trial and error

There was a certain bag that I saw on the Urban Outfitters website long ago, in the early spring.

I immediately loved it and dreamed of the day that I might own it. I would often go back and look at it, fantasizing about the edge it would lend to my wardrobe. This infatuation went on for months; I saw it in stores once or twice and lovingly caressed its fake leather, longing for the day we would finally be together.

Finally, in August, I ordered it. At the time, I was on vacation, so I knew that the bag would be waiting faithfully for me when I got home. The day arrived at last, and finally I owned the bag of my dreams, after months and months. This bag, in fact:

Deena & Ozzy Chain Tote, $58. Urbanoutfitters.com

In the minutes after I removed it from its packaging, every detail of the bag was perfect. For a couple days, all my fantasies and expectations came true. Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever.

The main zipper at the top of the bag was cheap and flimsy. It didn't zip smoothly; I had to backtrack and make sure the teeth were lined up in order to close the bag. That was something I could learn to live with, I thought. Then one of the stud details popped off when I touched it lightly. That, too, could be fixed easily, but it told of worse things to come.

I went to the Apple Store to get a case for my mother's iPod Touch. As I was leaving, the stud that held the piece of leather that held the ring that the shoulder strap clipped onto gave way as well. Like with the other stud, I stuck the male and female pieces back together and the problem was temporarily fixed.

But that stud kept popping off. I kept fixing it, still desperately hoping that we would get past this problem and work together after all. The stud just kept popping off, though, and the more it popped off and the more I stuck it back into place, the worse it got - the hole in the canvas through which the stud passed was getting ripped up from all the stress.

The weak spot.

After a week of owning the bag, I had to admit that it was never going to get better and I gave up on it. I returned it for store credit, and went back to a trusty H&M bag from November '08 - that somehow only cost a quarter of the price of the Urban Outfitters bag.

It's been about two weeks without that (seemingly) lovely two-toned bag. I'm still a little bitter and disappointed, but I have moved on. Actually, during move-in I saw a girl with the bag, but in a different color and I felt a little silly about the whole thing. This bag is mass-produced and aggressively marketed to young people. It's an overpriced piece of crap.

Also, its page bears this cryptic message in small, light-colored print down at the bottom:

"This item does not comply with California Proposition 65. Please visit help/info for more details on Proposition 65.

What could this mean???? This mystery will be solved!

VERDICT: don't buy dis crap ever rrrrr

what i like

Silence & Noise Pleated Knit Trouser, $38. Urbanoutfitters.com

I can't lie. I think harem pants are really awesome.

Right now, my closet is full of skirts. Skirts and blouses. While that look works really well for me (I think), I'm getting a little bored of it. I essentially wear a uniform every day because I just keep mixing the same selection of skirts and blouses. However, I can't stand pants. They're uncomfortable and they don't fit correctly - I am short with a fat ass and smaller waist, so I always get that gappy shit in the back. I don't have the money to get better-made, high-end jeans or to get lower-priced ones tailored. Anyway, the cost of tailoring would probably be almost as much as the cheap jeans themselves, so why bother?

The proportions of store-bought bootcut or wide-leg jeans don't work at all for me. I was really into skinny jeans, but unfortunately they didn't look very good on me either. My last favorite pair wore out and I haven't had the faintest desire to go to the effort of buying some more, when I could spend that money on more skirts and blouses instead.

Yet, sometimes I yearn to have my legs encased in cotton tubes. Sometimes I just want to wear pants. So when I first saw harem pants, it was a revelation. They combine the looseness, breeziness, and fitted waist (~~~top priority~~~) of my skirts with...pants. To put it succintly, I fucking love harem pants.

Look at them. They are just so cool. When I was in Paris this summer, I saw a girl wearing the same pair two days in a row and she still looked fucking great. Harem pants are so alluring, so daring. It takes a lot of balls to wear a dropped crotch.

Thank you, MC Hammer.

what i wore today

Very, very simple outfit today. It took absolutely no effort to put this together. I woke up too late this morning to take a shower and I was too tired to think of something more complex, so I just threw this on.

Even though I just got out of bed and put on the easiest thing in my closet, I think this is still a legitimate look. This t-shirt dress has a number of details that make it interesting: wide neck, chest pocket, and cuffed, mid-length sleeves. My favorite thing about this dress, though, is its ultra-flattering, mid-thigh length. It makes for a very good proportion on me - an important aspect of dressing, especially if you're as short as I am.

The waist belt I added refines the silhouette and draws attention to my waist, which I always aim to do since I consider it one of the better parts of my body.

PS. Isn't my dorm room the classiest possible place to take pictures? I know, right?

let's get started

My name is Arielle and I am a freshman at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I am a magazine journalism major.

One of my most favorite things is clothing. I love to look at what other people are wearing and to imagine what they are trying to say about themselves through their outfit. Our choice of clothing sends a very strong message about who we are - or who we want to be.

In the past year, I think I've figured out how I personally like to dress. I have found what I like to wear and what, for the most part, works for me. However, when I was in 7th grade, I thought the same thing. In 7th grade, I amassed a collection of The Cure, Bauhaus, and Siouxsie and the Banshees t-shirts that I altered to suit my aesthetic: I cut a few inches off the sleeves and bottoms and I cut the collars out entirely. I left the edges really ragged because I wanted to be a rebellious goth.

Obviously, that has changed.

Since my style has evolved so much over the six years since, especially over the four years of high school, I want to see if the same thing happens in college. In this blog, I'll document my own style as well as that of the other students at Temple. In so doing, I'll also have a record of which runway trends show up - or originate - among college students, and when.

let's get started.