While I must admit that I crushed on her brother (damn you, Reese Witherspoon) long before discovering my love for her, I am currently in a serious Maggie Gyllenhaal phase.

Like our previous girl crush, Natalie Portman, Maggie really does seem to have it all: beauty, brains, an impressive list of roles and award nominations, and a totally cute daughter named Ramona who took no toll on her model-like, 5 foot 9 inch body.

Whenever I’m discussing my female loves with friends, she always comes up as the “cool, retro looking” actress, and you gotta love an alternative to all the Paris Hiltons out there (no Paris, I do not want to be your new BFF). Her unconventional beauty reminds me of the Hollywood starlets of the past, and this paired with her immense talent qualifies her as my girl crush of the week.

Other reasons why we love her?

She has managed to avoid a negative rep and is never caught by the paparazzi looking cracked out or overexposed, which is more than some Hollywood moms can say for themselves. (Britney… Britney’s private parts…). She has a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and is very politically active, having spoken out against the Iraq war a number of times and campaigned on behalf of a number of political organizations. Read More »

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Unless you have been living under a rock — or spend so much money on uber expensive fashion that you’ve had to forgo cable and internet – you know about the new fashion trend sweeping the nation:

Handbag rentals.

Hell, even my mother knows about bagborroworsteal thanks to the Sex and the City Movie. The idea is simple; you just pick out a designer handbag that you covet, but can’t come even close to affording, and pay a small fee to rent it for a little while. It is every poor college student’s dream situation.

What could be better than sporting the latest Miu Miu around town for a measly $80-ish bucks? The hardest part is sending that bad boy back, but even that can be negotiated in a rent-to-buy situation.

The idea is so perfect that some people are taking it a step further:

Dress rentals.

The idea really isn’t so novel; men have been doing it for years with tuxedos. It is actually quite perplexing that women have caught on just now. At Ilus in New York City (website coming soon), women are able to choose from tons of gorgeous, in-season designer dresses to rent for short periods of time. The store even does minor alterations. It is ideal for those of us who need a dress, but don’t want to make the financial commitment. You just go to that event, turn heads, and then bring the dress back the next day. Read More »

Every year, every season, fashion seems to be pretty particular. Kind of like the bitty old women who order their salads with extra tomato, hold the croutons, dressing on the side, and please use ONLY romaine lettuce– fashion trends the past few years have been distinct and particular.

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). Read More »