[This post and contest come hot off the Internet presses from our friends at CollegeFashion!]

School is on everyone’s mind as we approach the final weeks of August. One of my favorite school-themed movies is The Breakfast Club, and it’s the perfect source of fashion inspiration for back-to-school. In case you’ve been living under a rock, here’s the basic plot: five high schoolers are held captive in detention one Saturday, and throughout the course of the day, their struggles and similarities are revealed. This film is as iconic to the eighties as Madonna and hair bands, and is today’s go-to source for back to school fashion ideas.

The Breakfast Club takes place during the winter, so I tweaked the outfits a bit to work for a college campus during the fall. Ready for some fresh inspiration? Read on over at CollegeFashion!

Who or what inspires your style? Many of us use actresses (like Taylor Momsen) or models (like Daisy Lowe) 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!

Facial hair is physically attractive to me in every way. I’ve ended things with a guys who’ve shaved it all off (shallow biotch, I know).  I’ve even made up nicknames for my man-friends based on their beard situations (i.e., Chinstrap).  But one thing’s for damn sure: facial hair is a man’s game until the end.

Well, except for one well-known woman…

Besides Frida Kahlo being known for those tightly wound locks on her head, she’s also known as the only woman with a mustache and unibrow who had men and women lusting after her and her artwork.  Now that’s some kind of sex appeal I will never know.

For the less informed, Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter during the first half of the 20th century.  She’s best known for her (sometimes morbid) self-portraits and being the wife of artist, Diego Rivera, which wasn’t the picture perfect marriage most girl dreams about. And her life wasn’t such a fairy tale either. Frida contracted Polio at a young age, making her right leg look thinner than her left leg; was openly bisexual and was bumpin’ uglies with men and women behind her husband’s back; and was in a serious trolley accident that severely ruined most of her body and kept her in and out of the bed for the majority of her life.  Oh and let’s not forget her mustache/unibrow combo (sorry, I just can’t get over it).

Frida has a tough life – there’s no doubt about that – but despite it all, you never saw her throwin’ on a t-shirt and sweatpants and calling it a night. (Though I’m sure it also helped that they didn’t make hoodies during the 1940′s.) She had something to say, either through her paintings or her clothing, and she wanted people to know it. Read More »

Who or what inspires your style? Many of us use actresses (like Taylor Momsen) or socialites (like Nicole Richie) 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!

Remember years ago when Gavin Rossdale, Gwen Stefani’s delicious British boy-toy, was accused of having a secret love child even from before the times of No Doubt or Bush?  I heard about it around the days when I still wore a Catholic School uniform to represent my “style” and didn’t believe it was true.  Then I never heard about it again.

Until now.

That little mistake’s all grown up and her name is Daisy Lowe. Daughter of designer/songwriter Pearl Lowe and Gwen Stefani’s main trick, Gavin Rossdale, Daisy might be the coolest “Uh Oh!” ever.

Daisy Lowe hails from across the pond (like fellow style icons Emma Watson and Alexa Chung) and was first discovered as a model. Not shocking, given her gorgeous parental units. What is surprising though, is that Ms. Lowe’s body is as far from the typical model’s body as you can get. Yes, this girl’s got some curves and she’s not afraid to show them off. Like, really show them off. As in get naked, cause a scene to start a revolution. She even told a British newspaper that she’d felt the sting of rejection from a fashion house for having a heavier body than a model should have yet she still refused to lose weight.  Boom. Roasted.

Daisy Lowe’s giving some of the non-waifs some faith in humanity.

And it’s opening many doors for her. Daisy is the face of Converse and has worked with Agent Provacateur (probably because she isn’t afraid to shower her provacative side). She was recently featured in the Vogue’s “Today I’m Wearing” feature, documenting her daily style for their May 2010 issue. And if that’s not enough, there are some rumors that she’ll be rolling out her own edgy and sexy clothing line as well.

But until then, we’ll just have to settle for pulling our own pieces together in a way that would make Daisy proud; with a  little sexy (without the trashy) and a dash of wild-child (while still refined).

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Who or what inspires your style? Many of us use celebrities (like Sarah Silverman or Emma Watson) 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!

I’m sure a lot of you have been waiting for this.  If you don’t already know who Nicole Richie is, excuse me while I pick my jaw up off the floor.  OK, now let’s move on. A few years back, there was a show starring two insanely spoiled socialites that had to “live simply” under one roof with some folks from rural America.  Yeah, I never watched it in fear of losing some serious brain cells (Editor’s Note: But I did and that ish was high-larious!), but one of those two spoiled heiresses was Nicole Richie. Looking back now, it’s pretty difficult to imagine that Hollywood’s wild-child in the overalls and long stringy hair is the same person as the trend-setting fashionista she is today.

To be fair, Nicole’s always been somewhat interested in fashion, even dabbling in a little runway modeling (and then flashing her tots) at one time. But now the hot mama has taken her love to a whole new level with an accessories line for Kitson called House of Harlow 1960, and clothing line called Winter Kate. The pieces in each line look like they’d be something you’d find in Nicole’s own closet, which is exactly what her fashion groupies have been waiting for.

But if you wanna recreate the style of this wild-child-turned-fashion-maven, there are a few key aspects to keep in mind:

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She's ready for the Mustachio Bash-io.

Who or what inspires your style? Many of us use actresses (like Lisa Bonet) or movie characters (like Lux Lisbon) 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!

At one point in my life, there was a time when I did think Sarah Silverman was absolutely high-larious on her show, The Sarah Silverman Program. Unfortunately, those days have long since passed, but I’m still left with something about her that I admire.

Besides her ability to nonchalantly rock a mustache at a super-formal event, surprisingly, it’s also her style.

Just to be clear, though: it’s not Sarah’s red carpet looks that I covet. While she has been known to work corsets, ball gowns and sexy frocks to big-time events, that side of Sarah’s style doesn’t interest me because, 1) she often makes major fashion mistakes and 2) she looks so…not Sarah (and really, painfully uncomfortable).

The Sarah Silverman style I love is her everyday, low key, totally casual, I don’t give a sh*t, look. On a normal day Sarah doesn’t do much to make herself look like anything special.  Her typical uniformed style is a track jacket, jeans, Converse and her hair in a ponytail.  Ravishing?  Ehhh, maybe not to some; lord knows Joan Rivers wouldn’t have nice things to say about it. But I think that style is Sarah and it sets her apart, in a good way.  Most celebrities in movies or on TV have to constantly make sure they look perfect, almost like the audience should strive to look like them.  But Sarah, on the other hand, would rather just be real and look like the audience themselves. Read More »

Who or what inspires your style? Many of us use actresses (like Sanoe Lake or Lisa Bonet) 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!

If you haven’t seen The Virgin Suicides, go see it! RIGHT NOW!  Directed by Sofia Coppola, another style icon, you can see how the 5 Lisbon sisters’ lives unfold in this dreamy and mysterious story (so mysterious, it almost seems true).  Originally based on the book by Jeffery Eugenides, the story is set in the 1970s in a town about 15 minutes away from where I live.

All of the sisters live in the kind of home where it’s a huge deal if they can actually be allowed to go to their Homecoming dance.  If these girls are late for curfew, they’re pulled out of school and under house arrest (unlike me where when I’m late for curfew my parents just…go back to sleep). Yeah, it’s not easy being a Lisbon sister. But despite  the strict dictators watching their back, the sisters manage to create their own distinct identities and styles, Lux especially. Read More »

[While everyone is fabulous in their own right, we thought we should celebrate the campus fashionistas of the world for their continued excellence in not looking like a hot mess for class. So, we started stalking those girls on campus (like Kelsey and her flowered shorts) to get a few pics and get some tips on their personal style.... And maybe a restraining order or two.

But it’s worth it to highlight fresh, unique wardrobe choices that show personality and the courage to wear what you believe in. You think you’ve got some major style? Know someone else who’s always looking ferosh? Think the world needs to see what she can do? Send us an email with some photos and she could be the next fashionista celebrated right here.]

As part of this Campus Couture series, each week we invite you, our dear readers, to submit photos of yourselves or your super fashionista friends so that we can celebrate and ogle your style, and get some inspiration for our own wardrobes. And this week, Mary did just that. All the way from Paris!

Upon opening Mary’s email and seeing her request to be featured in Campus Couture, I already knew she’d be perfect. I mean, Parisian girls know their style, so I didn’t even have to look at her pictures to know she’d look flawless. And when I did, my suspicions were confirmed. Mary looked put-together, chic, and gorgeous. You can tell she puts thought into her outfits, accessorizing perfectly, but doesn’t look like she tried too hard. And that, my friends, is the sign of someone with true style.

Being a math and computer science major, Mary might be somewhat of a geek (her words, not mine!), but you’d never know it by looking at her. If she’s half as good at her studies as she is at getting dressed, Mary is going to do very big things in her life. Read More »

Who or what inspires your style? Many of us use celebrities (like Sofia Coppola) or TV characters (like Clarissa Explains It All) 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 I will find myself enjoying things that clash in a good way.  Things like dipping tortilla chips in hummus, or writing an article about fashion inspiration while listening to the Red Wings hockey game in the background.  But if there’s one clash that I find myself diggin’ this week, it’s that between Willa Holland’s real-life style and her on-set style.

On Gossip Girl, Willa Holland played Agnes Andrews, a frenemie of Jenny Humphrey.  On the show, Willa’s character would prefer a more high-fashion, Upper East Side wardrobe. In the real world, though, Willa wouldn’t be caught dead wearing lace leggings, heels or high fashion dresses.

Willa Holland stays pretty under the radar and hasn’t been shown in celebrity Twitter fights of flashing her vajay while climbing out of a car.  To be honest, she hasn’t really even been involved with much to do with fashion, but still has the ability to inspire many people with her subtle, down-to-earth edge. Read More »

Who or what inspires your style? Many of us use celebrities (like Zooey Deschanel or Sofia Coppola) 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!

I know, I know – blast from the freakin’ past, right?  I think we all remember sitting in front of the boob tube as a ’90s kid watching Nickelodeon like it was our job (well, it kind of was besides sandboxes and swing sets).  I didn’t know it then, but those childhood TV shows I was obsessed with, like Clarissa Explains It All, would later serve as my style inspiration as a college kid.

OK, at first glance Clarissa’s wardrobe choices remind of something Ms. Frizzle (The Magic School Bus, come on people) would wear if she suddenly joined the biker gang, Hell’s Angels.  She’ll mix a striped shirt with polka dot leggings and add a leather jacket on top.  Now, I wouldn’t dare try that because I’m sure people would consider checking me into a mental institution, but Clarissa could pull it off because she wanted her style to represent the only person she wanted to be: herself. Read More »

TOGA! TOGA! TOGA!

Who or what inspires your style? Many of us use movie characters (like Adriana La Cerva) or celebrities (like Khloe Kardashian) 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!

So, you may not know this, but I’m a teensy obsessed with world history.  The fact that I’d rather watch a movie like “300″ over a movie like “Legally Blonde” makes it’s safe to say that I am a history nerd raised to the 10th power.  But while the battles and the coups and the whole mummy thing interests me, what really gets me riled up is what everyone was wearing.

Many of us have a mental image (based on movies) of what ancient Greeks, Romans and Egyptians wore. Beautiful and sexy yet simple things, like long white robes, gladiator sandals, gold accessories and olive branches in the hair. The “style” was ethereal and stunning – it’s no wonder so many of today’s trends are based on that ancient look.

And it’s no wonder I am so obsessed with all things toga-inspired. Most likely a result of my 200th viewing of the bloody, thrilling action film, “300.” Read More »