After taking a peak at the incredible spring 2012 RTW collections on Vogue.com, I was inspired by how gorgeous the ensembles came together. Spring trends included a large amount of color blocking as well as certain couture looks that are surprisingly wearable. As high fashion and expensive the real runway looks are, imitating them with affordable pieces under $60 will make you regal-ready for any spring event you’ll attend.

Shoes $48 – owntherunway.com; Skirt $48 – riverisland.com; Top $44 – wallisfashion.com; Belt $29 – johnlewis.com

Gucci’s collection was color blocked to the fullest degree. As bright neons and pastels paired together has become popular, Gucci’s collection stayed elegant with pops of color matched with neutrals. To replicate this style, pair an orange Chambray tee with a white lace mini skirt. Add some solid blacks by accentuating your skirt with a black belt and some suede pumps.

Shoes $30 – amazon.com; Trousers $40 – topman.com; Top $50 – missselfridge.com

Marc Jacobs is the brand to thank for the increase in colored bottoms and dyed denim. Steal the spotlight in a pair of bright skinny trousers, a white front-tye blouse and white & red leather pumps.

Tank $20 – weekday.com; Sunglasses $20 – weekday.com; Heels $50 – heels.com; Skirt $60 – jcrew.com

Another color blocked Marc Jacobs look is complete with a navy blouse and a sea foam green high waist skirt. Adding white wedges and wayfarers keep the look classic.

Earrings $50 – jcrew.com; Clutch $36 – asos.com; Shoes $50 – dsw.com; Dress $32 – axparis.co.uk

Ralph Lauren creates an incredibly girly look with a white frock paired with gold accessories. Adding a hint of style with light leopard sandals will keep your legs long and ensemble elegant.

Skirt $36 – romwe.com; Top $24 – bankfashion.co.uk; Heels $39 – dorothyperkins.com, Clutch $40 – mimiboutique.com

Nina Ricci’s collection was on trend watch, responsible for the crop bustier or bralette top/flowing skirt combo. Add some leather and suede to create a modern persona.

Maybe it’s a little mean spirited. But I don’t think so. In my opinion, models falling down is always funny. It’s not funny if she’s hurt or anything. But it’s funny because the ridiculous shoes that designers think people want to wear a visibly proven to be a detriment to your safety. You can’t be strutting through NYC in shoes that could cause you to go down in front of a taxi, just saying. Models falling down will always be funny. Need proof? Check out our hilarious gallery of our favorite spills.

Do you know what today is?

Yes, it’s Thursday.
But it’s not just any old Thursday. It’s the most fabulous Thursday of 2010.

It’s the first day of New York Fashion Week!

As we speak, the world’s biggest designers are putting the final touches on their ferosh spring 2011 looks, Rachel Zoe is going bananas over the Oscar looks she’ll inevitably find at the shows, Lindsay Lohan is waiting with baited breath to see if she’ll get any front row seats this year (I’m putting my money on no), and Anna Wintour is scouling from behind a pair of oversized sunglasses (standard).

Meanwhile, we’re busy living the slightly less glamorous life: writing the first papers of the year, getting back into the groove of seemingly endless homework assignments, or – if you’re as lucky as I am – studying for grad school admissions tests.

Let’s face it: the closest any of us college-going girls are going to get to this year’s Fashion Week is an impromptu clothing swap with our roommates.

Luckily for us, our friends at Stylelist.com are giving us a voyeuristic look at the fabulous events of the world’s most fashionable week. They’ll be our eyes and ears, reporting from the front row of all the shows. Sure, we’ll never get the chance to rub elbows with Demi Moore and Rachel Bilson while watching Marc Jacobs’ spring line come marching down the runway, but we can still check out all the coverage and may-jor styles when we need a study break. And we don’t even need to get dressed up to do it.

Stylelist will be taking us along to over 100 shows (!!) at Lincoln Center so make sure to check back every day (by clicking that box right over there on the right!) to see what you’ll be wearing once the snow melts in spring….and Forever 21/H&M/Target make more college budget-friendly versions.

Photo Credits: 1 – Heidi Klum, 2 – Behnaz Sarafpour, 3 – Style Scrapbook via Lookbook

The ’70s are back in a big way, especially in the denim world. If you don’t believe me, check out MK and Ashley’s new denim collection TEXTILE Elizabeth and James (Victoria Beckham is also a flare fan). Skinnies have become the norm (and will probably stay that way), but if you are looking for an alternative to your favorite straight-legged bottoms, this Fashion Challenge is the one for you.

Tips and Tricks for Rocking Flared Pants

Just try it! The best part about this challenge? Flared bottoms are universally flattering: Anyone can pull off this trend and look amazing doing it.
Take advantage of length. Wear your bell-bottoms long with heels to extend your legs for miles, like Heidi Klum does above. (Although it doesn’t hurt that her legs already extend for miles…)
Try a little flare beyond denim. Although it may be easier to find flared denim, the trend works for other bottoms as well. For examples, see the Behnaz Sarafpour slacks in Picture 2, or these gems:

See the looks and get easy and flattering ideas for rocking flared pants right here.

They’re making a statement on necklaces, earrings, bathing suits, purses, and anything else you can imagine. Whether metallic or color, safety pins can add an extra edge and funk to your wardrobe!

I needed inspiration on how to best incorporate this season’s look into my college wardrobe, so I looked to my all time favorite DIY craft heroes, the ladies over at P.S. I Made This, and they did not disappoint!

Here is an inexpensive, easy, and fun way to transform your plain tank-top-and-jeans-typical-college-girl look to runway ready diva. Seriously, it’s so easy you’ll wonder why you didn’t think of this sooner.

What You’ll Need
An old tank (or new!): any color, any style.
I went with black for a sleek look that I’ve been seeing all over the runways.

Safety pins: Get varying sizes in the color you choose. Use gold, silver, or color if you want to make a bold tank. You can pick these up at your local hardware store, craft store and most convenience stores!

What You’ll Do:
1. Grab a bunch of safety pins and start making little pin clusters by hanging multiple little pins off of one larger pin. Make multiple clusters of varying sizes. (You can do all one color, you can mix colors, you can do this however you like!)

2. Now, pin the clusters and other individual pins onto your tank. You can do what I did and pin them in the shape of the neckline of your tank, so they are pinned along the edge of the hemline. Or have fun making your own designs with pins all over your tank. You can even add a little sex appeal by cutting some slits in different parts of the tank, yank on them to open them up a bit and use the safety pins to pull ‘em back together. Hot.

3. Wear your new tank with attitude and enjoy the knowledge that if you do drop it a bit too low, you’ve got plenty of pins on hand to fix that tear in your jeans.

Whitney Port, ex-“Hill’s” star and current star of “The City,” recently showed her newest Whitney Eve collection at the Fresh Faces in Fashion event in Miami, FL.  Co-star Lauren Conrad has proven to us all that just because someone dresses well or has trendy personal style, does not make them a good designer (or even a good discount designer).  Arch-nemesis Heidi Montag has also proven that turning yourself into real-life Barbie does not mean you can change your career choice daily: you cannot be a “singer” one day and a “designer” the next.

After two boring, copycat lines from these battling blondes failed miserably, we all expected (and maybe hoped?) that Whitney’s would be equally lame.  Just because of her MTV status, Whitney is a character that we love to hate.  We deem her untalented, famous for being famous and of course we all know that her “jobs” are staged for the show.  Before her lines are even shown, we get ready to read Whitney-bashing reviews and joke about how much they suck.

Whitney’s first line, although more creative than Lauren’s (and obviously Heidi’s) was still somewhat expected.  The patterns and details were unique, but the hemlines reflected the lifestyle of a typical Hollywood Barbie.  Look after look, models pranced down the runway in the miniest of mini’s, minimal coverage throughout. The actual design wasn’t terrible, but because of the skank-factor we were still free to ridicule.

But after viewing her latest, I’ve gotta say, she’s proved us all wrong.  Surprisingly, Whitney’s latest line was more conservative and mature but stayed edgy, creative, and sexy.  There were knee-length skirts and somehow even floor-length skirts?  An appearance of pants also made the cut while a pair of white lace leggings supplemented a mini-skirt.

This didn’t look like some boring line by a wannabe designer; Whitney’s designs were the real deal. Could it be that a Hill’s star actually has talent?? Could Whitney Port be the next Marc Jacobs, Gwen Stefani, or, dare I say it, DVF?

With a clear vision and obvious talent, I think Whitney Port may be a not-so-reality-TV success story.

[It's pretty obvious that the average CollegeCandy reader has some very strong opinions. Opinions that she likes to share with everyone on the site. We love a strong woman (unless she happens to be charging at us with her fists raised), so we thought we'd give her a real forum to discuss her thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. Every Friday I'll be featuring a hot topic (like Valentine's Day!) and leaving it up to you, the readers, to duke it out. So, read it and get your debate on in the comments section below!]

I really thought that this trend was going to die last year, but apparently, I really missed it on that call. From what I have seen so far from the runways and red carpets, sheer is back for spring. And I’m not just talking sheer here – I’m talking “hello world, here’s my bra” no tank top, sheer. I give it up to models, they can strut down the runway in just about anything and make it seem like an OK idea, but in the real world, can anybody make this work?

On the one hand, I kinda like the idea of sheer – it’s sexy and, let’s face it, this is probably the only time in my life I’m going to have a body that can come anywhere close to being OK that uncovered. Plus, I have a lot of pretty bras that I never really wear because they show under clothes, so sheer could definitely help get my money’s worth on that front (and the boy toy gives a thumbs up to anything that involves seeing bras). While I might not be as bold with it as some of the celebs I’ve seen (holy crap, Leighton!) a sheer top + cute bra + jacket could totally be cute for grabbing a drink with the girls. Hey, as long as we’ve got youth on our side, we might as well embrace it, right?

But like it or not, from the time I first started wearing a bra I was taught to make sure that it didn’t show through my clothes. For almost every life situation I’ve been in it’s good advice – showing up to an interview flashing your lacy underthings = not a good idea – which means that this sheer look would only work in very specific circumstances. And let’s face it, this is a look that’s going to get you a lot of attention whether you like it or not, so you have to go in prepared to fend off the catcalls and unavoidable drunken stares at the bar.

I admit, I’ve had my little forays with sheer, but at the end of the day, that mom voice inside my head keeps whispering “people can see your bra” and I end up spending the whole day with my arms folded across my chest. Am I just being a prude, or is this look a little too fashion-forward for the real world? Will you rock out with your, um, bra out this spring? Or is this a look best left to the runways?

Duke it out ladies!

[America has more name brands than Law and Order reruns and while you may want to go unload your entire check at GAP or Abercrombie, you don’t want to buy something that you thought was cute and unique and later have buyer’s remorse when you see something identical for less.

I’m not encouraging you to start buying knock off Jimmy Choos from Payless and wanna-be BCBG dresses at Walmart (although, just throwing it out there, you may find some very GOOD knock offs). All I’m saying is you should know that EVERY store is competing with another store and when you shop competitively, you save money. Money that you can use to stimulate the economy…or your wardrobe.

So I thought I’d help you sift through the proverbial mall and figure out which stores are best for your budget. Each week I’ll be comparing apples to apples (or undies to undies) to give you the real deal and arm you with the knowledge you need to make the wisest wardrobe choices. Ready. Set. SHOP.]

New York & Co. and Express both sell clothes that most would consider “Business Casual/Professional Wear” and “Evening Wear.” And while you may not by your ridiculously sexy homecoming dress there, if you want to look sophisticated, sexy and like a grown up, these two stores are contending for your money.  Going to an interview? Don’t know what to wear to your job’s “Grab Bag/Potluck” Soirée? Still haven’t quite decided what you’re packing for thanksgiving dinner? Read on and win.

First up, Express.

Express
* Colorful, bright and super emaculate, Express gives you a chance to be sexy while still maintaining your adulthood. In 1980, the parent company of “The Limited” created Express to call out to a younger crowd. Then, in 2003, they created Express Men (a great place to find guy-gifts) and finally, in 2007, they became their own brand, after being sold by “The Limited”.

* The store was first launched in Chicago and has since grown to be a favorite amongst young women everywhere, with more than 550 stores across the country. Selling everything from sweaters, to handbags, to denim, this store has everything and is what they call the “must-have sexy, sophisticated fashion brand for work, the weekend, or going out.”

Let’s look at the numbers:
Dresses: $38.00 – $128.00
Lip Gloss: $7.00 (or 2 for $12)
Going Out Tops: $29.50 – $49.50
Everyday Tops: $29.50 (BOGO on some)
Cardigans: $39.00-$69.50
Sweaters: $29.50-$69.50
Denim: $29.00-$88.00
Pants: $41.60- $79.50
Undies/Bras: $7.50-$15.00
Other Accessories: $15.00-$40.00

Ok, so I never said they were cheap.

And now for the competition…

NEW YORK & COMPANY
* New York & Co. (which I’ll call NYC) was founded 1918 to  dress the more sophisticated young women. Selling everything from sweaters to slacks with warm colors, a modern feel, and boisterous patterns, NYC is (as they say of themselves) “rapidly becoming synonymous with modern, sexy style.” And it’s true; NYC brings looks straight off the runway and makes them available for everyday America. And since they’ve been around for more than 90 years, they have managed to become a trendsetter in women’s fashion.

* NYC is simply fashion.Walk in here and you are guaranteed to find fashions “ripped from the runway” that will not rip your wallet.

Here are the numbers:
Dresses: $13.97-$56.00
Make-Up/Fragrance: $12.50
Going Out Tops: $6.00-$45.00
Everyday Tops: $5.97-$39.95
Cardigans: $12.00- $60.00
Sweaters: $12.00- $60.00
Denim: $29.00-$69.00
Pants: $8.97-$49.95
Underwear/PJ’s: $15.00-$25.00
Other Accessories: $45 ( at the most)

And one last thing: NYC sells their clothing in Petite and Tall, which may speak to some of you who have issues when it comes to fitting those extra long (or not so much) legs.

You be the Judge
When polled, this is what you said:

78.6% of you prefer New York & Co. over Express
92.9% of you mostly buy sweaters at either New York & Co. or Express
50% of you guys said you spend $25-$75 a month in either New York & Co. or Express
50% said that you buy whatever is on sale when you shop at New York & Co. or Express (me too!)

When Asked what you hated or loved about NYC or Express this is what you said:

“I love that NYC has a wide range of sizes and that I can have a complete outfit to rock at work!”
“Love Both. I just prefer NYC for business attire.”
“Sometimes I hate NYC prices, they can be a bit steep.
“Express is a little on the pricey side for me and the sizes are a little sketchy”

In conclusion, both stores basically sell the same stuff, so if I were you, looking for holiday attire and possibly even gift buying, I would first create a budget for the outfit and then figure out which store meets the requirements. And don’t be afraid to mix and match! Both stores are offering holiday promotions and there’s nothing wrong with wearing an express camisole under a New York & Co. cardigan. Try it!

Punk rock influences abound this season with studs, zippers, skinny black pants, leggings, leather jackets and more. Whether you go head-to-toe rocker or wear a single piece to toughen up your look, this trend is singing our song. Here are some of our favorite pieces at every price:

For more great fashion advice and ideas, check out our home-girls over at StyleBakery.

Last night’s episode of Project Runway made me realize three things:

1. When models aren’t walking the runway, they have zero sense of personal style.
2. Many of the designers on this season of PR would make great designers for Delias or Forever 21.
3. I should have had one more drink at happy hour if I really wanted to enjoy this show.

Yeah, I said it. No matter how much they try and make this season of Project Runway match those of the past, it’s really just falling flat for me. I don’t know if it’s because some of the designers are old (I don’t need to see Epperson tear up as he sews a frock) or because none of them are Christian Siriano (or even Stella!), but I find each episode more boring than the next.

I had some high hopes last night. And not only because I had some cocktails before the episode began. I really thought the challenge – dressing models for an industry event – would lead to some serious drama, both on and off the runway.

Instead, I watched as some really beautiful women explained some really God-awful ideas (“I want to look like a classy, chic, elegant…tiger.”) to the designers. I mean, really? A bright blue jump suit with gold rope? That sounds eerily similar to what I wore in my tap recital…when I was six…and we were dancing to “The Good Ship, Lollipop.”

Don’t get me wrong; some of the models had a really awesome sense of style, but it’s now clear that modeling means looking good in clothes…that other people put on you. The end.

But I guess I can’t complain about the entire episode. I mean, there was still drama on the runway. Mostly in the form of some nasty crap on display. Johnny designed his look after something he saw in a David’s Bridal ad, Nicolas somehow made his size zero model look fat, and Logan’s dress looked like something thought up in the backroom at Hot Topic.

And those dresses only looked worse next to the gorgeous looks of Louisa, Althea and Ra’Mon. Even Epperson’s dress was hot, with or without a bra. I’d wear any of those looks. Though, I’d probably bra-up for Althea’s look, too – no one needs their boobs bouncing around that much.

Obviously the judges agreed, because Althea was crowned victorious. She’s super cute and talented (the only person on the show I truly like), so I was excited. Ok, excited is a strong word. But I was feeling really good until the stupid, stupid judges (who were pretty mean this week, no?!) let former-meth-head Johnny squeak on through yet again. I understand that no one wants to send this guy on another downward spiral. I even understand that Qrystal’s dress was pretty bunk. But JOHNNY SUCKS.

Just look:

Would you wear any of that stuff? I don’t care how pregnant/bridsemaidy I was, I wouldn’t rock Johnny’s designs if someone paid me. I’ve got a reputation to mantain! Maybe being clean and sober isn’t so good for his design esthetic.

I’m just sayin’…