Monday's Muse: Hilary Duff Stays Warm in Scarves

In our own personal wardrobes, we all have our favorite items that we can't stop purchasing to wear over and over again. Some of us are shoe girls or bag girls or lip gloss girls--you know, that one item we have a million versions of because we love it so much. These are our style crutches, our go-to, fail-proof methods we turn to when dressing in a hurry. We all have a style crutch, and I love when I notice the crutch of a celebrity because it usually tends to denote the lack of a stylist and hence, the presence of a personality.

I have been an admirer of Hilary Duff's personal style for a while now because she does casual in a way that doesn't seem sloppy, which I think is trickier to master than most people realize. Hilary's go-to method for such a pulled together look is incorporating warm, chunky scarves into an otherwise simple outfit for a finished focal point that is all about performance. She is quoted by People magazine saying that she loves volume in scarves and looks for unique textures and prints when adding to her scarf collection.

For Hilary's overall outfit, scarves are about proportion--large, cozy scarves in interesting prints allow you to go simple with the rest of your outfit and simply let the scarf do the talking. This is a great look to try yourself; it's seasonally quite practical with warmer, bigger scarves, is easy on the wallet and very versatile--the addition of a scarf in your wardrobe can make all your clean basics go the extra mile. When imitating Hilary's casual scarf look, try not to wear your scarf as though it was cleanly tied; this look is about effortless, relaxed style. At the same time, try to pick a scarf that suits you. This is a great way to show your own personal taste in cost-efficient way.

Here are two outfits I've created to jumpstart your creative processes on bulkier, warmer scarves, one with a cooler more professional taste, and the other with a more casual center. Which one inspires you most, and will you take a cue from Hilary this winter?

PROFESSIONAL

Jacket-ASOS, Shoes-Piperlime, Tank-Modcloth, Scarf-JCrew, Bag-Melie Bianco

CASUAL

Scarf-Forever21, Boots-Piperlime, Bag-Piperlime, Shirt-Modcloth, Earrings-Modcloth, Jeans-American Eagle

Monday's Muse: "The Bitch is Back"

First of all, I'd really just like to preface this post by explaining how I am not an avid viewer of The Hills---at least, not anymore. I stopped watching it around a year ago, during my first semester of college, when I found it much harder to find time to keep up with shows and the drama became much less interesting. Lauren, the media tells me, has just left the show this past season to move on to bigger and better things (...?) AND WHO BETTER to fill the void of beloved but boring LC than Kristen Cavallari? At least, that's how MTV is spinning the situation. I kid you not, "The Bitch is Back" is their tagline, not mine.

During Laguna Beach, I must admit, I loved Kristin, and I still do to this day. She may not be nice, but she is funnier, smarter, and often better dressed than all the other girls combined (Heidi contributing a negative factor probably doesn't help). She recently stepped out to an event in this ensemble and I had to give her credit. It takes a unique person to smile at the camera when your comeback to fame is engineered to remind the public how nasty of a person you are. But anyway! On to the much more interesting part: what she wore and how you can make it your own.

A red that saturated is often hard to pull off, but with her signature blond locks and sunkissed tan I think she executes it very well. My favorite part of the outfit (no surprise here) is her shoes. You can see the garish, gold gladiators behind her and they just pale in comparison. What is important to take away from this outfit, I think, is that Kristen is here executing what many of us find difficult: transition dressing. This billowy tunic is still breezy in the sun, but will keep her warmer than a tank top or sun dress when the event carries past sun down. At the same time, she helps keep cool with an unexpected pair of navy shorts, helping distinguish herself from the rest with such a brilliant red and uncharacteristic shorts pairing. I guess you can say there is a reason why she steals everyone's boyfriends... She might be just better at it, like she is with her outfit. I guarantee that no one else at the event was wearing a similar ensemble.

For my spin on Kristin's outfit, I found a brightly colored tunic with a bit of a pattern from stylesforless.com. The best part about this tunic is that the color palette allows it a lot of versatility, letting you work with several different looks. In the first outfit, I recreated Kristen's look, and the second two I made my own. What do you think of my looks, and Kristen's? And how would you wear a brightly colored tunic?

Outfit 1: Shorts-Charlotte Russe, Shoes-Modcloth.com, Clutch-Net-a-porter.com

Outfit 2: Skirt-Forever 21, Boots-Piperlime, Earrings-Modcloth.com

Outfit 3: Boots-Charlotte Russe, Shorts-American Eagle, Bag-Net-a-porter.com

Monday's Muse: Jessica Alba in Sunny Yellow

The other day I was searching the internet for a photo I had seen of Jessica Alba wearing yellow flats (which turned out to be by Marc Jacob, if you're curious), and as I looked I noticed a trend almost immediately while going through her photos. If you do a quick google image search on Jessica Alba, did you know that almost all of her photos on the first two pages include her wearing a yellow piece of clothing?? Like many smart fashionistas before her, Jessica has found her go-to color; yellow complements her tan skin tone and honey colored hair, while adding a pop of unexpected color for a chic and easy alternative to a an otherwise monochromatic outfit. Honestly, the sheer multitude of photos with her wearing yellow was so striking that I had to do a post about it.

Yellow is a color that many people mistake for being hard to pull off---they think that it clashes with their skin tone or is too jarring for every day wear. While this might be true of some pieces, it definitely isn't true of the overall body of yellow clothing. Sometimes, all you need is a subtle element of such a strong color, like said yellow flats (in the photo of her with boyfriend jeans and a turquoise bag), to really make a unique statement.

Personally, my favorite ways that Jessica incorporates yellow are perhaps the most unique, like her yellow trench coat. I can just imagine how on a gray rainy day such a sunny trench would brighten up even the darkest of storm clouds (if only the ones above your own head), and contribute to a mood defiant of even the worst weather. Her yellow scarf, also, is an easy way to change a monochromatic outfit of jeans and a tee into something more coherent and pulled together. Which one is your favorite??

Inspired by Jessica's flirtation with yellow hues, I created two outfits of my own with the spotlight on a yellow piece. Perhaps the best part about this entire discovery of her trademark color is that it has inspired me to try to not only find my own, but to work on including that unexpected pop of color to turn an otherwise ordinary outfit into the extraordinary. How would you work in a pop of color to your wardrobe, and what do you think of these outfits??

Monday's Muse: Hot Hot Pink

megan fox

amanda bynes

blake lively

victoria beckam

bar rafaeli

One trend I've definitely been noticing lately is how many starlets are popping out to the red carpet in some seriously enviable hot pink ensembles. Be it Megan Fox at a Transformer's premiere in Russia or Bar Rafaeli at the Model as Muse event, the hot pink trend is an international one that people all over can recognize as a sexy, polished and mature look. Perhaps the most interesting of all these ladies' outfits are the different ways they manage to wear the simple staple of a hot pink dress to make it their own. Amanda Bynes and Megan Fox opt for some gold jewelry, while Bar Rafaeli, Blake Lively and Megan Fox went for some unexpected footwear decisions to shake things up. And though Bar, Amanda and Blake chose to keep it simple with the hair, Megan went retro glam while Victoria Beckham, always the trendsetter, went more severe and edgy with her look with the short dark hair. I also love that Victoria made the look her own by incorporating part of her trademark passion for menswear with the fitted blazer top to her dress, while Megan and Bar make their looks unique with eye-catching embellishments on their dresses. Most importantly, despite such an overwhelming color that can easily overpower your look, each and every one of them pulls it off flawlessly (minus Megan Fox's shoes.... I won't lie, I can't stand such a deep red next to that pink). So, inspired by each of their looks, I kind of took a little bit from each of them and made my own hot hot pink ensemble, a super affordable version I might add.

clutch, $19.99

pumps, $29.99

dress, $14.50

earrings, $14.00

What do you think?? And how would you wear this lust-worthy look??