Hair: Loose the ponytail! I’m not saying every morning you have to curl or straighten it, but there are lots of fun, fairly easy things you can do with your hair beyond a sloppy ponytail. Also, headband plus ponytail, really? I don’t think so.

Top: I’m going to have to admit here, I don’t know what shirts most girls where, because all of them are wearing North Face jackets that they never take off during class. All of them wear the black ones:

Occasionally, there’s a wild child, and we see perhaps a pink one:

Bottoms: Even in our current economy, Victoria’s Secret will stay liquid on the simply fact that almost every girl in college owns at least one pair of pajama bottoms from their Pink line:

Shoes: The short Ugg boot or a knock off is the universal foot covering.

The only variation I see is trainers, jeans, and a hoody or t-shirt. The question this is all intending to pose, is how does one expect to graduate from college and enter ‘the real world’ when you live in the ‘un-real world’ for several years? Forget cooking, keeping house, and finances, you cannot even dress yourself. College is a wonderful time because you can make mistakes and they (hopefully) will not haunt you for the rest of your life or ruin your career aspirations. But you have to be willing to try, to seek feedback, and to learn from your mistakes. Following group mentality under the guise of ‘being comfortable’ is a lazy excuse. There is no self-respect in this, and for a moment, think about how disrespectful it is to your teachers- do you look like you are paying attention dressed like that? No, you look more like you are ready for a nap.

Haute Couture, we’ve all heard of it, but do we know what it really means? It applies only to women’s fashion, and is so important to the French, it is a legally regulated phrase. To be Haute Couture in France a fashion house must meet regulations on the quality of its merchandise. This is why we have such a reverence for Dior, Chanel, Lacroix, Gaultier, and Armani. However, Haute Couture also means that the clothing is made to fit the woman’s body. These clothes don’t come in sizes 2,4,6,8. They come in size ‘you.’

Bespoke clothing is the man’s Haute Couture. Things are a bit sticker with men’s clothing, for there is also ‘made to measure’ where a gentleman is measured on-site and clothes cut to those measurements. Bespoke is the highest option for men’s clothing. Often times one hears of bespoke suits, however dress shirts and sweaters may also be made in this manner. Bespoke items require an initial measurement, as well as style and fabric selection, then several weeks later a fitting, which may be followed by an additional fitting before the garment meets the tailors satisfaction. The place for bespoke clothing is the famous street, Savile Row in London, founded in the early 1800s by Henry Poole and Co. the first bespoke tailor on the block.

Pret-A-Porter, is the classy way to describe what most everyone wears; ready-to-wear clothing. Prounounced ‘pret-a-por-tay’ it is important to note that even major fashion houses produce pret-a-porter lines, such as Chanel and Dior. The most important factor to pret-a-porter however, is that you can make it your own with a great tailor! Your clothes might not be straight off the runway, but that is no reason for them not to fit you as thought they had been. It is what clothing comes down to, every woman has her own style, but clothing is about respect- for others, and yourself.

“I don’t understand how a woman can leave the house without fixing herself up a little – if only out of politeness. And then, you never know, maybe that’s the day she has a date with destiny. And it’s best to be as pretty as possible for destiny. ” So true, I can attest to this!

“A woman should be two things: classy and fabulous.”

“Dress sharply and they’ll remember the outfit; dress impeccably and they’ll remember the woman.”

And most important of all: “I love myself.” Do you? Because when you do, it will show. Today, try and Channel Chanel!