Chic Phone Cases

 I’ve always been very frugal when it comes to phone cases. Ebay, Amazon, and on special occasions, Etsy were the way to go. For my last phone, I had eight cases. All very cheap plastic, but in an array of pretty colors and patterns.

This time around, I decided to go a different route. After a lot of searching, I stumbled upon Vianel, a leather goods brand based in New York City. When I saw that they had my favorite shade of blue, I was instantly sold. There’s even a free monogramming included. My case is this beautiful blue lizard skin. It was $90 which I would consider outrageous for a phone case, but if you think of it as a leather good, it’s not so crazy. I think.

Just a few weeks ago, I went on Olivia Palermo’s Instagram (<3) just to see what my favorite girl crush goddess had been up to. I was shocked and actually incredibly happy to see that she’d purchased four cases from the same company (After I did)! Every day when I don’t know what to wear, I try to channel OP so being ahead of her on this made me feel just a little bit cooler haha.

Twinzies!

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Sartorial Stars – Grace

Grace H.
Madison, WI
Junior, University of Wisconsin
Digital Studies & Communication Arts

How would you describe your style in a few words?

“My style ranges from bohemian to chic. I like simple pieces that create a clean, minimalistic outfit.”

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Who is your fashion icon? Is there anyone you try to emulate when getting dressed?

“My fashion icon is Gigi Hadid. her street style is effortlessly chic.”

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What is your favorite trend to wear?

“My favorite trend right now is t-shirt dresses. Although it is difficult for me to find one that isn’t to boxy on me because I’m petite, the tight dress can be thrown on for a quick errand or paired with a necklace and sandals for a classier look.”

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And what’s your least favorite trend right now?

“My least favorite trend right now is overalls. Unless you are a painter, under five years old, or at a Wisco game day, they have no place in your closet.”

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What’s your favorite piece of clothing in your closet?

“My favorite thing in my closet is a pair of short, black leather boots with cut out stripes on the sides from Urban Outfitters. They were on sale for $30 and they are a versatile staple in my closet.”

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When you don’t know what to wear, what’s your go-to outfit?

“My go-to outfit is my grey t-shirt dress, black boots, and leather jacket.”

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What are some of your favorite stores to shop at?

“My favorite stores to shop at are Urban Outfitters, Revolve, Forever21, and Asos.”

Fast Fashion

The crutch of all frugal Millennials, fast fashion has dominated the retail space. If you need a new dress for a night out or a new top for a date, Forever21 and Zara will always have something waiting for you at a cheap price. This low price, however, comes with low-quality fabric and (moreso for F21) unoriginal designs. Why buy a $200 versatile silk blouse when you could buy ten cheaper tops for the same price?

Sometimes at these stores, you can find a nice-looking piece that will last you ages. I have a shirt from Forever21 that I bought at least 5 years ago, but it’s not a nice top. I’ve been trying to invest in nicer, higher-quality pieces so that I can stop cluttering my closet with “trendy” fad clothing that is made of scratchy fabrics and may fall apart after a handful of washes. I cannot tell you how many peplum tops I bought from Forever21 in high school….and I never wear any of them anymore.

The main take away from all this is that fast fashion, although fun and affordable, is wasteful. It fits in perfectly with the consumerism and materialism Americans are known for. We buy what we want when we want it and just throw it out when we move on. This just seems ridiculous to me. Why not buy things that we will love and use for a longer time? You may like that polyester shirt from Zara this month, but when the trend passes, will you still want to wear it?

The answer is no, you won’t. And the stores know it so they refresh the merhcandise on the sales floor. Their businesses are built on our incessant appetite for new trends.

No need to run to your closet and toss out all of your shirts from F21 this second; they’re still useful shirts. Sometimes, Forever21 is the perfect place to get a going out blouse (one that you don’t mind getting drinks spilled on) when you’re in a time crunch. That’s what it’s there for. be careful not to grow dependent on these stores and waste your money each season stocking your closet with soon-to-be-irrelevant fads.

Sartorial Stars – Row

Row K.
New York, NY
Sophomore, NYU Steinhardt
Applied Psychology -Neuroscience, Biology minor

Fun Fact: “I’m a vegan. All my clothes are vegan. I can move my eyes independently from one another. I can do an uncanny turkey impression on spot.

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How would you describe your style in a few words?

“I would describe my style as easy-going, comfortable, up-scale bohemian. I love wearing prints and flowy clothes that let me live a mobile life.”

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Who is your fashion icon? Is there anyone you try to emulate when getting dressed?

“One of my fashion icons is Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City. She always manages to make a statement in her crazy and sometimes outrageous, but deeply fabulous ensembles.”

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What is your favorite trend to wear?

“My favorite trend is the tailored sun hat”

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And what’s your least favorite trend right now?

“One of my least favorite trends is those black choker necklaces.”

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What’s your favorite piece of clothing in your closet?

“My favorite thing in my closet are my grey metallic Doc Martins.”

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When you don’t know what to wear, what’s your go-to outfit?

“When I don’t know what to wear, my go-to outfit is a jumper because it’s only one piece and I don’t have to pair it with anything but accessories.”

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What are some of your favorite stores to shop at?

“Some of my favorite stores are Zara and Mango.”

Follow Row on CollegeFashionista to keep up with her easy-going, boho style.

Style Guru Bio

Hey guys!

This semester, I started my with CollegeFashionista as an NYU Style Guru. I’m so excited to share my style with a larger audience and hope to spot some impressive street style looks around campus. Who knows, you may be the next featured fashionista.

My first post was a personal style bio (a few photos below). Check out the full post for more photos.
Aaaand if you really love me, you’ll follow me and give my looks a “Rad.” ❤

Killer Heels

I touched on this in Paris, but it’s even more true in Manhattan. If you intend to wear heels on a day you will be walking a lot, be careful… you may never walk again.

As a former dancer, my feet have built up a very high pain tolerance, but sometimes it’s too much for me. A girl can only push through the pain of so many blisters. I’m usually running a few minutes behind schedule and have to rush from one place to the next. Speed walking in heels on the uneven sidewalks of New York, carrying a heavy bag filled with textbooks is always a recipe for disaster.

Here’s my favorite pair to wear around. They look great and are not too tall to be uncomfortable on my hasty runs to class.
I asked around and here’s some of the best advice I got for wearing heels in the Big City:

1. Don’t wear suede heels in the winter because they WILL get wet and they WILL be ruined. forever.
2. Get a pair with a thick, sturdy heel not a tiny little skinny one unless you want to eat s***.
3. Get some comfy gel inserts or wear shoes with platforms. The sidewalks of the City will have no mercy on the balls of your feet.
4. Don’t wear stilettos in the West Village or Chelsea because the cobblestone will destroy the heels.
5. Make sure your destination has a seat!
6. Carry blister band aids with you at all times. There’s nothing worse than blisters you can’t do anything about.

Back to School Shopping. New York Style.

What would a new school year be without some new outfits to freshen up your wardrobe? And while online shopping is good fun, why spend your time hunched over your laptop when you could go out in the fashion capital of the world?

Since we arrived a few days early, I dragged my friends out with me to enjoy the nice weather. We went up Fifth Ave because I am still holding a grudge against SoHo after some unfortunate events last year. Near us, Fifth Ave has a lot of chain retailers so we took a peek around there before heading down some smaller side streets. One of my favorite stores, PinkyOtto, is near the Flatiron so we headed over there next.

I’ve been dying to try wearing hats so with the encouragement of my friends, I finally bought one. We’ll see if I actually end up wearing it though. I also bought a simple, striped t-shirt dress. There is an adorable triangle cutout on the back though, making it more fun than a plain shirt dress.

Indulging in Americana

While here, I’ve been trying to stay away from the Zaras and H&Ms: places I can shop at in the US (even though they are both European companies!). I always play devil’s advocate and argue that they have more stylish, more affordable options here, but nobody is willing to listen. When it comes down to it, it’s still H&M. I should be taking advantage of all the adorable and truly Parisian boutiques that are everywhere in the city. It’s one of the things I love most about Paris. Individual boutiques like that seem to be hard to come by in the US. All of our shopping areas, especially in New York, have been taken over by powerhouse chains like H&M and Zara.

The one American store that I couldn’t stay away from was Brandy Melville. I have very strong feelings about this store. I could rant forever about its cliché, want-to-be hip, suburban middle school ‘edgy’ look. But sometimes, just sometimes, the softness and crazy comfort of their fabrics makes me forget about all of that.

Of course, I bought two shirts in black haha. They are relatively cheap and a great place to buy basics that will last forever (if you don’t mind all the crop tops).

Jean Paul Gaultier Exhibit

Last week I went to check out the Jean Paul Gaultier Exhibit at the Grand Palais. Going in, had absolutely no idea what to expect. Even now, I’m not sure how I feel about it. The clothes showcased were… adventurous (to say the least). There were crazy bird hats, leather dresses, and wedding gowns (or rather skirts, with little pearl pasties making up the “top” of the look). It was all very unusual. Pictured on the left are some of the tamer looks from the exhibition. The coolest thing by far were the mannequins. Some of the figures had talking faces being projected onto them. Some of them were having conversations with each other across the room! One mannequin was looking into a mirror and he and his reflection were having a discussion! Unfortunately, they were in French so I wasn’t able to understand, but the concept was very fascinating.

Sorry for the brevity of this post, I’m in the middle of studying for finals!

The Best Store in Paris

These posts about colors are probably getting a little old so I will try to write about something new for tomorrow’s entry!

So it just so happens that my new purchase is in my favorite color, Cobalt! I stumbled upon this shop randomly while searching for falafel and I’m so glad I did! The address is below if you want to check it out. They’ve got great deals on clothes from three Parisian brands.

It’s called Suite 341. I went to the location in the Marais, but they have another store in Paris. They sell Sandro as well as Maje and Claudie Pierlot! And if you join their free membership program, you can get larger discounts off the tag price!

3 ter, rue des Rosiers 75004 Paris, FR