Fashion Me Fabulous

-- The debate continues over these zip booties. -- What did you think of this week's Saturn commercial Project Runway ? -- Come fall, lace dresses will be everywhere. Do you know how to wear lace in 2008? -- Let's window shop for things we could never afford! -- How has your style changed through the years? -- Boots in August. What do you think? -- Our vintage shop of the week has some great WWII suits.

I do not get dressed for you. After considering the weather, I stand in my closet and think about how I feel. Ecstatic, experimental, depressed, powerful, aggressive are all emotions that come to mind. Horny and wanting a quickie are not. I understand how you could think that I threw a skirt on to attract attention. Most girls here wear VS Pink sweats, flip flops and a college tee for running to the store. Yet my choice of sundress or linen shorts had to do with the oppressive heat. Now that you know this, I would appreciate it if you no longer interpreted my clothing as a reason for you to follow me around my apartment complex, ask me how much, make tongue gestures at me, or ask me five times to get in your truck. Just know that from mini dress to maxi dress, it's not for you. I'll scream at you! Sasha Pivovarova photographed by Miles Aldridge for Numero 2005.

Oh, Magic 8-ball, where has my becca gone? Will we ever hear from her again? How will we live without Etsy finds? How will I solve my html issues? Who will network? Who will answer the legion of fan mail and that one guy who really wants us to review his barbecue sauce? As of today, becca is out of town. On top of that, her internet connection hates her. Be happy you even got a review of this week's Project Runway , for the Webbernet is a fickle beast freezing and stalling and refusing to save. Thank you wise Magic 8-ball! Will my Fighting Irish have a good season? Don't count on it.

I currently have three part time jobs, but two don't start for a few weeks. The money crunch has put me in fantasy shopping mode since I can't afford real shopping. (Though the Richard Chai collection at Target is tempting.) I let my inner Victorian/romantic teenager do some of the shopping, and she picked out this beaded chiffon and velvet top by Lela Rose and this chiffon and lace peasant blouse by Robert Rodriguez . Teenage me would wear both with a broomstick skirt, but modern me would pair either top with a leather skirt or black cigarette pants. Summer's waning days are still wicked hot, which I've been combating with silk tank tops . Marc by Marc Jacobs' "Elsie" top has the right amount of details to look interesting without being fussy. Plus, that creamy blue green and purple are beautiful! Yoana Baraschi's "Cleo" top juxtaposes Barbie pink with a gold chain trim at the collar. It would look equally nice under a blazer or thrown o

Tonight the designers where challenged to create looks from the materials used in a Saturn Vue Hybrid. They had seatbelts, car seats, filters, visors, mirrors, headlights and even carburetors. I love the challenges with the strange materials. This week, some of the designers finally stepped it up. Korto's look was my favorite. She wove seatbelts together to create the fabric for this lovely coat. I want it. I want it. I want it. Korto, feel free to send me a coat like this anytime, really. Leanne's look won. She did a great job with the shape of the dress. She used car seat material for the dress and cut up, frayed seatbelts for the fringe on the neckline. She has immunity for next week. Blayne found himself in the bottom three. I think he was on to something with his look, but it just missed. He had a fuller, much cooler look but the thickness of the seatbelts made them difficult to sew so he cut back to make something he could finish in time. The dress didn't fit right an

Do you look at pictures from high school and gasp at the ridiculousness of your clothes or do you run to your closet to see if you still have those pieces? Did you follow the major trends in your school or did you make your own fashion path, critics be damned? I've always loved lush fabrics, which meant gobs of velvet in middle school. Vintage has also been my thing for a while, and I'd gravitate to Victorian inspired jewelry -- cameos, lace, roses and chokers. Being a lover of hats, I was on the Blossom bandwagon without ever having watched the show. I wasn't very confident in my ability to match color, so I stuck with black. While I'd heard that everything went with black, I was far too shy to wear bright colors as that meant people might look at me; thus, the other colors in my wardrobe tended to be purple, navy, burgundy and dark green. Not having older sisters and not wanting to ask my mom, I didn't know how to apply makeup and had to experiment. My smokey eye

Like last weeks cut-out boots , there's a voice telling me to run away from these strange zipper booties by FLY London . They'll make me look shorter. They'll make me look like I'm an elf. The zips will snag my tights. Yet, they remind me of some shoes I had in high school that were so ugly they swung all the way back around to fabulous. They're available in red, olive and black, but I like the apple green best because of how the zipper contrasts. Do you like these or do you suspect I've been drinking?

Violetville Vintage is another shop doing business on its own and on Ebay . If Mad Men and Dior's FW2008 show have you in a space age sort of mind, Violetville Vintage will meet your needs. Their store is currently stocked with lots of brightly colored dresses and separates from the 1950s-1960s, but they don't limit their stock to particular decades. Their ebay store Prices on their own website range from $100-$200 while the buy it now prices on Ebay range from $175 up to almost $1000 for a 1920s wedding dress. 1960s cream cotton Christian Dior shift $55 That's a steal! 1960s Streitfield for Strega black feather cocktail dress $142 Want! late 1940s yellow suit jacket and skirt BIN $248 1970s cream lace maxi dress Auc $24.99 as of Monday night 1970s blue jersey maxi dress Auc $33.99 as of Monday night

I know that celebrities like to trot out designer goods on the red carpet before they've hit the stores. You know, just in case the flashing camera and adoring fans weren't enough to remind us that they're special. But I don't care who designed them, how expensive they'll be for the plebs or how far in advance you got them. None of those things are an excuse for wearing boots in the summer. In L.A. no less. Most of the celebrities sporting this anti-seasonal look are teen pop stars such as Miley Cyrus (pictured) or the Cheetah Girls. While the glittery eye shadow set is not one to look to for fashion tips, girls all over the country still want to emulate them. I imagine schools will be hit with a fainting epidemic in the coming weeks as middle schoolers refuse to part with their Mukuluks.

Lace dresses are one of the biggest trends for Fall/Winter 08. (Yes, we are talking autumn trends before Labor Day. Break out some cider if it helps put you in the mood.) These aren't ankle length, black Morticia Addams numbers. Nor should they be ivory and froofy like my mother on her way to church. These dresses are young and modern in one of two ways, color or silhouette. Think neons instead of pastels and minis rather than any demure length your grandmother would approve of. You can also find a vintage lace dress (and there are plenty) and jazz it up with bright belts, replace the lining with a slinkier slip, or a snip snip at the hem. l-r: Prada FW08, Derek Lam FW08, Jean Paul Gaultier Fall Couture 2008. Top: yellow ruffled micro mini dress, Aqua, Bloomingdale's $44 navy sheath dress, JS Boutique, Nordstrom $150 gold and black drop waist dress, Anna Sui, Anthropologie $318 raisin cowel neck dress, Free People $148 navy sleeveless dress, Forever 21 $2 7.80 green and black

-- becca's big necklace obsession spills into our Etsy shop of the week. -- This week's Project Runway was kind of a drag. What did you think? -- Color palettes for the matching challenged. -- Instant pin-up! Just add red shoes. -- Pert Vintage is the place to stock up on mini dresses. -- No . Yes . No . Maybe . -- Get cozy in a modal tee. -- What would you spend on a wrap?

Project Design is our own friendly competition where we put together collection of independent designers for you to rate on your very own imaginary runway. Back to school means back to classes, back to homework and back to books. So if you're going back to school or just looking for a cute back to tote your laptop, books and other stuff check out these bags from various Etsy designers and vote for your favorite. Red Retro Flight Bag by keepcalmandcarryon Bicycle Field Bag by Deadworry Zippered Multi-task Bag by iragrant Mr Mooney messenger by mandinka Large brown leather messenger bag by spikedesigns Lulu Shoulder Bag by erickabasile poll by twiigs.com

Pour La Victoire is one of my favorite shoe brands. They're trendy without churning out designer ripoffs, and their price point, while high, is still something most people can reach. I'm currently loving the Babette cut-out architectural pump . The bold geometric shapes are right on trend without the intimidating look of many such shoes. The heel balances nicely between sturdy and sexy. And for you texture addicts, this pump is a pleasing blend of satin, leather and patent. Babette comes in a variety of colors, but my favorites are the grey with a bright red heel ($132) and the red, pink and plum mix ($104).

Kenley isn't necessarily my favorite Project Runway designer, but there is one bit of her style that I really like. She wears a lot of flowers and feathers in her hair. I love the feather look most. Watching Project Runway last night, I kept noticing how cute the feathers looked in her hair. Feathers have never found their way into my wardrobe, but I think a chic little hair feather might be fun. I've found several feather clips and bands on Etsy (below), and a few unique flowers. What to you think of these flighty hair pieces? Clockwise from top left: Black and White Feather Headband with Red Leather Flower $28 Almond Pheasant Headband $32 Fancy Feather hair clip $20 Feather Hair Piece, Miss Rosemary $17 Gorgeous Feather Hair Clip $18 Kenley Photo Source: Bravo

I've had a classic Coach saddle bag for almost a decade. I love the cross-body strap, supple leather, and shiny hardware. Even though it's not one of their modern logo bags, people constant stop me to ask if my purse is a Coach. The shapes the bag and latch are distinct. So distinct that Susan Nichole shouldn't have tried ripping them off for this fringed, embossed nightmare . She certainly took the idea of a saddle bag to it's rhinestone cowboy extreme.

For a few seasons now, fashion has been a mash of colors. This can be intimidating when you're looking in your closet and wondering why you decided to buy teal shoes and what on earth can you wear with them but black? Fear not, for the ever marvelous internet has a few tools at your disposal. Colourlovers is a collection of color palettes to help inspire you in whatever colorful project you're undertaking. Wear Palettes takes outfits from The Sartorialist and breaks them down by color. Both websites are searchable by color, which is incredibly helpful if the color of the moment has you stumped. I like how the palettes can make me rethink a color. For example, I always think of grey as a classic color, but I love how it looks with neons.

Drag Queens! This week the designers had to make over-the-top costumes for drag queens. The outfits not only had to fit the queens, they also had to fit their personas. This challenge brought back last season's Chris dressed in all of his Viking-Queen-disco-ball-boobs glory. On top of that, Ru Paul came in to guest judge. I haven't seen as much flair, personality or even good design this season as in past seasons. I was hoping to see this challenge push the designers over the edge to create some FABulous garments. A few of them took to the challenge, but sadly not all of them. With a pink, sparkle sailor get up, Joe won the challenge. The outfit started out very Elvis-like, but he flipped the collar down and added the sailor hat for a winning combination. It even fit great so I guess it was a good thing that his queen left her boobs behind so Joe get the shape right. Terri did a great job with this crazy samurai/kabuki look. She almost won. I love her creativity. The judges lov