Fashion

By Charlotte Steinway, 21, reporting from Boston on her newfound kid-chic style

As a college senior only weeks away from graduation, I've spent much of the last month stressing about the dissipation of my youth and my all too imminent (and all too unknown) entry into the "real world." How have I decided to deal with the stress, you may wonder?

My unwavering antidote has involved acting like I'm a high school senior — and dressing like I'm in kindergarten. The acting like a 17-year-old part is fairly easy to describe: feign hard work while hardly working and essentially blame everything on the 'itis.

The dressing like a five-year-old part, however, has required a little more planning. I think I really started to retrograde last year, when I developed a distinct affinity for bow hairclips. Although I purchased most of my more colorful ones at a thrift store — I wouldn't be surprised if they actually belonged to me in my youth — I did get one (hello, Lady Gaga) on eBay, and my all-time favorite black bow clip at H&M.

Usually I'll pair a bow with an equally 90's-themed floral dress or pair of cutoff jorts. But this weekend, I found the ultimate accompaniment: a pair of white eyelet Keds with ribbon laces.

One more stop at Am Appy for a pair of frilly socks, and I was ready for the playground. If I could re-do my elementary school days, I would have kept this look through the years, skipping that embarrassing phase involving orange Adidas Shell Toes and denim Pumas...

By Charlotte Steinway, 21, reporting from Boston on the first Lady of avant-garde style

Though Lady Gaga is a bastion of cutting-edge style, there's a reason that many of her signature pieces have yet to make it into the stores. I mean, what's really the likelihood of someone being able to see out of fully rhinestoned sunglasses? And, exactly how marketable is an outfit without pants?

But if you're going Gaga, you don't need me to tell you this is for the best: a little of the Lady goes a long way. We can start with the sparkling booty shorts. Nearly two and a half years after Chanel's sequined hot pants made their runway debut, the 40s-inspired trend is back with a vengeance. After a short hiatus (pun intended), brazen Brits, burlesque dancers, and of course, Lady Gaga, have all been sporting them. And now, with Halloween around the corner and Topshop in the States, I have an excuse to buy their Scallop Sequin Knicker, as homage to Ms. Gaga in all her poker-faced glory.

From there—with no hooded leotard at Am Appy and no origami headband from Forever XX1—I'm left to the dubious fate of DIY. But I'm staying positive: Luckily, there are plenty of YouTube videos on how to make your hair into a Lady Gaga-style bow, including this one, 8:46 minutes and in HD, which has been viewed just short of three million times.

Throw in some rhinestones, post-op cataract glasses, and a hot glue gun, and I'll be good to go. —Charlotte Steinway

By Zoe Mendelson, 19, reporting from Chicago on the coolest T-shirts in (and out of) town

I don't know when graphic T-shirts lost their charm. Maybe it was somewhere between "Jesus is my Homeboy" and "90% Angel." Honestly, it took me way too long to admit that a mass-produced T-shirt couldn't actually be clever. Eventually I did give them up, but the concession made me sad.

This is why I'm all about Novem Studios. A once graffiti crew turned art collective in Chicago, they print silk-screened graphic tees that are clever without the camp: quintessentially fresh. My favorite is this Team Spirits design. It's a totem pole made of each Chicago sports team's mascot—I mean, they even worked in the Chicago Sky and Fire.

Novem designs are so far from the jokes made too many times on shirts at Hot Topic. This is flavorful local history (Obama surely coming soon) and just graphic design at its best, with an originality that anyone can appreciate, outside of the 312 and 773 and even past 630 land. Their newest Ts are a collaboration with another Chicago-based design collective, Delicious Design, featuring large intricate prints of animal faces. Fierce, yo—and also available in poster form.

So maybe we didn't get the Olympics, but show a little love anyway. From the City of Big Shoulders to your shoulders everywhere: they're all available at www.novemshop.com.

By Maya-Catherine Popa, 20, reporting from New York City on the shorts to destroy this summer

We all love distressed denim just a little bit, even though deep down we know it's ridiculous to pay good money for shorts that look, at best, like they've been run over by a tank, pecked at by vultures, and soaked in muddy water.

But distressed cutoffs are just enough grunge to offset the ongoing ballerina trend—and fortunately, not enough material that the designers dare charge what they do for full jeans. Or there's always the cheaper DIY option: Distress It Yourself.

If you're dead-set on owning a pair of designer-destroyed denim shorts, Shopbop has a good selection. Personal favorites include Chip & Pepper's "Peyton Shorts" ($158) and Current/Elliott's "The Roll Short" ($178), which are only moderately distressed and could still be worn in front of your grandmother without inciting concern about the state of your clothing.

If you're someone who prefers to do your own damage, check out the wikiHow-To, no tank required. Few of us are eager to destroy our perfect skinny jeans, so consider hunting for last season's styles on sale—and enjoy not worrying about the cut. Remember you'll be doing some cutting of your own. Or invite some friends over for a trendy demolition derby, just in time for summer and a decidedly anti-ballerina event. —Maya-Catherine Popa

By Amy Hunt, 18, reporting from Huntingdon, Pennyslvania, on her Internet obsession-with footwear

I've had a strange obsession rise up in recent years: socks.

I'm not just talking about specific socks, a favorite pair or two. It's the entire inventory of Sock Dreams. I spend hours browsing the site, wishing that life presented more occasions when a girl-beyond the basics-needs to buy socks.

I found the chance recently, when, on my way to the grocery store, I managed to slip on a patch of ice and rip a hole in the knee of my jeans. I can't actually stand ripped jeans, and especially not in the winter. So the second I got back to my room, I grabbed my laptop and ordered two pairs of thigh-high socks. A few days later, I had my Super Stripes and Long Cuffable Scrunchable socks.

Sock Dreams is a bit of a splurge, I'll admit-the pairs I got were $10 and $12 (though the shipping is free if you're in the US). But when the windchill hit below zero later that week, my feet and legs were definitely thankful. And the people who run the site give you great service, which means they aren't going to gyp you of great socks. I even got a little handwritten thank-you note!

If you don't want thigh-high socks like crazy me, they've plenty of other options, like anklets and footies and mid-calves, and the bright, colorful tights that are hot for spring-coming soon, on the other side of the icy patches. - Amy Hunt

By Charlotte Steinway, 20, reporting from Paris, France, on pret-a-Pocahontas style

Ever since Disney's Pocahontas came out in the mid 90's, I've had a mild obsession with all things Native American. It's gone from an innocent penchant for moccasins to a severe affinity for feathered and fringed accessories. In fact, I distinctly remember the first time I laid eyes on Sam Edelman's "Uri" over-the-knee, tiered fringe boots. I dragged my boyfriend to the store window in Harvard Square and pointed to the glorious feats of footwear: "Beautiful!" I exclaimed. "I thought u were talkin' about me," said a middle-aged man standing in the general vicinity.

I kept my mind off the boots for a while, deciding that $225 was far too much money for something modeled after the footwear of our hunting and gathering predecessors. I moved onto a pair of far more practical (as practical as fringe moccasin boots can be) $76 Minnetonkas. Then I came across my original love for HALF-OFF on Nordstroms.com and made them my own. All in all, a great success.

A month or so later I packed up my entire life to study in Paris for the semester, and I had to decide which pair to bring with me. I went with the smaller, lighter Minnetonkas. And now that I've gotten here, French fashion involves a lot of fringe at the moment, including the taupe messenger bag I splurged on during the last week of the soldes (the monthlong sale season, love this country) that matches exactly with the Sam Edelman boots I DIDN'T pack.

But now that I think of it, wearing the two together could create some sort of gnarly dreadlock of interwoven fringe accessories. So I guess it all worked out. —Charlotte Steinway

By Charlotte Steinway, 20, reporting from Paris, France, on grunge-free flannel fashion

Marilyn had wind-infused dresses, Madonna had conical bras, and Kurt Cobain had flannel. Lucky for Kurt, his 90s grunge-tastic songs and styles still rotate through today's hipsters' iPods and closets.

As a wannabe hipster, I am constantly looking for ways to incorporate flannel into my wardrobe. I have no problem with nabbing some cheap-o flannels from thrift stores and flea markets. Yet I hope to give off a more modern vibe, rather than rock a look that SCREAMS "Nevermind."

Through my trial and error thus far, the look seems largely versatile—-pair a moderately-fitted flannel with some denim cutoffs and Vans and you've got the surfer/skater look from Dogtown and Z-Boys. An oversized flannel with leggings and heels gives you a throwback to MK & A's shabby-chic clubbing get-up from last year. And I tried a big red-and-green plaid shirt with preppy accessories—-large studs, slim jeans, and big bow headbands—-for that perfect Gossip Girl-meets-Bob the Builder look I'm always after! (OK, I completely made that up. I've never tried to look like Bob the Builder. But hey, you get my point.)

As a native of Los Angeles, it came as no surprise that the other week, at Urth Caffé (which is, surprise surprise, MK & A's alleged fave restaurant), I found myself just one in many, standing amidst a virtual rainbow of large checkered-print shirts.

Currently, I'm in Paris studying for the semester. I had hoped to be an American original in my flannels. FALSE! Turns out, they're all the rage here too. In fact, I'm writing this from a room in which my host family had exactly three posters on the wall upon my arrival: Brigitte Bardot, James Dean, and lastly, Kurt Cobain. Nevermind. — Charlotte Steinway

By Erika Kwee, 18, reporting from Houston, TX, on a cool crochet project

To begin with, let me say that I am not a hat person. I hate wearing them. They tend to squash my bangs awkwardly across my face, or they make my head itchy, or they just poof out weirdly... It's good that I go to school in Texas, where it's not ever really THAT cold.

But. Over winter break, I decided that I needed a new knitting/crochet project. Besides, I was home in northern California on a damp, dreary Eskimo-hood kind of day and tired of scarves. I wanted a quick, cute project—so I ran an Internet search and came across this free pattern for the "Pretty Puffs Slouchy Hat" on a blog called Crafty Pants!

Lucky me—sometimes you can't tell by looking with these crochet patterns—but this one was quite easy, even with my rusty crocheting skills.

If you are new to crocheting, I highly suggest Leisure Arts' 10 20 30 Minutes to Learn to Crochet book for clear and easy instructions. However, if you don't feel like spending the money (especially for the less desirable granny-aged projects, i.e., the coasters and afghans found in the second half of the book), you can always do a quick search for beginner instructional websites and YouTube videos; there are many.

The night after I found the pattern, I began the hat while watching Love, Actually with my family. It took me the entire movie, plus about an hour, to finish the hat—a grand total of approximately three hours. I used only a little more than half a 100g skein of worsted weight yarn. Quite the satisfying project!

I ended up giving it to my friend Tracy (that's her pictured), because I thought it would go well with her hair and she goes to Tahoe for snow stuff a lot—many apres-ski occasions to keep her head warm. And it's pretty non-frumpy and maybe even fashionable(!) bit of handiwork if I do say so myself...

By Zulay Regalado (MIAMI)

Photo credit: Ryan Michael Kelly

One of the many highlights of my trip to NYC this December—my first reading as a RED author—was getting the chance to attend a fashion sample sale. And what girl doesn't enjoy a sale, let alone in a crowd-free room with designer wear, mulled wine, and sugar cookies? Hello!

It was there that I was introduced to Pepper + Pistol, a label created by Katrin Wiens and Silvia Hillman, two German-born designers now living in New York, who are as original as the idea behind their name. (It comes from a German folk tale.) Katrin and Silvia's designs make it easy to look fashionably casual, patterned and edgy, which is why I bought an awesome navy blue oversize tee with silver witch and cat prints—yes, witch AND cat, an outfit that I mix with black leggings and my signature hot pink flats. My friend Liz fell in love with a yellow halter sundress with white dragonfly prints.

The lightweight materials and breezy flow of the pieces are perfect for a stuffy July afternoon in our hometown of Miami, which is major for us. A must-have on my wardrobe list now is this hot-white Summer Sizzle Dress. If you're more of a tees girl, then these boldly patterned shirts, also from their Babylon Summer 09 collection, are perfect for a day around town or a just to hang out.

After talking a bit with Katrin (and complimenting her on her adorable, single lipstick ear stud and P+P Eskimo leggings), I got a first-hand look at what really inspires her and Silvia's collections; it's all about what makes you feel like you, and what girl doesn't enjoy peppering her wardrobe with a little fashion-forward self expression?