Give it up to IKEA Sydney for being the innovators of the week! The Swedes, who are seemingly always on their toes, just recently opened a “man-cave” for male shoppers to hide out while their counterpart’s swipe-swipe-swipe at the registers. Males coerced into furniture shopping can now sit back, relax and munch on hot dogs and potato chips while watching football and playing arcade inspired games.

Houston, we might have a problem: this is one big step for mankind everywhere! But, uh, what about the girls?

Since obdurate feminists the world over will be screaming sexism before the day is through, we at CollegeCandy hope to add some fuel to the fire. With a list of five more safe houses for the men in our lives, lets explore the reasons why men often need to duck and cover when it comes to women.

1. We Like to Shop for Clothes

Pretend you’re a man. What’s worse? Clothes or furniture shopping? Before you answer, no, I’m not talking lingerie shopping. That’s a whole ‘nother topic entirely. If you thought furniture shopping was downright awful, wait until you’re forced to hold bag after bag and sit through 45435345 dressing room try-ons.  And if you hesitate for even a moment, men, we know you think we’re ugly and we’re fat. Or that you’re picturing the girl in the next fitting room naked. If nothing looks good or fits right, our moods will be ruined for the rest of the afternoon. The solution? A “man-cave” similar to the kind you’ll find in IKEA Sydney. Told you the Swedes are ahead of the ball. Read More »

Rules are meant to be broken.

Not always the best philosophy to live by, but it is a pretty good philosophy for fashion. Think about it. The best dressed ladies these days don’t exactly play by the rules do they ? They wear what they want when they want, because they like the way it looks, whether that be a body suit or a blazer.

And while we can’t all be as adventurous as Lady Gaga during our days on campus, we can still break a few fashion rules without looking like fashion victims.

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What do you think ladies? Do you follow the fashion rules or do think think they were made to be broken? Are there some fashion rules we should always follow? Let us know!

Back in the good old days, returning to school meant one thing: new school supplies! Colorful binders, cool erasers and general shenanigans made going back to elementary school that much more exciting. Lisa Frank,  how I’ve missed you. Now, if only I could justify purchasing gel pens and bright colored notecards for college…

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What do you miss most from elementary school shopping?

It’s the summer after you’ve graduated high school. You’ve finished your exams. You’ve finished the college application process. You have your diploma, you’ve taken the pictures in the cap and gown and you finally decided on a college. So now all you want to do is kick back and relax and enjoy an entire summer free of responsibility and full of hanging with your friends before you each go your separate ways to start some new adventures.

Believe me, I know exactly how you feel. I was there four short years ago. And because I’ve been there already I know what comes next. So I thought I’d give you a little advice. Because all those papers that came along with your acceptance letter, they weren’t there just to stuff the envelope. Starting college involves a lot more than checking off the box next to “I will attend.” So here are a few things to keep in mind.

1. Send in a picture for your id. Chances are you already have a form telling you how to do this. So send in the picture. And make it a good one. One you like. One you won’t regret four months later, or better yet, four years later, when you’re a senior using an id that looks nothing like you because you no longer have pink hair.

2. Activate your college e-mail address. Again you were probably sent a whole bunch of papers when you sent in your acceptance . One of them probably tells you how to activate your e-mail. Do that. So you’ll get all those e-mails different offices will no doubt be sending you. And so you can join your school’s Facebook network.

3. Get in touch with your roommate. So it’s not an awkward first meeting on move in day. So you know what you’re getting into. And so you don’t end up with two refrigerators and no microwave. Plan ladies, and plan well.

4. Check the parking policies. Find out if your campus allows freshman to bring cars on campus. And if they do, find out if you have to pay for your parking pass. And then sign up for a parking pass. If you have a car, that is.

5. Check and double check that move in date. Season four. Episode one of Gilmore Girls. Rory wrote the wrong date down. Chaos ensued.

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Our friends at The Frisky wrote this article about tears in the dressing room. Some were tears of happiness, some of sadness and some were just down right random. And while I’ve never had a breakdown about a pseudo celebrity death (really, you should read it), this article resonated with me.

What is about dressing rooms?

I remember once in high school I spent a long day shopping with my mom. With no real agenda, we wandered from store to store just to pass time on an uneventful sunny Saturday afternoon. I spotted this killer mini dress from bcbg that had a long line of buttons up the back. I slid into the dressing room and tried it on.

Sometime in between taking the dress off the hanger and sliding it on, it happened. The waterworks started flowing. Likely a combination of the impossible to unbutton row of mini buttons, a pushy sales associate, and needing to go up a size, but it was that exact moment that the stress of college applications, a varsity sports team and just generally being a teenage girl decided to hit me. Lovely.

Here are six other situations that might leave even the strongest of us a little teary eyed:

1. You Gained the Freshman 5, 15, or 50:  No matter your size, extra weight gain from college ranks pretty high up there among the list of most upsetting things.

2. You Lost the Freshman 5, 15, or 50: And you’ve never looked hotter in that skintight dress. Tears. Of. Joy.

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Facebook. Twitter. Urban Outfitters.

These three websites are, hands down, the most clicked bookmarks on my Safari page. Like most people, I have my allotted time throughout the day where I routinely check my Facebook News Feed and update my Twitter. It is almost automatic that I then click to Urban and check out what’s new on sale. And then buy it all. Woops?

Online shopping has become almost a hobby as it is almost too convenient to scroll through an entire store, easily click the size you want for a cute shirt and have it shipped in a few days. Yet in a world where there’s an unlimited amount of online stores to shop at, how do you know which ones to skip over and which ones are worth looking at? Leave it to me to tell you the websites with the best sales, free shipping, and cutest clothes!

Behold: the holy grail of online shopping.

If you’re a committed shopper like myself, these websites will change the way you shop forever. You won’t regret reading this…or signing up for those annoying mailing lists (which WON’T be annoying with all those sales you’ll hear about.)

Happy shopping!

It’s 8 o’clock on a Friday night. While the majority of campus males are chugging beers and pulling dirty t-shirts out of the hamper, most of us girls are raiding our roommates’ wardrobes.  We’re primping in front of the mirror, doing our hair, applying our make-up, choosing that perfect outfit that will make us appear sexy, but in a “I-don’t try too hard” kind of way.

Then comes the finishing touches: the shoes.

We dig through our closets to find the perfect pair that will compliment our outfits. Having to walk across campus to get to the party, you would think that our eyes would lead us straight to the comfy flats.  But of course this is never the case. We want to make a statement, so instead we choose the high-heeled pumps that may leave us blistered and bruised, but hey, they’re cute. So we limp to the party while cursing our footwear choice. Determined to make the night a success, we dance with the guy who sits behind us in bio. Our toes may feel as if we’re two-stepping on glass, but hey, he’s cute.

After 3 ½ years of college, and many nights like this, I have come to the conclusion that guys are like shoes: we always want the cute ones even though we know they will probably end up hurting us in the end.

Think about it…

Fashion is always repeating itself (hence why I hate throwing things away), and the decade we’ll be seeing again in a big way this year? The ’70s! But have no fear, it’s not quite your parents’ disco fever, white leisure suit, platform-shoes-with-fish-in-the-heels 1970s. The updated, 21st century take on ’70s fashion is much sexier…and with much better fabrics. (See ya never, polyester!)

There are so many ways to channel the disco era without feeling like an extra from Saturday Night Fever. The key is opting for one or two ’70s-inspired pieces, and not an entire outfit, to keep your look modern.

Ready to travel back in time?

Wide-legged pants are big (literally) this year. Many of them have a higher raise, which is a flattering way to disguise any of that freshman 15 (or Top Chef 20) you may have acquired recently. They also look hot with a shirt tucked in. Pretty blouses with billowy sleeves and pretty patterns are another way to incorporate the ’70s trend into your wardrobe. And if you want to show a lot of skin, hot pants are the way to go. Yes, ladies, they’re back, and, surprisingly, quite adorable! (Editor’s Note: just in case you need it, here are some good workouts to get your legs ready for ‘em.)

So let’s get in our fashion DeLorean and head back to the ’70s. Here are 15 pieces to get you started. Read More »

Haven’t you heard? Drinking is the new shopping? Or shopping is the new drinking? Or…okay. The point is now you get to drink when you shop. First Starbucks started serving wine. Then Duane Reade installed beer counters. And now, according to our friends at Gawker, the  New York City Whole Foods is installing a bar? What gives? Has shopping become so stressful that it can no longer be done sober? Have we all become self accepting alcoholics? Have people becomes so lazy that they can no longer be bothered to walk from the super market to the bar? Or is this just another means of making some quick cash?

It’s probably the latter. But still, I can’t help but think that there are certain shopping experiences that really would be made easier if they could be done with some booze in hand…

1. Swimsuit shopping. Bring on the shots. If it were up to me no woman would ever have to endure such a horror sober. Take a shot of tequila before trying on any one piece. Two for tankinis. Three for bikinis. By then, they’ll all look great.

2. Holiday shopping. Holiday shopping is super stressful and extra annoying because you don’t even get to keep any of the stuff that you spend so much time picking out. You’re giving it all away. So next December get your peppermint mocha or eggnog spiked before you start your shopping.  I think it will go a lot more smoothly…

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As college girls our cell phones are our lifelines. Our way to contact our friends. To Google nagging questions. To check our e-mail and update our Facebook. We utilize them as much as we possibly can in every way we can. From scheduling to shopping.

Shopping?

Yes, shopping. Cell phones improve our lives in a lot of different ways but I bet you didn’t know they could improve the way you shop too. Well…we did, but don’t worry, we’ve decided to share our wisdom with our lovely readers. Here are seven shopping apps that will better your shopping experience!

1. ShopSavvy. Scan the barcode of that blouse with your cell phone and ShopSavvy will compare prices from over 20,000 different stores, while also providing product views. You’ll never buy a dress only to see it for 50% off somewhere else ever again! (Don’t you hate when that happens?) Download it here!

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