
Jessica Alba has totally become one of my fashion muses. Her love of bright colors, flattering silhouettes and awesome versatile pieces has cemented her place as one of my fave celeb fashionistas. I’m particularly obsessed with one of her recent ensembles because of its vibrancy and interesting color scheme. Read More »

I absolutely adore Charlize Theron. She’s accomplished, beautiful, an activist and she seems incredibly humble and down to earth. After a bit of a hiatus, she is now back in the public eye promoting her movie Young Adult, which means we are treated to far too many photos of her looking way too pretty all over the place. Read More »
[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 too-cute-for-words Rachel Bilson) are spending $5,000 and more on an ensemble, you an spend way less...and save the rest for Margarita Mondays.]
It’s a no-brainer to look to models for fashionspiration. Their whole professional life revolves around clothes, and inevitably, their personal style is a cut above the rest as a result. Gisele Bundchen is no exception. She has been modeling for well over a decade, and her style reflects the fact that she has an unfathomable amount of clothes. She is sleek, trendy, sophisticated, fun, and whimsical. It takes a high-level fashionista to create such a diverse, yet cohesive, personal aesthetic, and it would be a crime to not acknowledge Gisele’s amazing fashion choices.
Recently, she was out and about for a beauty event, and she rocked an eye-catching and stunning look, perfect for a night out (even if you don’t have a super-model body, because, honestly, who does?!) Read More »
Tags: celebrity chic on the cheap, celebrity style, chunky heels, college fashion, college style, cute clothes, gisele bundchen, gisele bundchen style, model style, night looks, pencil skirts, sequin blazers, white tank tops
September 1, 2009
- 4:00 pm
By Jess T. - Columbia University

For a long time, I thought Newport News was a total “mom store” with terribly outdated and, well, momish stuff. Then, a few months ago I noticed some of their stuff in mags like Lucky, InStyle and Glamour and realized that they actually had some super cuteness going on.
Since then I’ve bought several items from them and they’re not only stylish and well-made, they’re great for a gal on a budget. Which is me. And you.
I combed the entire website and found so many adorable things, many for under $20, but here are my top 8, MySpace style: Read More »
Tags: 8 under $20, bangles, basic tee, boots, budget, budget fashion, budget style, cardi, close-toed wedges, cropped blazer, deep red, Fall, fall/winter, feminine details, flats, flip flops, frumpy, glamour, going girlie, InStyle, jersey dresses, Leopard Print, lucky, newport news, newportnews.com, peasant style top, pencil skirts, riding boots, Skinny Jeans, sweater, under $5, wedges, wide leg trousers, woven texture
August 11, 2009
- 4:00 pm
By Jess T. - Columbia University

This week we take another trip down cheap & trendy lane to Charlotte Russe. This is a great place to shop if you’re looking for affordable, well, anything. Hot evening looks, basic day looks, super sexy shoes, way cute accessories and everything in between – Ms. Charlotte has it all. They also recently launched a new line of more upscale/expensive pieces and denim called People’s Liberation that I am totally feelin’. Just not for this, since none of that shiz is under $20.
But this stuff is, meaning you can load up on the goodies and keep that budget in check. It’s a beautiful thing, I tell you. A beautiful thing. Read More »
Tags: 8 under $20, accessories, Back to School, back to school fashion, bandage look, bangle, blouse, budget fashion, bustier-inspired top, Charlotte Russe, charlotterusse.com, cinched waist, fashion, fuschia, girly ruffles, gossip girl, headband, jeans, pencil skirt, pencil skirts, People's Liberation, prep, Preppy, sale, Skinny Jeans, sneakers, sun-kissed skin, sweater, tights, trousers

I don’t know about you, but after what seemed to be the most grueling. winter. ever. I am excited and eager to dust off my spring wardrobe… and add some new pieces to it. As is always the case with the new season, we have some new trends (along with a few piggy-back trends of season’s past) to spice up our wardrobes.
Here are some of Spring 2009’s hottest trends: Read More »
Tags: 90s trend, accessories, asymmetrical tops and dresses, biker shorts, black on white, blouses, boho/hippie chic, bold prints, bows, boyfriend jeans, bright blues, bright colors, cardigans, Cleopatra inspired looks, color, color palette, comfortable style, coral, drapey, dresses, evening gowns, excessive accessories, feminine detailing, florals, flowery prints, flowy dresses, form fitting dresses, glamour, glitter, graphic black on white prints, handbags, harem pants, hot pink, Hypercolor, jeweled necklines, jumpers, lace, LBD, Leopard Print, little black dress, loose fitting pieces, magenta, maxi lengths, mint green, muted brights, neon, neon oranges, new season, new trends, pantsuits, pastels, pencil skirts, relaxed fit pants, rompers, ruffles, see through fabrics, sequins, sheer, sheer fabrics, shoes, shortsuits, spring 2009, spring wardrobe, springs hottest trends, the white dress, tops, wear to work blouses, yellow
November 18, 2008
- 4:30 pm
By Jess T. - Columbia University
[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.]
Once fall/winter hits, we tend to shy away from bright colors and lean more toward blacks, grays, and earth tones. That’s fine – winter is kinda cold and depressing. I get it. But you shouldn’t be afraid to rock out some color this time of year.
Part of being fashion forward is breaking fashion rules, and busting out a brightly colored top in the colder seasons is a great way to brighten up your day/night, and is sure to make you stand out in a crowd. Read More »
Tags: accent color, black tights, bright colors, fashion, geometric and floral prints, gold jewelry, heels, long coat, matchy matchy, Night Styler, pencil skirts, personal stylist, printed top, purple, rachel zoe, skinny belt, Style

[Do you ever feel like you can’t pull something off? Have trendy pieces in your closet that you would never have the courage to actually wear out? Well take those pieces out, shake off the dust, and continue reading!
In this series, I will choose a different piece that can be difficult to incorporate into an outfit and give you ideas on how to wear it. If there’s anything you would like to read about in the future, please leave a comment!]
Ruffles always look so elegant and feminine – but that’s not why I love them so much. The best part about ruffles is that they can balance out your body. Small bust and big hips? Put on a top with some ruffles and – poof – an instant chest! Need to add some oomph to your bottom half? Throw on a ruffled skirt! Seen on the runways of Givenchy, Just Cavalli, Giambattista Valli, and others, ruffles are possibly the easiest way to emphasize and enlarge areas that you want to be on display while making other ares (i.e. your waist) appear slimmer. Read More »
Tags: Alice + Olivia, American Eagle Outfitters, Arden B, big hips, bluefly.com, Charlotte Russe, dresses, Express, fashion, feminine fashion, forever 21, Giambattista Valli, Givenchy, handbags, Just Cavalli, Ladonna by Diego Di Lucca, marc by marc jacobs, mossimo, pencil skirts, ruffles, shoes, shopbop, skirts, small bust, T Bags, target, tops, trends, VeraWang, Zappos