[Welcome to Celebrity Chic on the Cheap, where our style guru takes a celebrity look and breaks it down for you, our poor college fashionista. What does that mean? It means that while the celebrities (like "who the hell are you and why are you so beautiful" Rosie Huntington-Whiteley) are spending $5,000 on an ensemble you don’t have to.]

There’s no way I could continue to write a fashion column without highlighting Rihanna. This girl is one of the most eclectic celebrities out there. One day, the paparazzi snaps photos of her in suspenders and harem pants; the next, you could easily see her in a body-contouring mini-dress with 6-inch stilettos…going out to lunch.

Rihanna attained her fashionista status by being completely and utterly balls to the walls…how can you not love it?

However, the outfit I’m re-creating today is actually one of Rihanna’s tamer looks, because though you, CollegeCandy reader, are fabulous, you are bound to certain rules of fashion that do not apply to celebrities. Read: you can’t really pull this off for class.  But it’s still hot, not just in its own right, but relative to that tragic gaggle of girls strutting around campus thinking Uggs, leggings, and Northface = high fashion. Read More »

Would anyone actually watch a Paris Hilton show?

Guess Tom Cruise is insecure about his height

Romantic proposal gone wrong

Fashion Challenge: wear a hat

Our favorite Modern Family couple finally kisses

10 scary realities of today’s job market. wah. wah.

How to deal with your pestering mom

Top Shop beauty collection for 2010

You’ve seen the commercials (and most likely remember them because they used to discuss “the big O”), but have you actually perused Overstock.com? The site might be overwhelming to some, but that is because it is chock full of awesome deals on clothes, shoes and accessories (in addition to home goods, decor and linens). Overstock.com brings you items that are marked down by up to 80% (!!) and they ship fast and cheap. Could you think of anything better?

Overstock is a website that can fit the needs of everyone and if you haven’t given it a go, you most definitely should. To get you started, here are a few of the hundreds (maybe even thousands) of items they have for under $20. 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 (and guys!) on campus 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.

Meet my childhood friend, Alex! He’s one of the best dancers I know, and represents the new era of fashion that incorporates a street style mixed with urban chic. Every time I see him he’s always dancing; whether it be popping and locking while talking, or doing the finger tut. And all the while in Nike Dunks and a sick graphic tee.

He may be a dude, but his fashion inspires me. If only I could look that cool in a pair of shiny gold kicks.

Name: Alex
Year: 2011
Major: Business and Economics
Alex in 3 words: Loud. Passionate. Dance(r).

1) Describe your personal style.
My personal style is a mixture of different influences. I really love the colorful shirts and sneakers of the west coast but I also love graphic tees and crazy fitted hats. Essentially, I try to ensure that whenever I go out, no one else looks like me.

2) You can’t leave your house without your ________.
59fifty hat. Read More »

For those of us attending school in the north, fashion is often abandoned in order to stay, well, warm. I whole-heartedly admit to dragging myself to class in my warmest sweatpants, topped off with my very unfashionable, but EXTREMELY cold-resistant ski jacket.

Heck, here in Canada, it’s not odd to see students sporting Sorel boots (yeah, the boots mountain people wear).

And don’t even get me started on headwear. People at my school who aren’t dressed warmly enough opt for a homemade-turban look, using an extra sweater they have in their bag! Atrocious!

What is even more upsetting is that with a little research and planning (um, like checking the weather before leaving the house!), you can keep the blood circulating in your skull and still look cute!

CollegeCandy has done the leg work for you and presents you with a list of super chic, and more importantly, WARM, options for your noggin. Yes, it is possible to stay warm and keep the hair intact. Read More »

[In early adulthood there is an activity that plays a large role in most of our lives; nights out on the town. And with those nights out always comes the question: “What am I gonna wear?!?”

Each week I’ll be putting together a cute and affordable “going out” ensemble guide (that you can tweak to your own personal style and body type, of course) so that maybe that age-old question can be answered a little quicker than usual. And your friends aren’t waiting - for hours - for you to emerge from your room. Just consider me your own (free) personal Rachel Zoe.]

It’s the holiday/party season and with the economy in bad shape, it is the perfect time to honor another time of financial woe and give your party outfit some of that old style, 1920′s glamour. I read an article a few months ago when the financial meltdown had just begun that was reflecting on how times of national financial hardship tend to lead to more excessive glamour and glitz for the sake of lifting spirits, so why not take advantage of the currently bleak economy by having fun, going a bit overboard, and puttin’ on the ritz? Read More »

We’ve seen this look all over town. From Audrina Partridge to Rachel Zoe to just about every other trendsetter out there, everyone who is anyone is rocking the Beret. When I first spotted Justin Bobby sporting this cap last year, I thought he was just covering up his dirty, greasy hair.

But no. He was actually wearing those floppy, knit caps to make a fashion statement (while also covering up his dirty, greasy hair).

Just like many major trends this season, the Beret is one I just don’t know about. The hats are cute – no doubt about that – but do girls in LA really need to wear a knit hat in the summer? And don’t those things give off more of a “I was too lazy to wash my hair” vibe than anything else?

What do you think? Do you love or hate the beret?

For a while there, it seemed like the world might be turning into one big American Apparel ad: around every New York corner lurked a pair of slim slacks, a tri-blend t-shirt and a pair of those canvas slip-on sneakers from K-Mart, and that’s about where fashion and effort ended. While I understand the Gotham need not try too hard, certain neighborhoods had me feeling constantly overdressed in my (um, I thought) carefree rayon 40′s numbers.

But now, suddenly, at least one fixture of good old international dressing has returned: behold, the hat! Sarah Jessica Parker wore a green creation by Philip Treacy to the London premiere of the Sex and the City movie, complete with a giant rose and acorn-inspired base.

Treacy, a graduate of London’s Royal College of Art, burst onto the scene in the early 90′s by creating a wedding headdress for his muse, late fashion editor Isabella Blow. He (obviously) tends to go vertical with his pieces, often using feathers and butterflies (an all-butterfly headpiece was also worn by Princess Beatrice recently to the Peter Philips’s royal nuptials).

“Hats can make a boring outfit come to life,” says vintage collector Anne Schutterlin. “They’re like those beautiful flourishes on top of a cake that make it taste even better!” Read More »

I noticed this trend FOREVER ago, but didn’t want to say anything in hopes that everyone else wouldn’t notice. Because, well, I really want one.

I really, really want a straw fedora and I can’t for the life of me find one again. I saw one, a month ago at H&M and should have bought it but at the time didn’t even have the seven bucks. So sad.

Now that the trend has made it to the pages of People, I guess I can now openly talk about my love for the fedora because it’s obvious that they are everywhere. And even though everybody is doing it, I’m still going to get one because I’m totally obsessed.

Perhaps tan linen for fall or thick black wool for winter? They are the perfect it’s raining/I haven’t showered/it’s too sunny because I’m hungover hat.

Plus, they add that fabulous touch to any outfit that just makes you look… extra fab. Read More »

If only there was a way to interview the monkey!

Last Tuesday, passengers aboard a Spirit Airlines jet flying from New York to Florida had a bit more to deal with than those impossible-to-open peanut bags.

Seems one of their fellow travelers had decided it was totally okay for him to shove a monkey into his hat and bring it aboard.

The strange, strange man, who had originally departed from Lima, Peru, somehow managed to hide the tiny creature “inside his ponytail” and underneath his cap while he boarded the plane, his cover blown only after the animal climbed out of it’s hiding place halfway through the trip.

This story obviously begs a few questions:

First, just how big was the man’s ponytail, and why did no one notice there was a monkey in it?

Second, how come I’m forced to practically strip before I board a plane, but this dude managed to smuggle a living creature onboard underneath a hat? Read More »