I want to update my room style from posters of David Beckham and Edward Cullen (I love you, RPatz – if you’re out there….call me. Seriously….) to shabby chic art, furniture, and frames. I want my room to scream “I’m a fabulous adult” and not “I frequent college poster sales,” and I don’t want to spend a lot of money to do it.

Instead of bringing along a DIY corkboard (perfect for any college dorm), I decided it was time to display my favorite college mementos, pictures, and reminders in a more sophisticated way. So I scoured the internet and the few flea markets that exist in my neighborhood to get design ideas until finally I came across an old miniature dress form.

Dress forms have been a symbol of chic fashionistas since sewing was invented. To me they scream modern yet vintage décor, and can be used for more things than just designing clothes. Instead of traditional frames or tape to mount my favorite pictures and mementos on a wall, I transformed the dress form into its own display board, frame, and jewelry case.

So here is an easy, creative, and inexpensive way to step up your style and display tidbits of your life.

What You’ll Need:
1. Dress form (mini or large): You can find these online (Craigslist, ebay, All Dress Forms) or take the time to search flea markets and consignment stores in your area. A covered dress form will work best because you can easily pin stuff on, but if you find a foam or plastic form, you can always cover it with fabric first.

2. Ribbon, buttons, and decorative flair: These will personalize your dress form even more and add extra room to place pictures and mementos, like ticket stubs.

3. Sewing pins/fabric glue: To keep it all together. Used to pin your photos up. Find these at any art store or drug store.

4. Mementos: Your favorite pictures, cards, reminder notes, and necklaces!

What You’ll Do:

1. If your dress form is old/dirty/boring and needs covering, there are tons of ways to fix it up!

Some ideas: Use papier-mâché and strips of newspaper or old book pages to cover the dress form for a vintage/city look. Cut up old college t-shirts and pin them on in an interesting pattern. Or use your favorite fabric to cover the dress form to match your bed linens or the color palette of your room. Secure with fabric glue for a custom fit to your dress form or keep it just the way it is if you like the basic look of the form.

2. Cut pieces of ribbon (or use colored shoelaces!) and wrap your dress form in different places. To secure the ribbon tightly, glue to your dress form (back side) with fabric glue. For an even easier route, just pin the ends of the ribbon or shoelaces to the backside of your form (the side you will not see when displayed).

3. Decorate with your favorite things! Tuck in photos and ticket stubs behind pieces of the ribbon or shoelaces. Hang earrings and necklaces with pins. Get creative and put your newest chic display décor anywhere in your home.

4. Look at you. You’re now a grown up with chic and easy sense of style.

So much cuter than a baseball hat.

One really good reason to invest time and energy into your college friendships: those people just may become your business partners later in life. Or so was the case for Hannah Robertson and Kelly Reynolds, founders of Hello Robertson.

I recently discovered their accessory line and am in love, mainly because of the adorable Anthropologie-meets-Blair-Waldorf-esque headbands they sell, but also because their friendship/partnership started in the best place ever: College, obvs. Hannah (the creative brains, hence the name) and Kelly (the business side behind the operation) met and became friends at Florida State University, then both found themselves in NYC post-graduation where this brand was born.

Their headbands, or “hansies,” are handmade with vintage fabric and add a great boho chic touch to any outfit. What’s more, they just rolled out some school specific headbands that are perfect for sporting events. Let’s be honest, most school spirit items are not feminine, not to mention just plain ugly. These girls found a way to fill that void by creating something trendy and unique at the same time! (They’ll even make one for you special if your school isn’t currently offered!) And if school spirit isn’t your thang, check out their full line of just plain adorable hair accessories here.

I got the chance to ask these two a few questions about college, creative inspiration and what it’s really like to go into business with your best friend. Let’s just say, these girls offer a whole lot more than just some really cute head wear.

CC: You two are best friends…and work together. How do you not kill each other??

Kelly: Actually, all in all, it’s fantastic. We met in design school and kept each other company during our all-nighters working on projects. Let’s just say a lot of caffeine and laughter were involved. We learned early in our friendship what each of our strengths and weaknesses were. We actually balance each other out rather well. It can be tough from time to time but we think it has strengthened our friendship and work relationship because we are able to very real with each other, no sugar coating.

Hannah: Did we mention that we’re also roommates now in NYC?

CC: Wow, I don’t know how you do it. What is your best college memory together?

Kelly: Wow, we’ve had some great times. Our friendship was founded on interior design classes, and, well, garage sales. It was our Saturday morning tradition—get up early, go to Chick-Fil-A and then hit up tons of garage sales.

Hannah: Not exactly the typical college kid Saturday morning!

CC: Well, the Chick-Fil-A seems pretty standard. What is your source of inspiration?

Kelly: My environment. Everything I see—old doors, seasons, great buildings, the sweet old lady’s dress crossing the street, a sunset, etc. I believe there is inspiration all around us we just have to train the eye to see it.

Hannah: Fabric. I see it and can’t keep my hands off of it. I just have to create something with each little piece.

CC: Finish this sentence: If only I’d known ____________ when I was in college…

Kelly: The world is not as big as you might think. Work hard, make good contacts in everything you do and ask a lot of questions.

Hannah: Things don’t always workout the way you plan; they come out better than you can imagine.

And there you have it. Cute headbands and proof that there’s more to college friends than drunken nights and some Facebook photos.

All joking aside, getting your first real apartment, or even just your first room whether it’s in a dorm or shared apartment, is very exciting. This is YOUR space. The place you will call home and go to relax after a long day.

So, I think it is important to put energy and time into decorating it right. That does NOT mean you have to put tons of money into this project.

I have been doing some research into how to cheaply and efficiently decorate a space as I am preparing to move into my first real place this weekend and felt CC readers would appreciate some tips during this fall transition time.

One article I read offered some important tips to keep in mind such as, remember to declutter because nothing ruins a great look like a bunch of junk, pay special attention to display surfaces to keep a minimum of 2-3 things on them, and play around with paint in order to spice up a space quick.

The most important philosophy from this article: Spend time — not money — decluttering, painting, and accessorizing to give your place some attitude.

So, once you are on the fun part, accessorizing, is it possible to find some cheap, yet stylish, places to explore? The answer is YES!

For one, check out THRIFT SHOPS! I have already scheduled my Sunday for hitting up different places around NYC. For a list of the best thrift shops for this locale, check out this list. Or, if you are in another city, look at ApartmentTherapy.com for some tips.

If trolling thrift shops isn’t your thing and you would rather point, click, and order, check out these sweet websites for accessorizing:

MXYPLYZYK

Z Gallerie

Surprise! Surprise! (love this one!)

Target (come on, what room wouldn’t be complete without some sort of Target accessory?)

Happy Decorating!