Calculators. Pencils. Binders.

When your kids were younger, back to school shopping was pretty straightforward. Now with your child heading to college, you need to start thinking out of the box – out of the Yaffa box, that is.

Without compromising style and personality, decorating a dorm room has to follow these simple rules:
1. Must stick to a student’s budget.
2. Must save as much space as possible (we all remember how small those sardine cans, uh I mean, dorm rooms were).
3. Must be able to move out at a semester or school year’s notice.

When I was in college, I had the good fortune of spending my summers as a bookkeeper in the same craft store I had worked in since high school. With an endless stock of gift items, frames, craft supplies and patio furniture, I had a number of items to pull from.

My inspiration came from a set of patio lights in shiny, pastel-colored boxes like pink, orange, green and blue that I used to decorate the length of my dorm room. Find your inspiration!
Using the colors of the patio lights as my foundation, I selected a set of candle holders covered in a shiny woven fuschia, pink and lilac fabric. My bath/hand towels too echoed the color trend, in bright blue, lavender, yellow and orange.

Bring your most cherished objects and incorporate them into a theme. One of my roommates was an avid music lover, who kept her acoustic guitar by her bed. For me, it meant bringing my sewing machine and my love of fashion design. I had little ceramic mannequin picture holders on a shelf and a calendar on my wall displayed vintage fashion design sketches.

College is a time when your child will make the transition from a teenager to a young adult. It’s important to keep sight of what will always be there – friends and family. You can never have enough decorative picture frames (again, within the boundaries of the color scheme or style) to display photos of siblings, parents, relatives and best friends.

When it comes to saving space, the following items are tested and true: yaffa boxes for under the bed, bed risers, hanging racks, extension cord holders, thumb tack, double-sided tape, foldable canvas chairs and loft beds.

And if it’s your child’s first year away from home – might as well throw in a box of tissues! But just in case.
-S. Gonzalez

*Photos courtesy of burlingtonfreepress.com and spokesmanreview.com

'Over the Edge'

Over-the-knee or over-the-edge?

Pre-fall collections have already hit major department stores like Barney’s and Saks Fifth Avenue, prodding its dedicated clientele to spend on the best Fall-Winter ’09 pieces of the season. Investment buying, as we like to call it in the fashion industry, is one sure way to beat the recession blues and jumpstart the flagging economy.

Hottest investment buy: Over-the-knee boots.

First spotted on the spring catwalks of Givenchy, Preen and Rodarte, a variety of thigh-high flats, wedges, stilettos and platforms are now taking up most pre-orders on fall merchandise.

Style icons like Kate Moss, Rihanna, Blake Lively and Hilary Duff sported pairs last winter, wooing fans who once associated the style with the same profession as Julia Robert’s character in Pretty Woman (let’s just say that Roberts was ‘no saint’ in the film).

Designers like Chloë and Stella McCartney have perfected the over-the-knee boot, creating a sleeker version that rivals the aggressive vinyl look of thigh-high boots from yester years. These over-the-knee boots act as a second skin – made of taught leather and with light ruching at the sides for ease.

The shoe adds length to the mini-dress silhouette, looking its best when paired with monochromatic leggings or pants. No longer do you have to be built tall and slender in order to pull off this season’s must-have shoe.

Want to get your hands on a pair? Look for out for these popular styles:

A bit of a wedge. This Pour la Victoire boot looks like a typical riding boot, but has slight wedge heel and two wraparound straps at the ankle and knee. Comes cool gray and black colors. Slips on easily – important when it comes to being effortlessly chic.

The classic over-the-knee boots gets a major makeover. Can’t be afraid of heights if you want to pull off this Colin Stuart 4 3/4-inch heel. This daring platform boot matches suede with leather in a combination that is sure to turn heads.

Talk about having a second skin. This Brian Atwood shoe comes in stretch suede that is as soft as rolling around in a bed of Egyptian cotton. The boot may be just as high as the Colin Stuart, but with a boot as snug as this, I promise you won’t even know it’s there.

Never mind designers going over-the edge. I’ve fallen head-over-heels in love.

-S. Gonzalez

*Photos courtesy of www.batchplease.com, shopbop.com, victoriassecrets.com and saksfifthave.com

'Lap of Luxury'

“How about tea at the Biltmore Hotel?” my boyfriend asked.

The grandiose Biltmore Hotel, with its 93-foot Giralda tower, stood out in my memory while driving past the upper-crust Coral Gables section of Miami as a teenager with my father and cousin.

After a three-year hiatus, I would be returning to Miami to spend a few days in South Beach and to visit my Cuban family and friends. But being that a stop to the coastal city would be a first for my boyfriend, I wanted both of us to experience all new sights and sounds in my little Cuba.

I considered my boyfriend’s request.

The only resort in South Florida recognized as a National Historic Landmark, the Biltmore Hotel boasts the largest 23,000-square foot hotel swimming pool in all the continental United States.

The Biltmore Hotel tops the history books with its legendary cast of characters: Judy Garland, Ginger Rogers, Bing Crosby, Al Capone and President Franklin D. Roosevelt were all frequent guests. Hollywood’s original ‘Tarzan,’ Johnny Weissmuller, broke a few world records at the pool during his days as a swimming instructor there.

The Biltmore Hotel was built in the 1920’s during the peak of the Florida land boom by the same great architects that designed New York City’s Grand Central Terminal, Leonard Schultze and S. Fullerton Weaver. Their designs drew inspiration from Mediterranean architecture – a fusion of Italian, Moorish and Spanish tastes.

During galas hosted at the hotel, guests would dance on the polished terrazzo floor underneath vaulted ceilings with hand-painted frescos. Guests could sit it out on their own balcony or room – one of 400 rooms in the hotel. The many aquatic shows allowed guests to watch synchronized swimmers, bathing beauties and divers leap from an 85-foot high platform.

The hotel was considered an American Riviera resort of sorts, the jewel of Coral Gables, a ‘center of sports and fashion.’ More than 75 years later, guests can still sit on the lap of luxury in the historic Biltmore hotel.

The arched driveway and 93-foot Giralda tower, modeled after the one in Seville, Spain, greets visitors before entering the rich mahogany-furnished lobby. The travertine floors and hand-painted ceilings remain. The immaculate courtyard and fountain are not far from the 18-hole golf course, also restored to its former glory.

I thought of the Vanderbilts, the Roosevelts and my favorite Hollywood heroines like Judy Garland. I imagined how I might channel some of that old 30’s Hollywood glamour while delicately dipping a Madeleine into my tea, listening to a string quartet play lightly out on the terrazzo.

“Yes,” I told my boyfriend. “The Biltmore sounds perfect.”

-S. Gonzalez

*Photos courtesy of Biltmore Hotel

'Now You See It'

Call it sheer madness.

At designers’ shows like Valentino, the haute couture collection was an explosion of see-through black lace, ruffles and beading. Roberto Cavalli featured a brooding cast of male models sporting gauzy tanks in pastel colors with perforated leather pants.

Celebrities have caught on, with Transformer’s Megan Fox slipping into a sheer black dress for an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman in June. Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester bared all in a slinky jumpsuit at a July 28 Katie Perry concert in New York. Harry Potter’s rising fashion star, Emma Watson (the new face of Burberry), chose to show some skin in a geometric party dress while on another appearance last month.

Without being offensive or vulgar, sheer garments act as a filter – hiding what you don’t want others to see and revealing what you do. It’s the easiest way to elevate your look, turning the volume up from flirty to sexy.

Plus, sheer is a look that not only works on all body types, but in the home too (as long as the fit and styling are executed well).

Fresh and light, voile curtains are synonymous with summer décor. The curtains fall gracefully, whisking the floor with the slightest wind. They provide coverage, but still allow light to pour into a room. Affordable ($12.99), machine washable and requires little to no styling. In my home, black embroidered voile hanging from valences draw contrast to my sheer curtains.

A glass top coffee table adds instant glamour. The same way mirrors open a small space, a glass table pretends to take up even less room! This Huron coffee table ($515) is a statement piece with the innovative design of its black base and glass top.

This sheer leopard print ($88) by Patterson J. Kincaid recently made it to my own wardrobe for its slinky cut and seemingly casual style. With its longer hem and fullness in the back, the Henley appears to float as you walk. Works best with longer pants or leggings at the bottom, but if long enough, can also be combined with mini-skirts and cut-offs.

Call it whatever you want. Sheer is what’s hot this summer.

-S. Gonzalez

*Photos courtesy of justjared.buzznet.com; allcoffeetables.com; bloomingdales.com