In just a few days, the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week will bring top designers together to show their 2012 collections and awe us all over again. While it’s hard to keep up with every designer featured, there are a few that really stand out. There are the classic designers, the trendsetters and the newcomers, each with their own beautiful styles that affect the fashion world around us. There are so many designers coming to Fashion Week…

…here are the ones whose collections I’m most looking forward to seeing:

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I was wrong.

Miss Nordstrom had swindled me into signing up for the real deal. Luckily, I only charged a good $110 to my new card (that’s sarcasm), however, in an effort to ensure that I never get myself into this kind of debt debacle again, I decided to stick to buying from people who understand what it means to be a struggling artist (er, writer, whatevs). So, I turned to the online shopping portal Etsy – my favorite place to spend time (& cash) on the internet.

For those of you who have been living under a rock (or without an internet connection or penchant for online purchasing), here’s some quick Etsy 411:

“Etsy is a website that provides the general public with a way to buy and sell handmade items as well as vintage items and craft supplies.” (Thanks, Wikipedia!) Basically, the site is chock full of handmade/eccentric goodies – from vintage handbags to hand sewn dresses, created by regular people like you (or the craftier version of you). A lot of the designers on Etsy keep it eco-friendly, too, which def gets a thumbs up from me.

But, if you’re a first time Etsy-peruser, it can be a little intimidating. So I’m here to break it down for you & showcase five of my favorite E-fashionistas. I found five sites that not only offer swoon-worthy threads, but are safe for your wallet (or Mom’s Visa bill).

1) Every Little Counts . Okay, okay. Screen-printed tees are a dime a dozen. But I’m a sucker for romance, and I lurrve the creative sayings that adorn these breezy tees & tanks, like “Feel Like Making Love,” “A Violent, Sensual, Sensitive Girl” and “I can’t fight this feeling.” Adorbs.

2) Sandmaiden. Sandmaiden is a little pricey, but the designs are unique and are made from all-natural fibers. Plus the clothes are SO. UNBELIEVABLY.COMFORTABLE. Not kidding. Just check out these little beauties and imagine how wonderful that organic cotton jersey blend would feel draped over your achy bod the morning after a night of heavy drinking. Even better? You’ll be the only girl on campus with one, since most pieces on the site are one -of-a-kind designs.

3) Maiden Rapture Vintage Okay, the goods in this shop aren’t all handmade, but who doesn’t love vintage cardigans, dresses, blazers and accessories? This site makes it easy peezy to find the perfect unique piece from the 50’s, 60’s or 70’s to add to your wardrobe. I’m obsessed with blazers and plaid lately, and I found plenty in this shop. And the prices are totes affordable.

4) Sarah Seven Made from recycled vintage and natural fabrics, Sarah Seven concocts clothes worth coveting (and saving beer money for). The shop offers dresses, skirts and shirts in “vintage-inspired” designs with a modern spin. Each piece is custom designed (you provide your measurements and bra size), so you know you’re getting a perfectly unique, tailored fit every time. Even if you don’t snag yourself a darling dress, the site is totally worth checking out just for the awesome photography. I want to believe that Miss Sarah Seven herself is the girl in the nerdy (yet somehow chic) green glasses, but I think that’s just because I’m sitting here wearing my coke-bottle glasses & feeling lonely. Oh — and 5% of each purchase is donated to charities. Cool.

5) 75Rabbit For the patchouli-applying hippie that exists in every college student, enter 75Rabbit. With “far out” designs & duds made from recycled pre-used fabrics, what’s not to adore? The only catch: The shop lists only one page of items at the moment. But the prices are reasonable & where the hell else are you going to find a flattering and totally unique dress with John Lennon’s face on it?! Nowhere.

I’ve shared some of my faves – now it’s your turn! Where do you shop on Etsy?

And homegirl sure knows how to make a faux fur vest. That thing was gorgeous. Although I might be biased considering it was a blustery 38 degrees and rainy when I got home last night. But, still, I wanted to make Irina my new BFF and cozy up inside that vest until April. Or, in the Midwest, July.

But, and there’s always a but, Irina is a big, fat bitch. She’s arrogant, she’s mean, she’s judgmental….and just like 40% of the girls in my high school. The girls I gave the finger to as I pulled out of the parking lot that last day and swore never to see again. The girls who pretend to be confident only to cover up some raging insecurity. Perhaps Irina hates the annoying way she talks? Or she was on the flag team in high school and never got over it?

I don’t know, but she’s a cold-hearted snake.

Although, I guess you can’t totally fault this girl for the things she says. She’s kinda like Kanye (minus the whole Hennessey thing); she is simply saying what everyone else is thinking. And maybe if she was a bit wittier in her insults (a la Michael Kors) we wouldn’t care who she was talking smack about.

And we all know there is plenty of smack to be talked with some of these designers.

I mean, let’s be honest here – Christopher’s frock (the only term that can be used to describe it) looked like a leftover from that Western costume challenge. And Nikolas’s little “Grecian get-up” looked more “Charlotte Russe attempts workwear” than “I’m going to eat some feta on the beach and then rub oil on a six-packed Greek god.” Come on, Nikolas – who wears suit pants in Greece?

Who wears pants at all?

But I do feel bad for weirdo Nikolas. I get that his look was about as appropriate for Greece as my giant blinging Jewish star was for the county fair I went to, but could you imagine losing to….this?

It’s like the time my friend chose our sober roommate as her beer pong partner over me. Like, for real? Her? She’s drinking water! I’m the beer pong CHAMPION.

Oh wait – sorry. Got lost in my thoughts there for a second. Back to that thing Christopher sent down the runway. Really, Chris? We sacrificed Ra’Mon for a Little House on the Prarie dress paired with some unfortunate wedges? I shoulda known a man with a super skinny beard thing could never be trusted in fashion.

P.S. If Althea doesn’t win this entire competition I’ll eat my shoe. Not one of my new pairs of pumps, mind you, but maybe an old pair of Converse. That girl is GOOD.

Jessica Simpson, Lauren Conrad, Justin Timberlake, Jes Whats-her-name from Rock of Love, Tila Tequila. What do all these people have in common besides pretty faces? Clothing lines of course!

It seems that every star and pseudo-star is coming out with more stuff for us to buy. You know you want to smell like Britney Spears (booze and cigarettes?) and of course we all need some Lauren Conrad boots. You can even buy Jessica Simpson hair extensions.

Every single celeb has something to sell, and we need to stop them. Immediately. Half the ladies from Rock of Love seem to be announcing clothing line launches. Mia and Jes have ties in Chii Clothing Culture which consists of cheesy t-shirts and hoodies. Nothing very interesting, but certainly helping extend their fifteen minutes of fame.

Jessica Simpson’s clothing line “Sweet Kisses” is exactly what is sounds like. Whore clothes for nice girls. Please don’t let your daughters leave the house wearing this stuff. Unless you are Joe Simpson, then you may use your daughter for your financial gain as much as you please.

Lauren Conrad’s line consists of what I like to refer to as “the bag dress,” and cheaply made scarves and shawls. These things aren’t exactly bargains, although maybe in Lauren Conrad’s world they are. You can also buy 45 dollar leggings. I wonder how long LC had to study in design school to create black leggings. Ugh, my contempt grows.

Justin created a pretty decent denim line, proving once again that JT can do no wrong. Everything this guy touches actually turns to gold. The jeans look really nice and comfortable. Probably the only celeb endorsed fashion item I would consider purchasing, however if you showed me this picture before I pulled out my credit card, I might think twice. Then there are the numerous rappers turn business men making such delightful brands as Nelly’s “Applebottoms” and Diddy’s Sean John Clothing. You can also buy Diddy’s fragrance after being inspired by the commercial.

Every person with a reality show now wants to accessorize you. What they don’t seem to realize is that slapping a neat design on a t-shirt or hoodie does not make you a “fashion designer.” Take note Tila Tequila.

Here’s a list of some of our favorite or “not so favorite” celeb inspired clothing sites:

Jes- chiiclothing.com

Lauren Conrad- Laurenconrad.seenon.com

Tila Tequila- https://secure.feamerch.com/stores/tila

Justin Timberlake- Williamrast.com

Diddy- SeanJohn.com

The New York Times reports Wang’s line will be available in September for cut-rate prices. This will serve as a rebirth of sorts for Kohls.

“Kohl’s intends to make Ms. Wang the public face of its reinvention. For her part, Ms. Wang says that her relationship with Kohl’s is more than a marriage of convenience. Like many successful entrepreneurs before her, she has reached a crossroads: her business has grown so rapidly and in so many directions that she lacks the resources — especially cash — to keep expanding it on her own.”

So, basically, nowadays, you almost have to create an inexpensive line that sells to the masses in order to survive as a designer. I guess that works to our benefit in the long run.

Will it be a success or not? Only two months till we find out.

Skinny jeans, vests, bubble dresses and wedges were seen in the collections of every designer from Marc Jacobs to Miu Miu to the guest designers for Target. I always like the idea of being told what’s “in.” My eye gets used to the new styles quickly and I felt sooo like LiLo (Lindsay Lohan) this year in my skinny jeans, skull tops and black nail polish.

So what gives now? Clearly the fashion geniuses of the world have been slacking/ not collaborating/ doing too many drugs to have any sort of open communication. Or maybe they decided to throw the ways of uniformity out the window and let originality take over, but either way, I for one am confused! It’s a smorgasbord of fashion out there and anything goes. Super-skinny, super wide, low rise, high-waisted (um, helllllo camel toe), big and printed shirts like the ones my grandma rocks when she goes to get her hair done, or form fitted and boyish (have you seen this springs Gap collection? boy scouts anyone?) Fashion this season is more fickle then I am at an ice-cream store (and trust me I am FI-CKLE).

With all this mish-mash of fashion I can’t decide if I am happy (so many choices! so many new things!) or not. But I do know this: I have questions and lots of them. Are there rules? Can you rock one style and not the next? What can you mix and what can’t you? Metallic’s and Leopard? Prints and boy-ish sweaters? And most importantly why is it that with so many new styles not-a-one seems to be flattering on anyone but the coked-out, super-skinny, please for the love of god someone get this girl a cookie kind of girl? If leggings and cigarette jeans weren’t bad enough, now they want America in bold printed mini dresses and high-waisted pants. Puh-lease. That only holds promise to bring back the “mom-butt” jean that we have spent too many years and Oprah specials trying to get rid of!

Whatever, with finals coming up I’ll be in sweats anyway. But since I know it is imperative for you to figure out what spring fashion looks you like (only because you SO don’t feel like writing that final paper today) take a look at Shopbop.com’s Look Books

They not only show this seasons cutest clothes, but also help those a bit overwhelmed figure out how tackle the surplus of styles for the season.

Happy Shopping!

For some reason, I was surprised by this mainly because of the popularity and success of the show. I figured that any schmuck who could sew a button onto a jacket would fight for a chance to be Tim Gunn’s next prodigy.

So, what I’m trying to say is that if you have an ounce of designing talent in you…Go to the next audition! If they’re running low and trying to scrounge up people, you have that much better of a chance. I did a little research into when and where the next open call auditions are taking place…

Miami: April 5

New York City: April 7-9

Check out bravotv.com for more information

Sound like a long shot? In my opinion, if Santino was able to make it onto the last season, then I think it’s possible for just about anyone!