much. No words can melt an ice princess like that real-life Blair Waldorf.  Olivia ended up stepping  on Whitney’s perfect little body as she climbed her way onto the plane to London. Amazing considering the girl can barely read.

But there is one thing Olivia didn’t get and that is some one-on-one time (and a thigh rub) from the one and only Diane Von Furstenberg. Now, I don’t have my own MTV “reality” show so I have never had the luxury of working for one of fashion’s greatest designers, but I’m pretty sure most lowly PR girls don’t even register on the designer’s radar. How is it, then, that DVF knew about Whitney’s boy troubles? And, seeing as she just put on a runway show, why would she care to sit down and give some young chick dating and love advice? I mean, the advice was great (and now I love that woman even more), but  I imagine DVF has better things to do than talk love and fires with Whitney Port.

Finally, on the complete opposite side of You-Go-Girl-ville, we also witnessed Ali take back her pathetic yet totally smoking hot boyfriend. After Adam went sh*t nuts on Erin for getting up in his business (while taking off and immediately putting back on his jacket), Ali went to talk to him and immediately fell for his “I love you, I wanna wake up next to you, tell me what I can do to fix this” BS. Because we haven’t heard that before.

Somehow, Ali buys into all of it (I imagine she is delirious do to the lack of nutrients in her frail little body) and returns for another dose of douchebaggery that is clearly right around the corner. I can’t wait until next week when the whole cycle starts over again. Maybe Ali needs a little sit-down with DVF. And also with some KFC, but that’s a whole different issue.

WTF is up with Lindsay Lohan?

Are Drew Barrymore and Mac Guy back together?

Beyonce is making us dumb.

Light jeans are officially here.

New female condom gets FDA approval.

ASU builds a faith-based dorm?

The most successful college dropouts.

I now hate Reese Witherspoon even more.

Your badunk may be good for your health.

DVF: The City vs. Real Life.

Is that…Channing Tatum?

Online education is just as good as the other stuff?

Before I knew it, it was 11pm and I had missed not only The City, but my evening shower as well.

I don’t really know what I missed last week, but I have a feeling none of that matters, especially after watching the major dramz from tonight’s episode. Big things! And I’m not talking about Olivia’s mastery of the English language in her DVF meeting. She sure wowed those bigwigs with her creation of the word “multipletude,” and use of such key PR phrases as, “Has globally has relevance,” and “you can see a longevity towards it.”

Beautiful. I’ve never laughed harder. Or felt more uncomfortable. It was almost like watching Meet The

Parents, only with a lot more designer clothing.

As much as I enjoyed that 3 minute segment (of a 22 minute show), all the real drama in the episode revolved around Whitney and Jay.

Now, up until this point in the season I found myself believing and loving everything Jay said in that sexy Australian accent, but not tonight. I don’t care what syllable he puts the emphasis on, Jay is just another douchey guy toying with a nice girl’s heart.

And Whitney finally realized! (See, she was paralyzed by the accent too!) In the realest moment we’ve seen all season, Whitney opens up to Erin about her issues with Jay.

“I don’t even know if he likes me.”

It’s as if all of the little things Jay has done throughout their relationship never registered but now, finally, as she says every little thing out loud, Whitney finally realizes how awful Jay has been to her. It was sad and heartbreaking to watch. I mean, we’ve all been there – in love with someone who just doesn’t treat us the way we want to be treated. And we make excuse after excuse for them, only to wake up one day and realize that the relationship (or whatever it is) really isn’t worth fighting for.

Of course Jay doesn’t believe that he’s done anything wrong and, once again, turns everything around to make Whitney feel crazy and wrong.

“I constantly feel like I’m doing something wrong.”

Well, Jay, maybe that’s because you are. Maybe flirting with other girls, lying to your girlfriend and hiding the fact that you are going on tour are not the best and most honest things for a boyfriend to do. Maybe if you stopped for a second you’d realize that your girlfriend is not weak (“I feel like you just have to be a little bit stronger”) but has just been naïve and extremely lenient with all your bullsh*t.

And, while we’re at it, maybe you should realize that your band sorta sucks and that tour is going to bring you nothing but a few pair of dirty panties (probably Heidi Montag’s) thrown onto the stage.

The truth is, Jay never wanted to work things out or talk things out with Whitney. The reason he never told her he was going on tour was not because of how she’d react, but because he didn’t want to be dumped and homeless for a month before he left. Jay went to Whit’s apartment that last night in hopes that she’d break up with him because he’s far too much of a pussy to break up with her. When she didn’t, he was forced to take charge…and then run out of her apartment before he could see her cry.

Maybe it’s Jay who needs to be a little bit stronger.

Even the glamorous world of fashion has been hit hard by the recession. In a time where most people are cutting back, spending money on designer outfits just doesn’t seem reasonable. At this year’s New York Fashion Week, many designers have cut costs by hosting smaller runway shows or gallery presentations.

But more than how, designers have changed what they are showing. Their goal is to show women looks that they must have; looks that will get them reaching for their wallets. So what can you expect to be snatching up for fall? A little of this, a little of that and a whole lot of 80s…

1. Head-to-toe Black. While the future of fashion definitely looks dark, that may not be a bad thing. Sleek, modern-looking all-black ensembles have dominated the runways this week.

2. Purple and Red are breaking up the monotony by popping up occasionally, as well.

3. Leather is going to be everywhere this fall – jackets, boots, and, yes, leggings.

4. Cutouts will add sex appeal to the tougher, edgier looks you’ll be seeing.

5. Full-length, exposed zippers will also be back to make a bold statement on seemingly standard ensembles.

6. Built-Up or Padded Shoulders have been spotted quite a a few times on the runways, so get ready to raid your grandma’s closet. The big shoulder is gonna be huge (pun intended).

7. Cinched waists will be back next for fall, which is refreshing as it is the most flattering silhouette.

Other trends that will continue through fall 2009 are animal prints, volume and structure, full skirts, color blocks, and plaid. Thankfully designers have recycled some trends from ’08, allowing all of us to keep up with fashion without overhauling our wardrobes.

Tonight’s episode of The City was all about celebrating the holidays with the people you love… by kicking them out of your apartment.

First Olivia gives Nevan the boot (kindly…or as kindly as she is able to communicate), and then Adam kicks Jay to the curb.

What a way to start the new year, eh?

And, speaking of new years, looks like Erin isn’t making any resolutions this time around. She seems to be perfectly content effing guys over left and right. The girl changes her mind about guys more often than I change the channel during an MTV commercial break. And those are long! I mean, my god, woman! She is the poster child for not missing something until it’s gone. Or for taking advantage of guys until she messes it up so much they dump her. Or for being a generally annoying person. You get the idea.

When she has something good (Duncan) she finds the need to go out and bring another (hotter) dude home. When that guy starts showing some attachment, she runs to the hills (of Toronto) and falls more in love with Duncan. But when Duncan asks her to be committed to only him she gets sad and confused and pushes the bearded man away once more only to spend her NYE single, clutching her phone, and getting pity kisses from her couple friends.

You brought this on yourself, Erin. And, frankly, I’m getting really sick of your flighty, I’m-so-stoned attitude. This is the real world; make some decisions and take responsibility for your actions!

And then there is the Allie/Adam/Jay sitch, which somehow all started over an intense game of Scrabble? I’m so confused. One minute Adam and Allie are discussing a killer 20 point word, the next minute Allie is asking for space and then somehow Jay gets booted from his apartment?

Did I miss something? How did Jay get pulled into this? Was it his Scrabble board?

All the drama fully boils over at the big New Year’s bash where Jay wears a sparkly vest (and looks smoking hot in a top hat) and Allie gets totally sh*tfaced, although I guess that’s what happens when you haven’t eaten since 2007.

Erin cries, Jay asks Whit if he can crash with her, and Adam and Allie make some lame ass toast to new beginnings. Yeah, we’ll see about that. I can’t wait to see what happens next week. Hopefully it involves Erin, her weird hair-accessories and an unfortanate mishap with a garbage truck.

Too harsh?

Ok, tonight’s episode of The City was….good. Really good. Chock full of the drama that I have come to expect from the MTV not-so-reality shows. It was so good, in fact, that it actually made me excited to watch next week. And if you’ve been following my recaps you will know that is saying a lot.

What made it so good? Well, for one, JR. He’s not so cute when he smiles, but he does seem to be the only real person on the show. And by “real” I mean “someone who leaves SoHo/Grammercy once in awhile and has a real job.” He’s totally smitten with Erin and her I-totally-just-smoked-a-ton-of-pot vibe and wines and dines her in attempts to woo her back.

Meanwhile Erin is telling anyone who will listen (even in the middle of a concert) that she is falling for him and even goes as far as telling the girl with the nose (Samantha?) that she just can’t make the whole long distance thing with her Canadian lover work.

Um, what? Isn’t long distance the only way to like it? Isn’t that the only type of relationship you’ve ever had? Make up your mind, Erin. You can’t change your mind every time it suits you! If that were the case then I’d be living in the Caribbean with a hot island boyfriend…but only until something better came along back here.Not that it matters anyway, because 5 seconds later the girl is changing her mind…again; she breaks JR’s little heart and ruins his break from work by crying and telling him she can’t see him anymore.  Poor guy can’t catch a break. Although, if he’s reading this, he can totes call me. I don’t smoke pot or “soul search” but I think I’m pretty awesome. I can even get you references!

Sorry – just trying to get me a Valentine before Saturday.

While we were not following the lust-life of Erin, the rest of the episode was devoted to Jay’s fun little band. Isn’t it great that we saw more of his performance than Whitney did? Good thing we don’t have some princessy little friend who needs to swap her one DVF jacket for the other and make us late for the show! Although that is probably more exciting than our leftover takeout after the gym, which is pretty much every Monday night around here.

After the first Jay show, Whitney thinks that Olivia felt bad for making her late and that’s why she got Jay the second gig, at the snooty party. Us smart (or more realistic) folks know, however, that Ms. Palermo is a real-life Blair Waldorf who always has a motive….Or MTV told her to get Jay the gig.

She and Nevan (who Jay keeps calling Bevan for some reason…) end up spending the night bad mouthing the band and then get all huffy when Whitney and Jay leave without saying goodbye.

Her reasoning? They didn’t dress up for the event.

Now, I’d just like to say that I see a lot of myself in Olivia and Nevan. Not so much the “I’m better than everyone” BS, but the fact that we all seem to be the type of people that are just divine to those who are on our good sides, but you wouldn’t want to be on the other side. That being said, I would like to do some horrible, awful things to Olivia Palermo.

After Olivia asks Whitney what she thought of the event, to which Whitney defended herself, Olivia holds up her anorexic hand and shoves Whit back into her place.

“We should just keep our work lives and personal lives separate.” [Evil glare.]

Seriously, if I had the money to get to NY, I would take that Louboutin stiletto of hers and shove it where it hurts… Or just rub it in Butler’s crap and wipe it across her pristine white couch. How’s that for drama, MTV? Huh?

Great episode. Great drama. Great pudding and chocolate chip cookies I noshed on during the ep. Can’t wait for next week and I can’t believe I’m saying that.