Rock 'n' Rollin

Hat from Charlotte Russe. Blazer & tunic from Forever 21.

Charlotte Russe Necklace

Forever 21 tights & Charlotte Russe boots. Yes, there is a theme here. haha.

Charlotte Russe ring

Current Musical Obsessions

(Check 'em out!!)

Regina Spektor

I always like to describe this lovely Indie lady's music as sounding the way summer smells. Regina's music is very different from most of what I listen to, but I still really love her musical style. It's beautiful and experimental. Regina's fashion style is very similar in this regard.

Regina's style is feminine and very vintage-inspired. She adds some intrigue, usually by employing different structures especially in her blouses. Floral prints are a Regina staple as well as skirts, dresses and structured jackets. Regina sticks to basic colors, usually and coordinates her wardrobe well. Again, almost everything she wears has a vintage flair to it. Jewelry is generally classy and does not distract from the real focus - her pretty face. And if you're planning on channeling Regina, don't forget your lipstick and curling iron.

I'm not really into the feminine look and my idea of vintage is band tees and leather jackets from the '70's, but I've seen this look all over the place. I think it looks good on almost any girl because it's interesting, flattering and fairly easy to put together. This is a good option to add instant class and flair to your wardrobe.

For Regina-inspired casual wear, I picked out a vintage floral blouse, simple skirt, structured trench, simple gold jewelry, feminine ballet flats and a cute and functional messenger bag. For a more formal look, I stuck with the floral theme for a cute, feminine dress, patterned tights for flair and a simple, classy clutch and shoes. Again, the jewelry is simple and gold. And of course, I couldn't forget coordinating lipstick!

Casual Regina Spektor-inspired by Ashley Chupp featuring Forever21

Items in this set:
Sheer Smocked Waist Top, $9.99
Satin Trench Jacket, $33
Old Navy Womens Plus Corduroy Pencil Skirts, $20
ASOS Leather Cut Out flat Shoes, $25
Anvil Messenger Bag 405 black, $14

Formal Regina Spektor-inspired by Ashley Chupp featuring Miss Me shoes

Items in this set:
AX Paris Vintage Boob Tube Dress, 19 GBP
Miss Me VERNICE-15 Platform Pumps
Nutmeg's Jewellery | Handbags | Fashion Handbags | Evening Bags |..., 25 GBP
Flower Chain Necklace, 20 GBP
Black Sweet Roses Lace Tights by Jonathan Aston, 12 GBP

Men's Fashion Trends

Why not?

Shane, Jacob, Brett, consider this your shout-out.

Suits.

In 2009 and 2010, men's suits are becoming more structured and interesting in general. You can read about it all in-depth here, but here's the basic rundown.

The slim, skinny look has been in a lot recently, but the general trend is starting to move away from that place. Although slim cut is still in, people are recognizing that room to breathe is essential. The most popular silhouette you'll be seeing is broader shoulders and slimmer waist and legs. Investing in a double-breasted coat might be a good plan since it provides this silhouette perfectly.

Vests have been huge in recent seasons for both men and women. Matching 3-piece suits are in so start stockpiling those vests (or waistcoats as they're known to the British)!

Have fun with patterns. Solid colors are classic and timeless, but the trend right now is patterned suits. We're talking pinstripes, houndstooth, that kind of thing. If you do plaid, make it subtle.

The more buttons you have, the more elongated your body looks. That said, no single-button suits unless you're really tall. Two buttons is timeless gold and if you're not for taking risks, stick with that. Three buttons is an up and coming trend, but it's not quite mainstream yet, so this is only for the fashion forward. More than three buttons is an absolute don't.

Notched lapels are classic and a good bet for anyone who doesn't want to take risks. Peaked lapels are the emerging trend if you do.

Wool is your safest bet for fabric. Thread count is important. 150 is the most versatile. Only do

cotton for a very casual, summer look. I can think of maybe one guy that I know that could or

even would wear this. Do linen if you're fashion forward, in a warm climate and going for light color. Personally, I love linen suits.

Jeans

Invest in a pair or two of dark wash designer jeans. You'll be glad you did. You can (and should!) wear them anywhere and everywhere and they'll last you forever. You may also want a black pair for winter. "Smart casual" is big right now, so pair your jeans with a t shirt and blazer and you're good to go. Slim is in!

Shirts

The rock 'n' roll look is taking over and band tees are absolute must, especially for this summer. If you're not a music lover, graphic tees will do just fine and the great thing is that you can find them anywhere. Also up for summer, high contrast shirts. By that I mean like a light shirt with a very dark design or vice versa. Deep V necks are not just for the skater or the hipster anymore. "Man-cleavage" is in especially for summer of 2010. I think they're trying to bring back the turtleneck, but I don't see this lasting. They've tried and failed a few times on that one.

Scarves

They're everywhere! They're all over the runways, but not just limited to high fashion. Don't just get one scarf- get a few and mix and match with whatever outfit you're wearing. Matching hat

and scarf sets are also really big right now on runways and in "real-life." Basically this means that not only is it pretty mainstream and you won't look like a dork, but it'll be considered in style for a little while longer.

Ties

I've been seeing the skinny tie all over runways especially in winter 2009-2010 collections, but it's not the only option. Classic ties are still great. Stripes seem to be the common pattern, but retro floral prints are coming back, too. I've seen a few bow ties paired with more casual ensembles I guess for the juxtaposition.

So there you go. My best breakdown of men's fashion trends for 2010.

Forgive the gratuitous abuse of the webcam

I just want you to know that I love my new haircut. My friend Juliann did it. She is quite skilled.

All I want for Christmas is...

Please put me in this if you can.

debbie tunic by Ashley Chupp featuring Forever21

Finals week...

Ugh. Finals week. My exams start tomorrow night. So, naturally, I've been studying with a lot of late nights. And I'm kind of a wreck. But that's no excuse for looking like a total slob! Here are some tips I've picked up for looking presentable in the midst of the high stress and sleep deprivation.

Showering at night

This may be a no-brainer for some, but I always take my showers in the morning. The main reason I don't take showers at night is that when I'm sleepy, I don't feel like doing my hair. My roommates can go to bed with wet hair, wake up the next morning and look fine. I can't pull that trick. So last night, I set my hair in two braids after my shower and before I went to sleep. In the morning, I took them out and had relatively tame waves instead of looking like an electrocuted poodle. This allows me to sleep until the last minute and still look okay.

Makeup

If I give up makeup altogether, it will be quite obvious that I'm sleepless and generally out of it. However, I just used enough concealer to cover blemishes and dark eye-circles and just enough mascara to make me look awake. I almost never leave my room without eyeliner, so this is different for me. However, I am now free to rub my eyes without worrying about looking like Courtney Love.

Leggings!

I love leggings. I picked this tip up from College Fashion. Leggings are comfy to sleep in and all you have to do the next morning is throw on an oversized tee or cardigan and run with it. Now you're comfortable, but you're doing it with more flair than sweatpants.

Shoes

Comfort and ease is what you're going for here. You want shoes you can slip on and walk out the door in. It gets really cold here in Northwest PA, so I'll be sticking to my moccasins, my suede boots and my snow boots. Every girl needs at least one pair of comfy, stylish go-to shoes for situations like this. I have a few recommendations!

Moccasins

Fashion boots

Warm boots

I made my roomie take a picture of me today. I know I look rough, but trust me- it could be much worse.

I did the leggings. Yes, I did sleep in them last night. I pulled on my Charlotte Russe suede boots. Band T shirts are an important staple of my wardrobe. I wore my longest, roomiest one since it is comfortable and adds personal flair to my ensemble. And finally, I wore my extra large, obnoxiously colored grandpa cardigan. This is one of my favorite wardrobe pieces ever. It's sooo comfortable and really fun and versatile too! Did I mention I bought it at a thrift store for 4 dollars?

So, there you go. This is my game plan for facing finals week. I will inevitably look like a mess, so I might as well do it with style.

Currently listening to: "Tell Her Tonight" Franz Ferdinand

Oh! The Irony

Pulling off ironic fashion is far from easy. And it's becoming a bigger and bigger thing. There are darn hipsters crawling all over the place! I'm not gonna lie. I do like some irony in my wardrobe. It's a lot of fun. For example, here's one of my favorite shirts of all time!

That's a picture of Kanye and it says "Yo I'm really happy for you and I'ma let you finish, but I have one of the best shirts of all time"

The thing is, when you try to do irony, you run the risk of looking like you know nothing about fashion or looking like a flamboyant hipster.

Yesterday, my hall had "Crazy Christmas Sweater Day" and this is pretty much the approach I took. (I should have taken a picture, but this is almost exactly the look I rocked.)

I wanted to make the sweater the main focus so it would be obvious it was intentional. I kept the rest very basic, but still trendy. Most of all, remember to rock it with confidence! In general, when doing irony, keep it classy, polished, smart and coordinated. You want to look like this:

Understated Irony by Ashley Chupp featuring Old Navy

and NOT like this:

What to be expecting...

Friday is our hall's "Crazy Christmas Sweater Day" so expect a post on ironic fashion and how to pull it off without looking tacky or like a hipster.

I'd like to start putting up some posts on music. I've been wanting to write about some bands, so expect that to start up soon.

There are some girls I've met here with awesome fashion sense, so I may start posting "closet-tours" with some of my fellow fashion-obsessed students.

I love counterculture and subculture movements. I spend hours researching them. I'd love to enlighten any readers on some past and present movements, clearing up misconceptions and shedding light on the reasoning behind them.

Also, I'm not sure if anyone reads my posts, but I'm just gonna keep on truckin' and hope something happens.

Currently listening to: "The Reeling" Passion Pit

I don't think you understand...

I want you out of my life. And I don't think you're taking the hints. I don't want to crush you, but I'm an inch away from blowing up. You're annoying and ignorant. I've tried to shut you out so many times before. You're toxic. You make me so angry, I lash out and make things worse. Somehow, you think that you can just expect me to forgive and/or forget every stupid thing you've done when you just keep cranking them out. I've never liked you. I've never liked your family. And I think I've made that clear in the past. And yet you keep trying to be my "friend." I try to never hate. But you make it so hard. If you're reading this, you know who you are. Don't message me. Don't text me. (By the way, HOW did you get my number?!) Don't try to talk about it. You will never change my mind. I've conceded to you before because I felt bad hurting your feelings. No more. You have other friends. You mean nothing to me. Leave. Me. Alone. Consider this your formal invitation to GTFO.

Currently listening to: "I am Your Skin" The Bravery

Joanna Gikas

Joanna is the frontwoman for relatively obscure band Io Echo. Take a moment to check them out. It's okay. I'll wait for you. Done? Awesome, right? I knew you'd agree. I wish I knew how exactly to describe their music. I've heard it called goth or pop-punk, but I don't think either of those quite work. Think Interpol meets Yeah Yeah Yeahs meets New Young Pony Club. That's the best I can do. It's good stuff, though. Just trust me on this one.

I think that as Joanna and Io Echo become more famous, Joanna will emerge as a fashion icon. Already, I really dig what she's been putting out there. There are elements of femininity to what she wears. I've seen a lot of simple dresses. But she doesn't look super "girly" in that she tends to use other elements such as a jacket or even her hair to give some edge to what she wears. I'm not sure if it's intentional, but in almost every picture I could find of Joanna she was wearing black and white. I love that she rocks a signature color scheme already, but I'm also hoping to see some different stuff from her soon.

This is a pretty good example, I think.

Joanna rocks the vintage look and makes it a little more edgy and "tough" for lack of a better word. I love that. I'm not a huge fan of the girly, vintage thing, but I'm definitely a fan of this twist on it. Sometimes, I think vintage comes across as "cute", but I wouldn't really call Joanna's style "cute." So, congratulations Joanna on doing vintage without looking overly feminine or trite.

I've drawn on some of the elements I've seen from Joanna to create some looks that I know I would love to rock and I'm sure you could pull off, too.

Casual Joanna Gikas-inspired by Ashley Chupp featuring Miss Selfridge tights

Items in this set:
Love Milly Stripe Dress | Love Milly Dresses @ USC, 30 GBP
Zip Up Snap Pocket Faux Leather Jacket, $30
Black Patent Crocodile D'Orsay Flat, $32
Black Glitter Leggings, 18 GBP
Fleur De Lis & Rapid Rivets Leather Cuff, $18

Formal Joanna Gikas-inspired by Ashley Chupp featuring Forever21 shoes

Items in this set:
Sara Bow Dress, $38
Chaz Suede Ankle Boot, $25
Black patent zip clutch, 9.60 GBP
Midnight Garden Long Pendant Necklace, $24
Silver and Black Zebra Curved Bangle Bracelet, $12