For us fashionistas, New York Fashion Week (which kicks off today!) is the highlight of the year (or at least the highlight of this dreary February we’re having). Our CollegeCandy hearts always skip a beat when we see those white tents going up in Bryant Park.  The clothes, the shoes, the celebrities, the glamour… Sigh. It’s almost too much to bear.

Until the day we’re rich, famous, and, oh yeah, invited to this exclusive event, we’ll have to live vicariously through TV and internet coverage.

Still, even if we don’t have Heidi Klum’s front row seat, we can’t wait! We’ve got our DVF wrap dress on (courtesy of some serious Ebay-ing), we’re sporting the Anna Wintour helmet bob, and we’re counting down the minutes for the fash-insanity to begin.

Below, the five things we’re looking forward to most about NYFW Fall 2010.

1. The Project Runway Finale

OK, so we don’t know quite yet which three (or four) designers will be walking their designs down the runway in Bryant Park, but who cares? This season is kinda boring, anyway. We just want to see what those little guys and girls are made of… and all the celebs/Project Runway all-stars from season’s past that show up to see it all go down.

2. The Designs! (Duh)

The excitement of just looking at the beautiful designs I’ll never be able to afford makes me weak in the knees. BCBG? La Perla? Badgley Mischka? Yes, yes, yes! But even though I will never own a Chanel LBD, I flip through every last runway photo to see what the new trends will be so I can load up on their more affordable knock-offs.  Will my leggings and skinny jeans still be OK? What about gladiator heels? And for God’s sake, please tell me I don’t need to invest in shoulder pads!

3. The Celebrities

While the focus of Fashion Week should be on the runway, I like to focus on the seats. As in, who is in them. Where are they sitting? What show are they at? What are they wearing? I mean, what would Fashion Week be without Rachel Zoe, Anne Hathaway, Chloe Sevigny, Nicole Richie, and…wait for it….

4. The Jersey Shore Cast???

It is rumored that our favorite Guidos will be rubbing elbows with Anna Wintour at Fashion Week, blowouts and spray tans intact. Although J-Woww’s breast-baring tops and ripped jeans don’t exactly scream “couture,” I love these guys and can’t wait to see them hob nobbing with this elite, high-fashion crowd.

5. Fashion Road Kill

Picture a beautiful model decked out in the most expensive designer clothes strutting her stuff down the runway.  It’s so easy to hate her….that is, until she eats it in front of thousands of people! It happened last year in New York, the year before in Milan, in 2006 in Paris, and with any luck (and Alexander McQueen’s Alien shoes) it will happen next week.

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?