This fall weather is quickly beginning to feel a lot like winter. Sweaters and tights are being traded in for winter fleeces and long-johns. You may think you’re good to go with your new crochet Uggs and long, puffy North Face jacket, but there’s a lot more out there this winter when it comes to accessories. Things that will not only make that walk to class a little more cozy and a little less frozen-snotsicles-dangling-over-your-upper-lip, but accessories that will make your life a whole lot easier.

And more fun.
And festive.
Basically, winter might be somewhat bearable this time around. Read More »

One of the best things about fall (besides Halloween, candy corn, pumpkin everything, Honeycrisp apples, etc.) is switching up your wardrobe. If you live in a colder climate (read: hell. frozen. over) like me, each October you yank your tanks and dresses from your closet (shed a few tears) and swap ‘em out for the sweaters and boots stuffed under your bed. And then you hit the mall to add a few new fun pieces to your already warm and snuggly fall/winter wardrobe.

But what should you add? With so many trends happening right now, you don’t have the space (or, more realistically, the money) to load up on everything this season. You need the best of the best – the items that are cute and functional and will get you through until the snow melts…in June.

Perhaps we can help. This week I asked the CollegeCandy writers to share their fall/winter fashion must-haves. See what they’re lovin’ this season and stock up on a bit of it for yourself. Sure, they may not have the best taste in men, but when it comes to fashion, they know their ish. Read More »

As that hint of crisp air creeps into the weekly forecast every couple of days, all of us are looking towards winter, packing away a few more tanks each week and investing in a new winter coat for the season.

But while many girls consider winter wear to be a pair of Uggs and some cashmere sweaters, I go about the fall/winter wardrobe a tad differently. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love both of these things, but my fall shopping is fueled by an unhealthy obsession with the mini-dress-tights-boots combo.

So unhealthy, in fact, that my closet has at least 40 dresses in it. I always find a reason to pick up another one. So it’s no surprise that what I am craving right now is – you guessed it – a mini dress. Read More »

Let’s face it: Those UGGs aren’t earning you any style points, but you wear them anyway because they are comfy and they match everything. There are other footwear choices out there that are wearable, warm, and WAY cuter.

Before temperatures get too low, wear a cute pair of flats with jeans or a skirt to school. If your flats give you blisters on the back of your heel, try inserting Foot Petals Heavenly Heelz, which keep your feet from slipping in and out of shoes. A single pack costs $6.95. Here are some fashionable flats that will get you out of that UGG rut this school year:

Read More »

I’ve known for years that Wal-Mart was a great place to go to get cheap snacks, toiletries, electronics, etc., but I never thought I’d buy clothes there. There is only one big-box store whose dressing rooms I’ll enter and that is Tarjay. There is no way any K-Mart, Wal-Mart, or any other mart could produce fashion that would catch my eye.

But I think I judged too soon. I recently made a late-night run to Wal-Mart for some milk, batteries and a plant (don’t ask) and discovered that they have tons of cute clothes for super cheap.  I hate to admit it, but Miley Cyrus’ line (she collaborated with Max Azria) is adorable and beyond affordable, and they have tons of other cute stuff by brands that were totally cool when I was a kid (yet look great now), like OP, Sassoon, and Jordache, just to name a few.

Unfortunately, many of the pieces in Miley’s line are sold out online, but you can always check out a Wal-Mart near you to see if they still have some of the oh-so-cute pieces.  And without further ado, a few of my faves from Wal-Mart (I plan on stocking up for fall/winter!). Read More »

I do not miss the anti-fun police.

I’m heading back to my old college this weekend to reunite with friends. And by friends I mean 9am kegstands and a drunken stumble to the football stadium. And as I pack my suitcase full of college t-shirts, flip flops and my cell-phone flask, I’m really starting to miss my college life.

Wait. Who am I kidding? I always miss college life. Every. single. day.

It’s just that knowing I’ll be traipsing through my old stomping ground tomorrow has me extra nostalgic. I’ve spent the past 3 days looking at old photo albums (those are those books that existed before Facebook allowed you to create albums online), drinking to increase my tolerance to college proportions, and crying myself to sleep at 10pm since I have to wake up at 6am to go to work.

After drowning my sorrows in 3 shots of tequila last night, my friends yelled at me to snap out of it. “You’re out of college, woman. GET OVER IT.” But how? How am I supposed to move on from the best 4.5 years of my life (of which, I an only really remember 2.25)? By focusing on all the downsides, of course!

College was the bomb.com, but it wasn’t perfect. There were plenty of things wrong with it, so this week I asked the CollegeCandy writers to remind me share their biggest college pet peeves. Note: I still wanna go back.

Ricki – Univerisity of Michigan: When frat guys pour cheap vodka in Grey Goose bottles and try to pass it off as the real thing.  Boys, we can tell. We’re not that drunk!

Laura – St. John’s : While living down the hall/just across campus from all your friends can be a blast, it definitely sucks when you’re trying to avoid someone (i.e. the BFF you’re fighting with or that guy you hooked up with while you were drunk).  You have nowhere to hide!

Sara C – Fordham: ResLife. Ever notice how the on-campus housing staff want to make it seem like you live in a jail cell, not a home-away-from-home? Thankfully, I live off-campus now, but condescending RAs are THE most annoying thing about college.

Thu – USC: How people have been accepted to a good university and yet still insist on stealing bikes and other property. I don’t get it. Some people just have no integrity. Read More »

"OH MY GOD!! THEY'RE BACK!!!"

Don’t get me wrong – I love me a summer day at the beach. The smell of sunscreen, flip flops, and feeling the hot sand beneath my feet makes me very, very happy. But there is nothing quite like a crisp Fall day. I love jean-jacket weather. I love busting out all my fall clothes from that duffel under my bed. I love getting my back-to-school dramatic haircut. I love anything and everything that has to do with pumpkins (especially the candy corn ones).

Fall, I heart you.

With Labor Day just around the corner, it’s time to say goodbye to our white sundresses and helloooooo (nurse) to leather boots, college football and Pumpkin Spice lattes at Starbucks. (Note: I said hello to those twice…on Monday.) Oh yeah, and also to long nights in the library, 40 pounds of textbooks and early morning classes. But let’s ignore that stuff for a moment and celebrate the best season ever.

Here is what the CollegeCandy writers love most about Fall. What’s your favorite part? Read More »

California has always been my dream place to live with its warm weather, hot surfer dudes and that laid back, livin’ the life attitude.  But as of today, my view on the seemingly perfect Cali location has truly changed.  Thanks to the really messed up California Supreme Court Prop 8 decision banning same sex marriages, I started to realize the darkness that lies behind all that sunshine.

There are, in fact, a lot of effed up things about the place that isn’t quite as laid back as I once presumed:

1. You can never escape those dangerous earthquakes that occur a little too often. I don’t know about you, but I like my ground to remain stable, thankyouverymuch. Another thing I like: living without the fear of wildfires burning me to a crisp as I sleep.

2. I can barely watch The Real Housewives of the OC without cringing, and cant imagine having to see these women (and the millions of others just like them in Cali) in real life.  I might freak out, melt down, and have to get Botox to regain any sense of normalcy.

3. Seeing famous people every day might be cool, but knowing that some of the world’s most obnoxious and utterly ridiculous celebrities call that state home kind of turns me off.  I might just gag if I have to see Heidi or Spencer one more time on TV or in a magazine. Seeing them in person? Well, I think I’ll stay on the opposite side of the country.

4. California traffic is known to be ridiculous, and coming from the fast paced New York City lifestyle, I’m not sure that would quite work for me.

5. Most importantly, I’d probably miss my Ugg boots, my mittens, my scarf and ear muffs (oh, and states where gay couples can be married).  And who can turn down a good snowball fight?  Looks like I’ll be spraying on the tan and staying on the East Coast for a while.

If there’s one thing we all know (but often try to deny), it’s that college is basically it’s own little universe. It’s that beer-drinking, bar-hopping, Cliff Notes-reading, coffee-chugging “safe haven” between the comfort of your parent’s home and that place everybody calls “the real world.” And unfortunately, we all know that “real world” is much less exciting than MTV moguls would lead us to believe.

As a senior, I’ve finally realized one very important thing: College is awesome. And there’s quite a lot of sh*t you can get away with here that just isn’t gonna fly once you graduate. For example:

1. Mid day naps. Unless you decide to hightail your pretty bum down to Mexico or start your own company or something, midday siestas are generally not in the typical workin’ girl schedule. Oh, how I love the five hour breaks in between my classes.

2. Threesomes. Unless you want to end up like Charlotte in SATC, watching your dude getting’ frisky and feelin’ up some rando-girl while you stand awkwardly on the sidelines, I think threesomes are definitely better explored pre-graduation. I think almost everybody has at least one wild hookup story (that may or may not involve multiple partners) by the time they leave college. And that’s where those kind of explorations should probably stay. In college.

3. All nighters and Adderall binges. I’m pretty sure it’s not “adultlike” to stay up all night, downing cups of coffee and caffeine pills (or whatever your all-nighter drug of choice may be) to finish whatever crazy task your boss asks of you. Purple bruise-like bags under your eyes will never be sexy. Especially for an early morning meeting. Read More »

Spring is nice for some girls, but me? I am all about summer! When springtime days start lasting allllll the way to 7pm, and nights don’t dip below a balmy 55 degrees, I start dreaming of summer fashion.  Summer dresses, strappy sandals, bright colors, bold patterns, breezy fabrics; I just cannot get enough!

But even with all the beautiful summer fashion options out there, I worry.  What is it about the imminent arrival of summer that causes normally well-dressed people to make some, shall we say, questionable sartorial choices? Why do they think it’s okay to be semi-nude in public or dress like children?

Sure, bad fashion exists year-round, but summer clothing lives so much closer to naked that its faux pas are particularly troublesome.

Below, a round-up of my all time worst offenders! Remember, they’re called ‘don’ts’ for a reason!

1. Uggs. I know I’m going to get some slack for this one, but I just do not care. Yes, I think Uggs are ugly as sin and make your feet look like blobby puddles of dough, but I have begrudgingly accepted them as a form of warm and practical fall/winter footwear.  That being said, if it’s warm enough for shorts, it’s also warm enough for sandals!  If it’s dress season, your Ugglies should not be seeing the light of day. Hide those things under pants.

2. Call ‘em short shorts, call ‘em hot pants, call ‘em Daisy Dukes: but ladies (and please, for the love of god, men) put ‘em away! There are some seriously cute shorts out there these days, but if I can see the curvature of your ass cheeks before that fabric hits bottom, they are TOO SHORT.

3. Jelly shoes: What, are you 5 years old? No. And if you are, you shouldn’t be reading this website. You are too young, little lady!

4. Tunics as dresses: Fine in theory, but for my general problem with these, see the entry for short shorts and add in the problems of wind, subway grates, and public staircases, to name a few. And everyone knows it’s a shirt. Read More »